Familiar Face Picked to Lead EBTV

When Dave Ambrosy was a sophomore at East Brunswick High School, he split his free time between working maintenance at the library, playing music with his band and hanging out in the EBTV studio with some of his friends.

It was the start of something special. In 1982, Ambrosy started working part-time at the station and after years of hard work, he was named the new EBTV Supervisor in July. It’s a position filled with challenges, and he can’t wait to tackle them.

“It’s something different every day,” he said, while sitting surrounded by camera equipment at the EBTV studio. “Using the camera and editing is the same thing, but we’re meeting people all the time. For me, since I’ve been here so long, what I really like about local TV is that I grew up here in town and when I first started I was going out and taping, and if I was doing a sporting event, I was taping friends who were still in school playing. Now it’s gone full circle. When I go to an event, it’s their kids who are playing.”

Ambrosy learned his trade the same way a painter might master their own craft or an athlete his -- through observation and practice.

“I wasn’t in the AV club, but I was very much into photography in high school, and I was always into framing and composition, so I kind of had an eye for how to frame people in the shots,” he said. “But the main reason I learned most of this was because of a couple guys who worked here. I started hanging around just to watch them and eventually they needed another production assistant, so I started out volunteering some hours and then eventually got a full-time position.”

During his time with the station, and working with former EBTV Supervisor Cindy O’Connor, EBTV set the bar for excellence. This year alone it was the station with the most wins at the annual JAM Video Awards Festival.  EBTV entered 10 categories and 11 EBTV videos placed as finalists in the competition and 7 came in first place. The Jersey Access Group (JAG) selected an additional EBTV video (Helmetta Animal Shelter, produced by Sydney Contrino and Anthony Pagliuco) as a finalist in the “Best Access New Jersey Program.”  All finalists were recognized as “Outstanding Videos.”

Much has changed on the technical front during Ambrosy’s time with EBTV, and he promises to keep pushing the envelope in order to provide residents with the best product possible. In addition to a full website that allows users to stream EBTV programming live, or to select their favorite episodes via Video on Demand, Ambrosy said he hopes to make upgrades to cameras in the Municipal Court Room.  That would allow the department to complete the transition to High Definition format versions of programming that can be streamed online. That’s a far cry from when he started.

“Local television was pretty new and exciting back then,” said Ambrosy. “The channel at that point was being shared here in East Brunswick with the MSG Network, so it was kind of funny. We had control over when we were going to show stuff in East Brunswick, so a lot of times we’d have a council meeting or something and we’d say ‘good-bye MSG.’ ”

But no matter how much technology changes, there are always things that remain the same. Ambrosy said the station will continue to tell the rich, diverse stories of East Brunswick and the surrounding area, keep the community informed and provide users with an open forum to pitch story ideas. In addition, EBTV is always seeking volunteers to serve as hosts and volunteer reporters.

“I still feel the way I did in the beginning. I’ve been here 30 years and I still love meeting people in the community and listening to their stories. Whether we’re covering the opening of a store, or a kid who just won some award, I love it.”

Visit EBTV’s Website by clicking HERE. EBTV has a YouTube Channel that you can visit by clicking HERE. Follow them on Facebook HERE.