Pittsfield Community Television will hold the first annual Eatza Pizza Pizza Competition to name the best pie slinger in Berkshire County. As well as determining the area’s pizza elites, May 18th’s event at Berkshire Hills Country Club will raise money for the public access station to expand its offerings to the community. In addition to broadcasting governmental meetings and sports events, PCTV gives locals the training and equipment they need to produce their own radio and television programs. Almost a dozen local pizzerias have committed to the slice gauntlet already. Bob Heck is PCTV’s coordinator of advancement and community production. He spoke with WAMC.
HECK: So, we're trying to find out who has the best pizza in Berkshire County, and we're excited that a lot of pizza places have jumped on board to be a part of it. And it's a fundraiser for Pittsfield Community Television. We're a nonprofit TV and radio organization with WTBR, and we're trying to find creative ways to raise money for the organization. We recently did a community needs assessment, and we found out that the community wants a lot more from us, and we're happy to do it. We just need to raise some money to make it happen.
WAMC: Now, give us an overview of the pizza parlors in competition. What competitors are entering the arena for the competition?
Well, so far, we have Papa John's, we have Papa Joe's, we have KJ Nosh, who has been a very big supporter of the event. They're letting us use their space up in Berkshire Hills Country Club. PortaVia in Dalton, Dewey's Public House in Dalton, the Locker Room in Lee’s coming up, Zucco’s Family Restaurant, Dalton HD Pizza, and Anna’s Pizza in Pittsfield, and hopefully a couple of more.
Now, this also comes as PCTV, among its many other activities, gets ready for a new round of community training opportunities. Can you sort of spell out some of the work that you do more broadly in the community to teach people about media literacy, production, and things of that nature?
Yeah, I mean, the point of PCTV is for members of the community to come in and have their voices heard. You can come in and basically, do whatever you want on PCTV and WTBR. We give you the know-how on how to use the equipment, because it's all fancy and stuff. And I've been here almost three years, I still don't know how to use everything, because I'm not on that side of the realm. But yeah, it's a great opportunity if you're interested in producing a TV show, or just being a part volunteering for us. We have the Fourth of July parade coming up, that's basically volunteer run. Obviously, we handle, we do the heavy lifting on it, but a lot of volunteers from the community are the ones that are holding the cameras and doing a variety of different things. So, it's a great opportunity to learn how to help us out with that, and it's a good opportunity to learn how to do your own TV show so you can have your voice heard. And that's basically the entire point of Pittsfield Community Television.
What do you feel like is something that that PCTV does that maybe is under-reported or sort of under-celebrated? You guys do a lot of different things- You provide live access to public meetings, you cover sports events. Is there anything in the purview of the station and its various offshoots do you think is maybe under recognized?
Well, I think what we sort of just described- The training to produce your own TV show and radio show. It's really an opportunity for underserved communities. If people feel they're in a community that's underserved, they can come in and do a TV show and get their voices out there. On WTBR, in particular, we have two shows, NÓMADAS Radio and Mundo Latino, that serve the Spanish community, and that's- We’re the only outlet for something like that on radio here in the Berkshires. And it's an opportunity for other folks from other underserved communities to potentially be a part of radio or television. We teach you how to do everything, we teach your crew how to do everything, and it's an opportunity for underserved voices to be a part of the discussion and have a TV and radio show and reach the masses.
Bob, lastly, to pivot back to pizza for a moment, if there was a Bob Heck branded pizza out there, what would that look like? Paint us a picture.
That's a tough one. Throw some chicken on there some bacon. I sort of have an internal battle with the pineapple, because I don't think it should go on pizza but my 14-year-old daughter loves pineapple on pizza. So, it's kind of an internal battle with the pineapple. But I wouldn't put pineapple on my pizza.
