The Portland Media Center continues to shapeshift as we roll into autumn. Along with the scent of apples, we’re growing our abilities and offerings to you.

Studio Workshops are now open throughout the fall. Come learn how to make a quick, thirty-minute television show. Even if you don’t watch TV, you’ll get the basics of producing a two-camera, edited and directed interview. Plus, you get to spend time in a real television studio—doesn’t that sound fun?

Podcasting Workshop now runs Monday nights. In this ninety-minute, hands-on (and voice-on) workshop, we walk you through the equipment and procedures, and you get to be both interviewer and interviewee.

Editing Classes are coming soon—you asked, we listened, and we are designing an editing classroom to teach you the basics. Learn the basics of Adobe Creative Suite and DaVinci Resolve in our quick-and-easy workshop, or go deeper with our in-depth version. All designed to get you started on your own productions. Just remember us when you win that Emmy.

There’s a lot going on at Portland Media Center. Please read below for more details of our community engagement. The CIVIC IQ intensive we produced with Portland Area High School students, funded in part by The Davis Family Foundation and Opportunity Alliance will have its season premiere here at the Media Center later this month.

And our newest endeavor with Mechanics’ Hall is just beginning. ‘Tiny Circulation Desk’ is a joint production with our neighbors across the street. Read below for more information on this exciting live monthly event.

We’ve also added some fancy new equipment for live event coverage with multiple cameras in a compact kit. If your nonprofit has an event you’d like covered, reach out. Let’s make something great together.

We are thrilled to be collaborating with Mechanics’ Hall our neighbor across the street. They have started a new event series called The Tiny Circulation Desk in their cozy and historic library space. Don’t miss these events! We’re honored to be the documentarians of this series using our new portable TV Studio set-up. Sharing here some photos from the evening of September 22nd which featured performances from Cellist Evan Pillsbury and the Julliard trained Magpie Duo on violin and analog synth. Check out their website for upcoming events, there will be one a month as part of this series.

Portland, Maine – October 2025 – The countdown to the 4th Annual Portland New Year’s Live Show begins! This year’s event will take place on New Year’s Eve 2025, marking the start of the new year 2026. Join us for a night of laughter, music, and celebration as we welcome the new year live across multiple platforms.

Organizers announced today that auditions are now open for performers interested in joining the broadcast. Comedians, musicians, storytellers, and variety acts are invited to apply, with limited slots available.

In addition, the production team is seeking a select group of live remote correspondents. These correspondents will report from locations around Portland on New Year’s Eve, bringing real-time energy and local color to the broadcast.

“This is more than just a show, it’s a celebration of Portland’s creativity and community spirit,” said Luigi Scarcelli, Executive Producer and host. “Each year we bring together some of Maine’s top talent, and this year we’re also opening the door for new voices to help us tell the story live.”

“From a production standpoint, we’ve designed this year’s broadcast to feel bigger, bolder, and more connected than ever before,” said Warren Edgar, Director and Executive Producer. “We’re not just capturing performances, we’re creating a live experience that puts Portland on the map as a city that knows how to celebrate.”

Where to Watch:
The 4th Annual Portland New Year’s Live Show will stream on:

• PMC Channel 5 & PMC Channel 2

• PMCWatch.com

• The PMC Watch App on iOS and Apple TV

• The PMC Channel on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Chromecast, and where ever you watch PMC.

The 4th Annual Portland New Year’s Live Show
📅 New Year’s Eve 2025
🌐 Visit luigiscarcelliofficial.com to audition today!

The new television show, The New Youth Times has hit the airwaves! The New Youth Times is a 30min show about civic engagement by teenagers from local high schools produced at The Portland Media Center. The project is supported by The Davis Family Foundation, MYAN (Maine Youth Action Network) at The Opportunity Alliance and the Young People’s Caucus at The Catherine Cutler Institute. It is a project that came out of our Civic IQ initiative and the Maine Youth Action Network and Young People’s Caucus’s G20 Gateway to Opportunity that took place over this past summer.

We are hosting an event on Thursday October 23rd from 6:00pm-8:00pm at Portland Media Center to share the first episode and have conversation about it. Join us! The event is free and open to the public and there will be refreshments and activities. RSVP! 516 Congress Street, Portland Maine.

One of our members, The World Affairs Council of Maine coordinated a visit from a delegation of Tamil-language journalists, community activists, and media influencers who were visiting Maine as part of the U.S. Department of State sponsored Media Innovation for Tamil Language Influencers Project.

They came over to Portland Media Center and we shared with them about our mission and the programming we want to develop. It was wonderful to learn more about their work and they had great questions and thoughts about the benefits of engaging with media and also how there could be potential collaborations.

In addition to our presentations there was also a thoughtful visit from The Maine Monitor. Deputy Editor Stephanie McFeeters shared about how they’re able to do long-form investigative work and how important that is in this era of click bait headlines and fewer publications.