MHTV Executive Director Joan Goloboy sits at the station’s news desk. She is retiring this fall. COURTESY PHOTO
A new season is coming to Marblehead’s popular public access station, MHTV. Longtime executive director Joan Goloboy, who lives in town, is retiring, and the station is looking for her successor.
Goloboy has led MHTV since 2011, during which time the station has won many prestigious awards, including Best Small Market Station in the Nation and Overall Excellence in the Northeast Region, both from the Alliance for Community Media.
MHTV covers local government meetings, sporting events and town events. It also produces feature stories about special programs and people in Marblehead.
Asked the secret to MHTV’s success, Goloboy answered, “It’s the people who make the TV shows that we do. We have very high standards. Also, it’s Marblehead… it’s a beautiful and interesting place with smart people.”
Goloboy’s relationship with MHTV dates back to the 1990s, when she moved to town after performing in Off Broadway musicals in New York City.
She remembers connecting with a friend who was learning to edit video.
“I thought, ‘That sounds like fun,’” she recalled. “Just about that time, Continental Cablevision built a studio in Marblehead and was teaching people to edit. I signed up, and they started asking me to cover meetings.”
Goloboy eventually left for senior leadership positions at cable television operators AT&T Broadband and Comcast and was the director of the Digital Media Center at Endicott College.
When MHTV became a community-owned nonprofit, she returned as its first executive director.
She has many great memories from over the years. The period that stands out the most is the pandemic.
“We really got a lot of people on board with us during the pandemic,” Goloboy said. “We did really well and were able to provide timely updates on what was going on, and it connected with both our longtime and newer viewers.”
She will always remember covering the USS Constitution’s 1997 visit to Marblehead and her feature stories on Bette Hunt, town historian emerita, and her walking tours.
“Bette’s just wonderful,” Goloboy said.
She is most proud of forging a strong relationship with the community, upgrading the studio (located at the Veterans School) and advancing technology from analog to digital.
Goloboy isn’t sure what she’ll do next. As for her beloved station?
“Everybody knows that cable is having trouble surviving,” she said. “It’s hard to tell what’s ahead. MHTV will just keep on providing what the town needs through news and programming.”
MHTV has only three other staff members, Programming Manager Jon Caswell, Production Manager James Maroney and Jess Burton, sportscaster and producer.
Goloboy hired Caswell straight out of college in 1989, and he’s been working at MHTV ever since.
“Joan has been pushing me to do my best for years,” Caswell said. “That can mean getting the right equipment when we need to, making sure we pay close attention to the details and telling stories in a way that makes it interesting to people.”
MHTV is always looking for volunteers, whether it’s people to help cover sporting events or residents interested in creating their own programming. MHTV welcomes residents to come in, learn how to use the equipment and then produce their own shows. For more information on that, contact info@marbleheadtv.org
You can watch MHTV on Comcast (Channel 8 or HD at Channel 1073) and Verizon (Channel 28 or HD at Channel 2128). Learn more at marbleheadtv.org.
