Peter Anninos, chair of the Seal Beach Cable Communications Foundation, recently gave the Sun a tour of SBTV3.
Anninos said the majority of the equipment was 15 years old.
He said the cameras were first generation when SBTV3 got them. He said they were now ancient history.
“We’re generations behind,” Anninos said.
He said the building in which the station is located (the Old City Hall Annex Building) is up to code. He described it as earthquake safe.
Anninos said the station has been operating off the same $70,000 a year budget for 40 years.
He said it was $75,000 a year in the past but that figure was cut. (Page 117 of the proposed 2025-26 city budget put the figure at $90,000. The recently approved version is not yet online but reportedly only contained minor changes from the original.)
Anninos said the cable station can pay people more and hire a part time manager to succeed Robin Fort-Lincke. As previously reported, Fort-Lincke resigned in December 2022. The station has been operating without a manager since that time. (Anninos put Fort-Lincke’s pay at $35,000 a year.)
Most of the work is now done by volunteers, though there are some paid employees.
Anninos said the only problem with an all-volunteer operation is reliability.
Anninos said it was getting harder to find volunteers.
He said it was important to pay people more so they feel respected.
He said they need to be appropriately paid to do the things they are responsible for.
“People have to know that you care about them personally,” Anninos said.
Upgrading the equipment is one of his goals.
“We’re trying to get equipment that will future-proof us for about a decade, maybe a little more,” Anninos said.
He said he was looking forward to having equipment, to having classes open again and to get more community involvement in the station.
He said in the past the station won lots of awards.
“And we want to do that again,” Anninos said.
He wants to do a show with Seal Beach Police Chief Michael Henderson.
