CMTV takes top honors at conference

Costa Mesa’s city television station was recently honored at a Santa Monica conference hosted by a national government communications group.

CMTV 3 won four Star Awards on June 18 from the Southern California and Nevada chapter of the National Assn. of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, according to a city news release.

The awards “recognize outstanding programs produced by public, educational and/or government access facilities serving California and Nevada communities,” according to the release.

CMTV took first place in the “promo” category for its lip-dub video of Dan Krikorian’s song “Costa Mesa My Sweet Home,” which premiered at the inaugural Mayor’s Celebration dinner in 2013.

The nearly 4-minute video featured 215 residents lip-syncing the words to Krikorian’s song at 47 locations around Costa Mesa.

The public-access station also won in the talk and magazine show categories.

CMTV’s third-place award was for overall excellence of government programming with less than a $400,000 operating budget.

“We are very pleased to be recognized for our work,” Dane Bora, the city’s video production coordinator, said in the release. “Every year the quality of programs receiving Star Awards continues to impress, so it is exciting that our work was recognized for these awards.”

CMTV has received 14 first-place Star Awards since 1997, as well as several second- and third-place awards, according to the release.