Studio and control room at Batavia Access Television (BATV).  Photo by News Bulletin staff.

Volunteer crews with Batavia Access Television (BATV) and their equipment are such a familiar site at Kane County Board Meetings, they could almost go unnoticed. 
But Batavia and county governments know how much they would be missed if they weren’t there. 

Cities as large as Los Angeles have had to go without the community voice that public access cable channels provides and USA Today reported last year that since 2005, when support and public funding for cable access stations began to really dry up, roughly 600 public access stations across the nation had already gone black.
In addition to regular public meetings, BATV has provided coverage of special events in Kane County such as the grand opening of the Stearns Road Corridor last December. 
With the help of Station IT Director, Jon Benditz, county residents unable to attend the ceremonies were able to catch the station’s coverage streamed live on the internet.
Live streaming of local football games, especially classic rivalries like Batavia and Geneva High Schools, has proven a godsend for the station, helping introduce public access to a much wider audience (a record 2,400 viewers for a recent game) and the much-needed sponsorships that go with it.
Deitchman admits that tight municipal budgets and a down economy have presented real challenges for the station.
She said that like everyone else, they’ve had to undergo job and budget cuts but also acknowledges that the city of Batavia, Kane County and local sponsors have continually provided what support they can.
.Hammering out budgets with city officials over those years proved more convincing than advanced technological degree and she was chosen as the station’s manager over three years ago.
“Our partnership with the High School (in 2000) has also been key,” Deitchman said. As part of the high school’s recently completed major reconstruction project, the station renovated its studio which is visible from a new classroom and expanded control room.
Each year 120 students participate in a broadcast curriculum which provides the students with real world behind-the-camera experience as well as providing the station with a healthy number of impassioned volunteers.
 “While many stations are wondering how to stretch reduced staff and volunteers to cover needed events, we already cover a lot and are always looking for events to cover,” Deitchman said.
“Public access is why we’re here,” she said, “to give the community a voice.”