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Have questions about how to navigate life in New Bedford? Ask us here and our reporters will look into it for you.
New Bedford resident Isaiah Spencer launched his sports podcast, Bearly Friends, from the attic of his co-host’s parents’ house three years ago. Sitting side-by-side with Eric Santos, his longtime friend, the two recorded the first season of their show with only one microphone.
“Being able to voice something that I enjoy has been really cool,” said Spencer. Some clips from the show now have more than 1,000 views on YouTube, and the friends have made almost 90 episodes across three seasons. “Being able to see feedback from the community and be able to see some impact has been really cool.”
Now, Bearly Friends airs on New Bedford’s public cable access channel, too. Spencer was able to grow the show, in part, because of free training he received in New Bedford.
Spencer is one of over 190 certified content creators who have received free, one-on-one training from New Bedford Cable Network in the past few years. The city’s public utility has opened its doors to provide community training in podcasting, producing, and sound equipment.
Spencer describes Bearly Friends — which streams on YouTube and Spotify, in addition to airing on Channel 95 — as a sports podcast mainly focusing on news and conversation about the Celtics. He and Santos also discuss entertainment and other sports topics.
Spencer and Santos began using New Bedford Cable Network’s studios in 2024. Spencer was able to incorporate video into the podcast by filming at the station, which also allowed him to circulate video clips on social media. “We enjoyed the transition,” Spencer said. “I think it helped our podcast, and [helped us to] show more of ourselves, when doing it in the studio.”
How New Bedford residents can become community producers
New Bedford’s Public Access Channel provides free training to city residents who are 18 years or older, or who have an adult sponsor. Training is open to youth-serving groups or those who represent an organization with a New Bedford presence.
The labs include studio production, video editing using the Adobe suite, podcasting, and using portable field cameras and equipment. The equipment is available to borrow after the training.
Workshops are offered periodically, and each one may cover different topics. Recent workshops requested by members of the public have included filming on your phone.
Charlene Rocha-Arruda, the public access director who oversees the workshops, said, “Once you become certified… That means you’ve been through the training, but it doesn’t mean that the learning has to stop.”
Everything created by community producers appears on Channel 95, the public access channel. “It’s pretty much just to help people make videos, learn about making videos, make actual videos, and then help them share the content on our channel,” Rocha-Arruda said.
Channel 95 is one of the three access channels in New Bedford, all filmed by the New Bedford Cable Network. Rocha-Arruda said that the other two channels don’t provide the training, “but they go out and cover many other things within the city.”
The other two channels are the government and education channels.
Anyone interested in training can contact the New Bedford Cable Network by calling (508) 979-1775 or emailing charlene.rocha-arruda@newbedford-ma.gov. The building is located on 918 S. Rodney French Blvd.
After calling, trainees can set up a time for orientation and pre-production planning. People can decide what they’re interested in learning and make plans for their show. Then, they’ll set up another time for the hands-on training.
“We’re not going to say, ‘take this training, take that training,’” Rocha-Arruda said. “ We say, ‘what are you interested in?’”
Rocha-Arruda encourages trainees to keep coming back. She said, “Keep doing videos with us and for the channel. We’ll teach you anything we know. And I’m big on saying anything we know, we’re happy to teach you.”
What Spencer learned through public access training
Though every creator learns something different in the training depending on their background and ambitions, Spencer’s experience with Bearly Friends shows what the experience can be like.
Over a few days, Spencer received guidance that helped him decide what he wanted his podcast to be. He used a preproduction planner to decide what cameras and other equipment he wanted to use, what studio he wanted to film in, and the overall style of his podcast.
After pre-production, he learned how to produce the show, including the video components. He reviewed camera angles and learned how to work the physical cameras. He was taught to use a soundboard, which can play audio clips while the cameras are recording.
Once he finished the training, he was able to upload the episodes created in the studio to the podcast’s YouTube page.
“Me and my friend just really enjoyed it and thought the first season at home with a mic and very beginner equipment was really cool,” Spencer said. “Wanting to expand and having the opportunity to do it at cable access was really sweet.”
Liv Hunt is a summer intern with the New Bedford Light, as part of the South Coast Internship designed for local students. Email Liv at lhunt@newbedfordlight.org.
