COMMUNITY MEDIA CENTER OF CARROLL COUNTY INC

IN FY25 THE COMMUNITY MEDIA CENTER (CMC) WORKED TO INCREASE THE QUALITY, ENGAGEMENT AND EFFICIENCY OF OUR CONTENT PRODUCTION AND BUILD PARTNERSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, SCHOOLS AND MEMBERS WHILE FOCUSING ON BEING GOOD STEWARDS OF OUR RESOURCES. THE COMMUNITY MEDIA CENTER AIRED 429 ORIGINAL PROGRAMS ON CABLE CHANNEL HD-1072 RESULTING IN A TOTAL OF 323 PROGRAMMING HOURS. CMC'S LOCAL SPORTS COVERAGE, CENTRAL MARYLAND SPORTS NETWORK BRANDED AS CMSPORTSNET, CONSTITUTED 280 OF THOSE ORIGINAL PROGRAMS, GENERATING 189 TOTAL HOURS OF LOCAL SPORTS PROGRAMMING. CABLE CHANNEL 19 AIRED 106 PROGRAMS THAT WERE COMMUNITY PRODUCED OR SUBMITTED ON BEHALF OF LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS FOR A TOTAL OF 86 PROGRAMMING HOURS CHANNEL 23 AIRED 235 ORIGINAL PROGRAMS FOR A TOTAL OF 234 HOURS OF PROGRAMMING THIS IS A 21% INCREASE IN COVERAGE COMPARED TO FY24 AND 10% INCREASE IN TOTAL PROGRAMMING HOURS INTEREST IN CMC'S ONLINE CONTENT GREW ACROSS MULTIPLE PLATFORMS. IN FEBRUARY 2025, THE CMC LAUNCHED A NEW WEBSITE. THE GOAL WAS TO CREATE A ROBUST WEB CONTENT MANAGEMENT SOLUTION THAT USES CURRENT TECHNOLOGY, AT A LOWER COST TO MAINTAIN, INCLUDING SUBSEQUENT UPGRADES, AND WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A ROBUST COMMUNITY OF ACTIVE CONTRIBUTORS TOWARD CODE ENHANCEMENT, LIBRARIES AND TEMPLATES. CMC'S WEBSITE (HTTPS://WWW.CARROLLMEDIACENTER.ORG/) HAD 65,000 VIEWS AND 26,694 USERS IN FY25. THIS IS A 16% INCREASE IN VIEWS OVER FY24. THERE WERE 59,643 VISITS TO CMC'S FACEBOOK PAGE IN FY 25 VS 25,668 VISITS IN FY24. THIS IS A 32% INCREASE FROM LAST FISCAL YEAR. CMC'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL INCREASED TOTAL VIEWS BY 26% IN FY25 CMC HAD A TOTAL OF 220,000 YOUTUBE VIEWS VS 175,000 IN FY24 AND CMC ADDED 710 SUBSCRIBERS RESULTING IN A 31% INCREASE IN GROWTH OVER THE LAST FISCAL YEAR. CMC'S CMSPORTSNET'S INSTAGRAM PAGE GREW FROM 708 FOLLOWERS IN FY24 TO 3,376 IN FY25. (AVERAGE MONTHLY TOTAL VIEWS WERE 209,2845) THE CMC ESTABLISHED THE POSITION OF DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN NOVEMBER 2024 TO INCREASE ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY TO DIVERSIFY FUNDING SOURCES DUE TO THE DECLINE OF CABLE FRANCHISE FEE REVENUES. TOTAL REVENUES FROM SPONSORSHIPS FOR FY25 WAS 81,800, A 97% INCREASE FROM FY24. CMSPORTSNET SPONSORSHIPS WERE THE TOP PRIORITY. SPONSORSHIP REVENUE COMMITMENTS WERE 22,000 THROUGH 12/30 AND SUBSEQUENTLY INCREASED RESULTING IN 72,800 RAISED. THIS INCLUDED EIGHT NEW SPONSORS AND TWO RENEWING SPONSORS. AN ADDITIONAL 9,000 WAS RAISED THROUGH SPONSORSHIPS OF THE VETERANS ORAL HISTORY PROJECT, INTRODUCING TWO NEW SPONSORS AND ONE EXISTING SPONSOR. THE CMC PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE ARRAY OF DIGITAL MEDIA SERVICES FOR CARROLL COUNTY, MARYLAND AND ADJACENT COMMUNITIES. SERVICES INCLUDE OUTREACH, TRAINING, PRODUCTION FACILITATION, PRODUCTION AND CREATIVE SERVICES AND DIGITAL MEDIA DISTRIBUTION VIA CABLE, VIDEO STREAMING, WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA. THE CMC PROVIDES VIDEO COVERAGE FOR EIGHT MUNICIPALITIES IN CARROLL COUNTY, MARYLAND. THIS INCLUDES ROUTINE GAVEL-TO-GAVEL MEETING COVERAGE AS WELL AS SPECIAL MEETINGS AND EVENTS. MEETINGS ARE STREAMED LIVE ON THE CMC'S WEBSITE, ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND ON CABLE CHANNEL 23 TO ENSURE ACCESS FOR THE PUBLIC TO ENGAGE WITH THEIR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. IN FY25, CMC INCREASED THE MUNICIPAL MEETING COVERAGE BY 21% COMPARED TO THE PRIOR YEAR. IN FY25, CMC AIRED 235 MUNICIPAL MEETINGS AND EVENTS, AIRING A TOTAL OF 234 HOURS OF MUNICIPAL PROGRAMMING. CMC CONTINUES TO BE A SOURCE OF INDEPENDENT UNBIASED INFORMATION REGARDING CANDIDATES RUNNING FOR PUBLIC OFFICE. CMC PROVIDED NO-COST PRODUCTION SERVICES WITH STRICT GUIDELINES TO ENSURE NONPARTISAN EQUAL TREATMENT, IN THE FORM OF CANDIDATE VIDEO PROFILES TO ALL LOCAL CANDIDATES RUNNING IN CONTESTED RACES IN THE 2024 GENERAL ELECTION AND THE 2025 MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS. IN ADDITION, CMC CREATED AN ONLINE VOTERS' GUIDE TO PROVIDE THE PUBLIC IMPORTANT DATES, ELECTION INFORMATION, POLLING LOCATIONS, VIDEO PROFILES AND LIVE COVERAGE OF LOCAL CANDIDATE FORUMS. ALL CANDIDATE PROFILES AND ELECTION FORUMS WERE STREAMED LIVE ON FACEBOOK, YOUTUBE, THE CMC WEBSITE. IN TOTAL 11.5 HOURS OF ORIGINAL ELECTIONS CONTENT AIRED ON CABLE CHANNELS HD-1072 AND CHANNEL 19. IN THE FALL OF 2024, CMC HELD FORUMS FOR THE CARROLL COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION AND IN THE SPRING, CMC HELD 3 FORUMS FOR MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS. CMC PRODUCED 12 CANDIDATE PROFILES. COVERAGE GENERATED 3,296 TOTAL YOUTUBE VIEWS AND 27% OF ALL ONLINE WEB TRAFFIC IN APRIL WAS TO THE CMC VOTERS GUIDE. PROVIDING RESIDENTS WITH TIMELY INFORMATION ABOUT ISSUES THAT AFFECT THEIR LIVES ISN'T LIMITED TO JUST MUNICIPAL MEETINGS. CMC PROVIDED LIVE COVERAGE OF THE PROPOSED ROUTE AND PUBLIC INFORMATION SESSION FOR THE MARYLAND PIEDMONT RELIABILITY PROJECT (MPRP) ATTENDED BY HUNDREDS OF CONCERNED RESIDENTS. THE LIVE STREAM RECEIVED 1300 VIEWS ON YOUTUBE. THE COMMUNITY MEDIA CENTER HELD A VETERANS ORAL HISTORY COLLECTION DAY TO RECORD INTERVIEWS WITH LOCAL VETERANS. THE INTERVIEWS ARE ADDED TO THE CARROLL COUNTY HISTORY PROJECTS ONLINE ARCHIVE. CMC AIRED A SPECIAL ALL-DAY BROADCAST FEATURING INTERVIEWS WITH LOCAL VETERANS ON CABLE CHANNELS 19 AND HD-1072 ON NOVEMBER 11TH TO HONOR OUR LOCAL SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN. CMC CONTINUES TO EXPAND ITS LOCAL CMSPORTSNET COVERAGE. CMC PROVIDED COVERAGE OF 83 LOCAL SPORTING EVENTS INCLUDING; HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL, BOYS & GIRLS SOCCER, BOYS & GIRLS' BASKETBALL, HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING, BOYS AND GIRLS LACROSSE AND SELECT HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL AND CARROLL COMMUNITY COLLEGE SPORTS COVERAGE. DURING FY25, CMSPORTSNET AIRED 280 INDIVIDUAL SPORTS PROGRAMS INCLUDING "SPORTSTALK", "GAME ON" - OUR MID-WEEK MAGAZINE SHOW, INDIVIDUAL GAME HIGHLIGHTS, CMSPORTSNET'S ATHLETE OF THE WEEK AND SPECIAL PRE AND POST SEASON PROGRAMS. LIVE GAME COVERAGE WAS DISTRIBUTED ON CABLE CHANNEL HD- 1072, YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK AND ON CMC'S WEBSITE (WWW.CMSPORTSNET.COM) WHEN MULTIPLE HIGH-PROFILE GAMES HAPPEN SIMULTANEOUSLY, CMSPORTSNET HAS IMPLEMENTED MULTI-GAME COVERAGE, HOSTED FROM OUR STUDIO AND FEATURING 'ROUND ROBIN' COVERAGE, ALLOWING US TO PROVIDE HIGHLIGHTS AND COVERAGE OF ALL GAMES TO OUR VIEWERS IN REAL TIME OR IN NEAR REAL TIME WHEN LICENSING RESTRICTIONS BY NFHS NETWORK PROHIBITED LIVE COVERAGE.. CMSPORTSNET STREAMED LIVE ONLINE COVERAGE FROM 2 MATS SIMULTANEOUSLY FOR THE CARROLL COUNTY VARSITY WRESTLING TOURNAMENT. IN ADDITION, CMSPORTSNET STREAMED INTERVIEWS WITH THE VARIOUS CLASS CHAMPIONS. COVERAGE WAS AIRED ON CABLE CHANNEL HD-1072 ON CMSPORTSNET.COM AND ON YOUTUBE AND FACEBOOK - YOUTUBE VIEWS TOTALED 3,930 AND FACEBOOK GENERATED A TOTAL OF 4,774 VIEWS. SOCIAL MEDIA VIEWS FOR CMSPORTSNET HAD SIGNIFICANT INCREASES. TOTAL YOUTUBE VIEWS FOR THE 24-25 SEASON WERE 86,503 UP 32% OVER THE PRIOR SEASON. FACEBOOK VIEWS TOTALED 209,998 FOR THE SEASON, UP 115% FROM THE PRIOR YEAR AND INSTAGRAM HAD 2,134,914 TOTAL VIEWS DURING THE 24-25 SEASON. BEYOND SPORTS COVERAGE, THE COMMUNITY MEDIA CENTER WORKS TO SUPPORT OUR LOCAL STUDENTS AND SCHOOLS WITH A VARIETY OF PRODUCTION SERVICES AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDING: CMC PROVIDED PRODUCTION SERVICES FOR THE LIVE STREAM OF SEVEN CARROLL COUNTY PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION CEREMONIES. CMC PARTNERED WITH GERSTELL ACADEMY TO PROVIDE AN ENHANCED LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR THEIR MEDIA CLASS. THE STUDENTS VISITED CMC MULTIPLE TIMES TO USE THE STUDIO FACILITY AND PRODUCED SEVERAL PROJECTS THAT ALSO INVOLVED THE MEDIA STUDENTS HELPING LOWER SCHOOL 3RD AND MIDDLE SCHOOL 6TH GRADERS TO FILM THEIR CLASS PROJECTS. CMC'S ROBUST INTERNSHIP PROGRAM PROVIDES STUDENTS WITH VALUABLE REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE THAT WILL GIVE THEM AN ADVANTAGE AS THEY BEGIN PREPARING FOR THEIR CAREERS. CMC HAD TWO HIGH SCHOOL INTERNS AND 10 COLLEGE INTERNS DURING FY25. CMC PROVIDED COVERAGE OF THE MCDANIEL ACADEMIC SYMPOSIUM AND THE MCDANIEL COLLEGE INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP CHALLENGE. CMC'S PRODUCTION SHADOWING PROGRAM WITH BELLO MACHRE OFFERS INDIVIDUALS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH CMC STAFF TO GAIN REAL-WORLD KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE IN MEDIA PRODUCTION THE CMC PARTNERS WITH A VARIETY OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO INCREASE THE IMPACT AND REACH OF THEIR PROGRAMS AND PRODUCE SPECIAL PROGRAMMING OF PUBLIC INTEREST INCLUDING: IN APRIL, THE COMMUNITY MEDIA CENTER INITIATED A PARTNERSHIP WITH FOUR LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS TO PRODUCE A 60-MINUTE DOCUMENTARY PROFILING INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES (IDD). THE GOAL OF "THRIVING TOGETHER: THE POWER OF INCLUSION", IS TO PROVIDE A RESOURCE THAT SHOWCASES THE BENEFICIAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE IDD POPULATION AND THE AGENCIES THAT SUPPORT THEM AND EMPLOY THEM. THE PROJECT IS IN COLLABORATION WITH THE ARC CARROLL COUNTY, TARGET COMMUNITY & EDUCATIONAL SERVICES, INC., BELLO MACHRE, AND PENN-MAR. DURING THE 2024 4-H & FFA FAIR, CMC PROVIDED LIVE STREAMING COVERAGE OF 19 EVENTS, STREAMING 83 TOTAL HOURS LIVE COVERAGE ACROSS MULTIPLE PLATFORMS. COVERAGE WAS DISTRIBUTED TO THE CARROLL COUNTY 4-H & FFA FAIR FACEBOOK PAGE AND BROADCAST LIVE ON CABLE CHANNELS HD-1072 AND CHANNEL 19 AS WELL AS CMC'S