Stanton a One-Man Television Network at SCTN

If you’re looking for programming about Saline on television, there’s only one place to check: Channel 18 on Comcast Cable.

That’s where you’ll find the Saline Community Television Network.

The word "network" is little misleading, as SCTN is a one-man television station. That man is Chase Stanton, who has plans to provide Saline residents with programming they will find interesting and to give Saline residents a place to share their voice.

“Unfortunately, not many people watch the channel. One of my challenges will be to create and find programming that people want to see. We want to broadcast programming that is relevant to their lives,” said Stanton, who was hired earlier this year after former station manager and Saline Native Stephen Stump, left SCTN to continue his studies in the broadcast and video field.

A native of Trenton, Stanton studied at Eastern Michigan University and worked at the Ann Arbor Community Television Network before taking the job in Saline.

In Ann Arbor, Stanton worked with a crew that featured about 10 full time workers, four part time workers, and a group of interns.

Now it’s Stanton.

“Working alone has its challenges. But it’s also rewarding. In my old job, if I ran into a problem, I’d ask people for help. Now, I find a way to fix it myself,” said Stanton. “It’s nice to have control over the decisions you make and the programming you run.”

SCTN is owned by the and operated through the Saline Area Schools department. The studio and production room are in and attached to teacher Nate Bush’s digital photography and video classrooms. So, Stanton isn’t completely on his own.

“Nate Bush works with me a lot. And some of his more experienced students intern for me,” Stanton said.

The close relationship between SCTN and Bush’s class have seen Stanton take on the role as an educator. Students often approach him for advice on shooting, lighting and editing.

“That’s one of the things that surprised me about this job. When I got into the video production field, I pictured a crew of people going out to shoot video. So to be helping students and have them call me ‘Mr. Stanton,’ is something that I wasn’t expecting,” Stanton said. “I never thought I’d be doing that. But it’s fun. And many of the kids are talented. I’ve been working on something and had students come up to me and say, ‘No, it’s like this.’”

Stanton’s workload is demanding. Shooting events, editing video, uploading it to Vimeo and programming the broadcast is time consuming. He admits that the workload has caused him to temper his goals.

“When I started, I thought I was going to be shooting video five days a week. But there’s no way,” Stanton said.

Still, he’s continued where Stump left off while managing to acquaint himself with the SCTN system and workflow.

Stanton can be seen at many of the community’s biggest event, whether they are at the school, downtown, or elsewhere in the community. He’s also producing a one-on-one interview show called Saline Speaks! For his first two shows, Stanton interviewed Saline Police Chief Paul Bunten and Downtown Development Director Art Trapp.

“The idea is to let department heads talk about what kind of services and programs they offer and what issues they are facing,” Stanton said.

Viewers who miss the show on channel 18 can catch the program on SCTN’s Vimeo site.

To request SCTN’s coverage of a community event, click here. To have your community message posted on the channel’s bulletin board e-mail Stanton at stantonc@saline.k12.mi.us.