Over the past few years the Mayor and City Council have made a concerted effort to invest in the quality of services provided to the citizens of Fontana. One result of this pledge has been the establishment of a new age of technology and programming at the KFON, cable access channel 3 studio.

New cameras are improving the quality of the picture image and are easier to transport to off-site events.

In 2006/2007 the Community Services Department set out to improve the quality of outdoor filming by purchasing new field cameras to improve the quality of the picture and the ease of the transport of the devices for off-site events, such as at the Winter Festival, Cruise Night, or Fontana Days.

The new cameras were a huge success and in 2007/2008, KFON made another technological upgrade with the change from taped to digital playback formats. The improvement enhances the quality of the image from a taping that has been aired many times. The new digital format has replaced the old grainy taped image with a far clearer, detailed picture of community meetings, cooking shows, and more.

Additionally, KFON has introduced video streaming to the City of Fontana website at www.fontana.org. Citizens without access to cable television or who are not able to attend a meeting or press conference may do so from the comfort of their own homes.

Going digital saves time and equipment.

In 2007, a new KFON production coordinator was hired. The result has been a whole new lineup of shows featuring community news and events.

There is a lot of "behind-the-scenes" work that goes into the production of one television show. Producers have to discuss ideas, camera angles, audience enjoyment, stories, scenery, graphic imaging. This is followed up by script writing, stage setting, graphics developing, lighting, and camera crew both on and off-site.

All new bi-weekly production meetings are the best time for everyone to talk about ideas, needs, and follow-through planning. At KFON, some of the results from the brainstorming meetings have been the creation of the Healthy Fontana Cooking Show, Focus on Fontana, commercials, and the Community Connection, a local community news show based on this newsletter.

KFON is also helping local not-for-profit agencies and schools by recording and airing Fontana-related events. Any special occasion that enhance the well-being of the community at large receives consideration. Request forms and KFON viewer survey forms are available at the Community Services Department located at 9460 Sierra Avenue or by calling (909) 357-2346 or download them online at www.fontana.org/main/kfon.htm.

The KFON Creative and Technical internships help college students to receive credit.

KFON and the rest of the Community Services Department are preparing to move to a new facility by early summer. The location will be the former home of the Fontana Branch Library at 16860 Valencia Avenue.

The new studio which has been planned with production efficiency in mind will include everything the growing crew needs to operate.

An all new KFON Internship program has been added to assist with production from beginning to end. There are two positions for individuals 18 and older who are looking to get involved in all aspects of media production. Students may apply for a creative internship or a technical internship.

The creative internship participant is an associate producer for a variety of shows. The individual serves as a researcher, interviewer, voice-over artist and more.

The technical internship participant is considered a hands-on production crew member and assists with lighting, set construction, audio, camera, technical directing, grips, graphics, and more. College students receive college credit for the internship.

The City of Fontana offers residents a variety of resources from which to find information about local news and events. Thanks to a commitment from the Mayor and City Council information about local events, meeting outcomes, and community services are easily accessible to the public and of the highest quality possible on KFON, cable access channel 3.