A Day in the Life: Hugo Olguin, Totoket TV Station Manager

Hugo Olguin certainly got his start in the TV industry at an early age, helping his friend co-host a North Haven public access TV show when he was 11. After that, he was hooked and hasn’t left television since.

Olguin created his own show, based on NASCAR, and grew up to take over as director of shows for public access there. Almost exactly two years ago, he brought his talents to North Branford when he took over as station manager of Totoket TV.

North Branford Patch: What do you enjoy about working at Totoket TV?

Olguin: I was blown away at how welcoming the community has been from the general public to Town Council to state representatives to the and the . It has that very local place feeling and has made my job a lot easier. I am very fortunate to be the station manager in a town that is such a great community. I love being able to meet and talk to people in the community and be a part of the different events in town.

North Branford Patch: What have you achieved so far?

Olguin: We’ve made a lot of progress in my two years, but we’re still trying to be more active in the community by working with organizations with the Rotary and the Chamber. We’ve also started recording for the and the . 

North Branford Patch: What are your goals moving forward?

Olguin: Our main goal is getting more shows done in our studio and making more people in the town aware of what we do. We’ve upgraded just about all equipment we have and now I’d like to expand on type of productions we do. I’d also love to try live coverage. There are also some very talented students at the and we’re working to integrate them into our studio, too.

North Branford Patch: How does Totoket TV work?

Olguin: We get our funding through Comcast and AT&T as part of their agreement with state. They’re regulated to offer cable services to local stations so there’s zero town funding. On Comcast, Channel 18 is public access, 19 is for schools and 20 is for government. We should also be connected with UVerse in the next couple months. The schedule of programming is on our website.

North Branford Patch: What are the most popular programs?

Olguin: The Town Council meetings, especially around budget time. There’s also ‘Let’s Be Frank’ with Frank Mentone who brings in guests from town including Mayor Anthony Candelora, , Superintendent Scott Schoonamker and many others.

North Branford Patch: Who can create a show on Totoket TV?

Olguin: Anyone. We’re always looking for new shows and would love to have as many shows as possible. It doesn’t cost anyone any money to do the show. You don’t need experience–just an idea. Anyone can come down and I’ll work with them to develop their show, do graphics and make it happen. If someone has a passion about something and you want to do it in front of the cameras, we’d love to work with anyone in town.

North Branford Patch: What does a day in the life of a station manager entail?

Olguin: It’s never the same thing twice. There are a variety of meetings, getting new shows, setting schedules, doing programming and actually doing shows in the studio. I am there recording the (which are uploaded to YouTube) using the robotic cameras in control room. Anything can and will happen on any day.

Totoket TV is located at 999 Foxon Road in the Twin Lake Commons. For information, contact Hugo at 203-484-7084 or info@totokettv.org.