Philip Nelson

Flood Uproots City Government: TriCaster Keeps Channel on the Air

Flood Uproots City Government: TriCaster Keeps Channel on the Air
TriCaster enables Des Moines, Iowa city government to communicate with residents during flood emergency

San Antonio, TX — June 26, 2008 — NewTek Inc., manufacturer of industry-leading video and 3D animation products, today announced that its TriCaster™ portable live production studio is currently being used by Channel DMTV7, the city government station of Des Moines, Iowa, to produce and air daily press conferences and updates on the flood emergency after being forced to evacuate the City Hall production studios. Currently producing from the Des Moines Central Library, TriCaster is powering three press conferences and two thirty to sixty minute shows daily that keep residents abreast of flood-related developments.

Press conferences included addresses from Governor Chet Culver, Mayor Frank Cownie, Polk County Supervisors, as well as updates from the Emergency Operations Center, comprised of officials from fire, police, civil engineers, public works, Red Cross, etc. The production staff has moved operations twice since they left the City Hall studios on Wednesday, June 11. Currently broadcasting from the Des Moines Central Library, TriCaster is powering the channel’s entire daily production schedule, live news updates and council meetings.

“TriCaster has been an asset to those trying to safeguard life and property under unpleasant and unsure circumstances,” said Amelia Hamilton-Morris, Chief Communications Officer, City of Des Moines. “In fact, we’ve heard that people watching our TriCaster-powered channel have had no idea we are not in our normal studio. We’re looking to include TriCaster in our new studio update when we settle back in to City Hall.”

“In times of crisis, there is much information that needs to go out to the public and traditional broadcast outlets just can’t give the necessary amount of airtime. Technology like TriCaster allows city governments and first responders to broadcast emergency information 24/7,” said Philip Nelson, SVP Strategic Development, NewTek. “Adding in the flexibility to broadcast on television/cable, web stream and digital signage, more people can be reached when it really counts.”

Pricing and Availability
The TriCaster™ family of products in NTSC is available in North America starting at $4,995US. The TriCaster™ family of products is available in multi-standard internationally beginning at $6,995US. For more information, please visit NewTek or call NewTek Sales at  1-800-368-5441  , international callers dial  +1-210-370-8000  .

About NewTek
With headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, NewTek is an Emmy® Award-winning and leading provider of full-featured, live production, video editing, presentation, animation and special effects tools including TriCaster™, TriCaster PRO™, TriCaster STUDIO™, TriCaster BROADCAST™, VT[5]™, SpeedEDIT™, 3D Arsenal™, LightWave 3D® and LightWave Rendition™ for Adobe® Photoshop®.