Austintown Community Television

Austintown Community Television (ACT) was born in 1980 when Paul Pormen (Media Director of Austintown Local Schools) and Ken Zinz (Austintown Fitch High School History Teacher and Austintown Township Trustee) excercized the FCC Regulation which stated a Television Provider must provide room in their channel lineup for a community channel when they have a monopoly over that community. Paul Pormen became General Manager of what would be a joint project between the Austintown Township Trustees, Austintown Local Schools Board of Education and Armstrong Cable. Channel 8 was then born on Armstrong Cable to comply with the FCC Regulation. At this time Paul Pormen held the guts of Channel 8 in Media 3 of Austintown Fitch High School. The implementation of this channel was the first school/community television service in Mahoning County Ohio and one of the first school channels in the state of Ohio.

Programming during these early years was coordinated with the assistance of Kenneth Carano, speech teacher, and his TV Production classes along with members of the community that volunteered their time to produce local interest programming. Early programming included many Austintown Fitch High School athletic events. Friday night football games were recorded and then played back the following week. Other programming consisted of tape delayed broadcasts of Austintown Township Trustee meetings, local event and personality InterViews by both students and community volunteers along with school and community news programming.Two events each year had special meaning to the community: Live Prom night highlights and Austintown Fitch High School Graduation exercises.

Linda Sarver (Aide of the Media Center) became secretary and Post Production Manager of Channel 8. She served these positions until her retirement in 2004.

The then growing TV studio operation outgrew its place in Media 3 and in 1985 the school district moved Austintown Community Television to a newly constructed studio in the Industrial Technology Department Of Fitch High School where it is housed today. Come the early 1990’s Fitch High was the only school in Mahoning County to host a student television studio.

In 1990 Armstrong Cable moved Channel 8 to a new home on their channel lineup. Channel 19 became the new and current station number of Austintown Community Television. Paul Pormen retired in 1995.

Ken Carano (then Fitch High School English Teacher, Production Manager of ACTV, and Austintown Trustee) became General Manger and served as General Manager until December of 2000 when he furthered his political career by becoming a State Representative.

Ralph Grossen (English teacher at Fitch High) became the General Manger. Ralph Grossen served as General Manager until August of 2006.

Austintown Community Television was without a General Manager for three months until Carolyn Semivan (then Post Production Manager) was promoted to General Manager in November of 2006. Carolyn Semivan has been devoted to improving the services Austintown Community Television provides.

In 2006 Armstrong Cable made another addition to their channel lineup by dual broadcasting Austintown Community Television on Channel 19 and Channel 202.

In the summer of 2007 Austintown Community Television adopted a new logo. This logo was created by Ken and Dennis Hileman. See our logo below.

In November of 2008 Austintown Community Television reached a milestone when Dennis Hileman Produced a LIVE Election Results Show, which was the first ever live broadcast from the television studio. ACT Live Election Night 2008 involved many of the past and current students of the Television Production Class at Fitch High School in which Ralph Grossen instructs.

Austintown Community Television has been bringing television service to the Austintown Community for almost 30 years. We hope to continue this service for another 250,000 years.

Dennis Hileman Is The Best We All Love Him