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After managing public meetings coverage for a nine-city consortium, Healy was called to affect tools that make government transparency modern, efficient, and financially sustainable.
After almost two decades in various PEG operations, Dana Healy joined Cablecast in January as vice president. Most recently, she had served as executive director of NineNorth, a nine-city community media consortium serving the St. Paul, MN, area.
NineNorth’s bread and butter is government meetings – they cover up to 15 live meetings a night – but they also produce coverage of parades, local sports, and more. It was at NineNorth where Healy used Cablecast. “I loved it and my team loved it,” she said. “Support was super responsive and the interface was easy to use."
Following a career built in government and nonprofit organizations, Cablecast was Healy’s first foray into the private sector. “It was really company-specific,” she explained. “I wanted to be part of Cablecast. I wanted to work for a company that feels strongly about serving the community I am passionate about.”
In her new role, Healy is addressing the needs of the PEG community by deeply understanding current and upcoming challenges. “I will continue to listen to our customers and understand exactly what they need – and respond to that,” she said. “Entities need to know how to be security compliant without sacrificing resident accessibility.”
So, what are some of the biggest challenges facing PEG stations today? “Cord cutting and the reduction of franchise fees,” Healy said without hesitation. “You need to be thinking about how the tools you choose affect your department’s efficiency while also staying on budget. In this new funding landscape, your organization should be moving toward a self-sustaining business model. You should be asking not only how your department can save money but how it can generate revenue. Do the tools you use support that goal?”
Another challenge – which Healy sees as a huge opportunity – is the expansion to OTT and mobile services. “That’s where the viewership is going,” she explained, “and PEG stations will continue to adapt to that shift while staying true to their missions. We have plenty of savvy community media leaders who understand the balancing act we're facing with cross-platform delivery as well as funding models. I want to make better tools for those kinds of leaders. This is not something we should be afraid of – it’s something we should lean into.”
That balance is admittedly difficult for smaller operations, but Healy said Cablecast can help make it easier. With its integrated automation tools, Cablecast can handle many repetitive, time-consuming tasks, so PEG personnel can “identify growth avenues to increase revenues and meet the needs of their community.”
Do you have questions for Healy? Contact her at dana.healy@cablecast.tv or connect with her on LinkedIn.
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