PCTV, WTBR-FM Programs Win National Awards

08:21AM / Friday, May 29, 2026Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD Mass. — Four programs broadcast on Pittsfield Community Television and community radio station WTBR-FM received 2026 Hometown Media Awards from the Alliance for Community Media Foundation.

The awards program was established to honor and promote community media, community radio, and local cable programs that are distributed on Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) access cable television channels. Proceeds go to the ACM Foundation which is exclusively used for facilitating, preserving and promoting education in community media.

All the award-winning programs were broadcast in 2025. 'Pittsfield Proud - Coaching Life with Jerome Edgerton,' a short video feature produced by PCTV staffer Tom Ciaburri, won the award for Educational Profile: Access Center Professional. The video profiled Pittsfield High School basketball coach Jerome Edgerton's coaching style and personal history.

WTBR's coverage of the MIAA Final Four Girls' Basketball semifinal from March 10, 2025 won the award for Sports Coverage, Live Competition: Community Radio. WTBR's Bob Heck traveled to Worcester State University to cover the game on a live radio broadcast, as the MIAA does not permit live television coverage of Final Four games. It was Heck's call of the game that garnered the award.

Pittsfield Community Television's production services group, ParkSquare Productions, created fundraising and promotional videos for Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires. The video, 'NPC: Building Better Nonprofits,' co-directed by PCTV staffer Tom Ciaburri and McCaela Donovan, Associate Director of NPC Berkshires, won the award in the category of Fundraising: Access Center Professional. The video focuses on the efforts made by the Nonprofit Center to support the sustainability of nonprofit organizations in Berkshire County.

Taconic High School's vocational Multimedia Production & Broadcast program, through which students create video and audio content which is then broadcast on the channels of PCTV and WTBR-FM, won the award for 'Taconic High School's School of Rock,' in the category of Educational Activities: Community Radio. The series, broadcast on WTBR-FM, features episodes devoted to music that follow certain themes. The winning episode, from April 14, 2025, focused on the teacher's theme 'Taking a Vacation,' and also the themes of 'Abandonment', 'Love' and 'In Motion'. The show was produced by Taconic High School students under the supervision of CTE Teacher Jamie Choquette.

Pittsfield Community Television and WTBR-FM are members of the Alliance for Community Media.

"Every year we review programs that were produced and broadcast on our channels, and consider entering them into this awards festival," said Shawn Serre, Executive Director. "We're extremely proud of the efforts made by members of our community and our staff, who work hard to create quality programming on both our television channels and radio stations. And of course, it is always great to get recognition from our industry for this exceptional programming."

Each year, nearly one thousand entries are submitted. These entries, or programs, are submitted and evaluated on several factors resulting in over 100 award winners. A panel of over 100 judges from the industry evaluate the entries. Awards are presented to the most creative programs that address community needs, develop diverse community involvement, challenge conventional commercial television formats, and move viewers to experience television in a different way.

"The Hometown Media Awards celebrate both the excellence of work and the diversity of media that appears on community channels being produced around the country. The ACM Foundation is proud of their achievement and of how they represent their communities in their work," said Mike Wassenaar, President & CEO, Alliance for Community Media.

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Free Vaccinations Available Throughout Berkshire County

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
10:30AM / Saturday, October 10, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Fall season is also the flu season, which means vaccine clinics are now available.

The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative will provide public vaccination clinics in Berkshire communities this fall, including the influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. There are about 49 clinics.

The collaborative began during COVID-19 to help vaccinate people across Berkshire County. Berkshire Health Systems started the Get Vaccinated Berkshires website and still manages it. The group works with the Pittsfield Public Health Department, Community Health Programs, and the Southern Berkshire Public Health Collaborative.

"The majority of people will always get the flu [vaccine] because, as I said, if you've ever gotten the flu, you will always get a flu vaccine because it's so bad. And just so you know, the flu is already in Berkshire County. It's an early season this year," said Leslie Drager, who is the senior public health nurse at Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.

Drager said last year they issued 2,705 vaccines, with more than 1,100 of them being for COVID-19 and more than 1,500 being flu. In total, they were able to vaccinate 1,669 people in Central and North County, in addition to Pittsfield.

Drager also said she will be carrying three types of COVID vaccines this year, which is in high demand.

"We have a high demand of COVID vaccine, which is awesome," she said. "So we're doing a lot of COVID vaccines. Also, I provide Pfizer, and this year I have Moderna and the Novavax, which I think is real important to get out there because the Novavax, a lot of people want, people with long COVID. So I'm carrying all three vaccines this year, which I normally only carry the Pfizer."

Public health departments also can help people access other vaccines such as for measles or meningitis when they cannot get them through a pediatrician, she added.

Using the website, people are able to get vaccines even if they are homebound by filling out a form.

All public Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative clinics are free of charge, but registrants are asked to provide insurance information, when available, in order to defray costs. The clinics are open to anyone 6 months of age or older, the age group recommended to receive an annual flu vaccine and the latest COVID-19 vaccine.

"I always encourage everybody to wear a short sleeve shirt because it makes it a heck of a lot easier to get at," Drager said. "And children, we do carry the nasal flu, the live virus of nasal flu for kids that are afraid to get needles."

Registration is highly recommended for the clinics. Walk-ins may be accepted depending on the number of vaccine doses available at each clinic, with preference given to those who are registered.

"It's really important. I'm really encouraging vaccinations for the schools, because not only you know if the kids are vaccinated and the teachers are vaccinated, the schools won't have the flu go wild right through it," Drager said. "And of course, the best way to prevent infections: washing your hands. So don't touch your face, and wash your hands."

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