Bill Crumlic started 2010 with a new name for his evolving video production company Crumlic Media and website www.crumlicmedia.com. Formerly known as Crumlic News Services and crumlicnews.com, the business and web presence had changed from a small freelance spot news video business, supporting television, internet and print news media to a complete video production company. With the success of his first feature length documentary film, “On Point: The Legacy of Jeff Korba“ in late 2009 and continuing growth of his work in commercial video production, the company was in need of a name that better reflected its direction and focus. Crumlic Media was the result of this endeavor.
Born in 1965, Bill Crumlic lives in a brand new high rise building in uptown Manhattan with his significant other of fourteen years and their four Irish Jack Russell Terriers. Bill first moved to New York City in 2006 and is fond of describing himself as "a formerly displaced New Yorker." He has always been drawn to the Big Apple and had visited hundreds of times in his pre-city living life.
Prior to moving to New York from Allentown, Pennsylvania, the primary focus of his business was television news. Crumlic News Services was formed in 2002 as a freelance spot and assignment news company to serve Philadelphia market television stations. Within the first year of operations the CNS client list included WPVI 6 (ABC), WCAU 10 (NBC), KYW 3 (CBS), Fox 29, WB 17, 69 News (WFMZ), and RCN Headline News-Local Edition. Within a the second year Service Electric Cable TV 2 News was on board and using Crumlic on a regular basis for spot news and assignments completing his ownership of freelance news in the Lehigh Valley.
Crumlic’s experience in firefighting and EMS coupled with his background as an emergency police dispatcher and more than five years on the WFMZ TV assignment desk made him the perfect freelance videojournalist. As WFMZ News Director Brad Rinehart said, ”He's knowledgeable about news, has good judgment, and is skilled at gathering information in the field. And while Bill always gets his story, I've never had a complaint from law enforcement that he's overstepped his bounds."
Shortly after launching Crumlic News Services, Bill was on the scene of a minor automobile accident in Allentown and was approached by Lt. Tom Carl of the city fire department. Carl was interested in having a department videographer installed to document the city’s larger incidents for use by the training academy. Crumlic was the perfect fit thanks to his experience first as a volunteer then as a professional firefighter/EMT in the late 1980’s. Soon after that meeting in 2003, Allentown Fire Department Chief Craig Long appointed Bill Crumlic to a uniformed non-paid role as department videographer and assigned him turnout gear. This allowed Crumlic to be inside the “caution tape area” and gather exceptional video images that could be used for his news business as well as provided to the training academy. This also led to the creation of special training videos for the department and several videos about the experience of the recruits in training.
In 2005 a family emergency required Bill to temporarily relocate to Hunterdon County New Jersey to assist in the care of a family member who had taken ill. This had a major impact on his news business. Although he was no longer able to respond to spot news incidents, he made the best of the situation and still accepted as many assignments as possible, traveling up to an hour to cover press conferences and other assigned news stories. He also responded to newsworthy incidents in his new area that might be of interest to WFMZ. Hunterdon County was a fringe area for WFMZ and only larger incidents were of interest. This proved less than fruitful and he eventually took a job working with IrishJacks, a local dog breeder and importer to make ends meet. Eventually, the family member was well enough to again be independent and in November of 2005 Crumlic returned to Allentown where he stepped back into his role as the Lehigh Valley’s premier freelance video journalist.
His client list again included every area TV news station and even branched into new directions as the Morning Call newspaper purchased video from major incidents to use on their website. Crumlic started gathering still photos on incidents and found additional revenue selling them to newspapers on a freelance basis. Crumlic also started accepting more work in video production and returned to working the WFMZ assignment desk as a freelance fill-in for vacations and call outs.
Another former job experience became an income a new generator as WFMZ started its own traffic reporting service serving area radio stations with Crumlic as the primary fill-in. Bill’s first role in broadcasting was a s a part-time traffic reporter for WNNK “Wink 104” FM in Harrisburg which led to a full-time position as traffic reporter and General Manager for the Allentown office of Traffax Traffic Network in 1989.
During the spring of 2006 one of Bill’s close friends from his time in Hunterdon County (Jeff Korba) was offered the role of drummer in a hot NYC club band called Monument. Jeff knew the value of video and wanted to work with Bill and arranged for Crumlic to become the videographer for the band. This brought Crumlic his first professional experience in New York City. Shooting band video in nightclubs quickly inspired Bill to consider more than news and opened doors to more video production possibilities and creativity.
2006 was the most profitable year to that point for Crumlic News Services and resulted in the purchase and upgrade of Crumlic’s video gear including new (professional grade) on camera lighting and an all new non-linear editing system and separate video deck for ingesting the video to computer.
In October of 2006 Bill was once again needed in Hunterdon County as another family member required open heart surgery. He retained his residence in downtown Allentown but spent most of the month in Hunterdon County taking care of the family dogs and visiting the family member at the hospital in Philadelphia. The family member passed away at the hospital a few weeks after the surgery leaving Crumlic and his partner seeking a major life change. Together they decided to relocate to New York City and re-start the business in the major market.
Oddly, 2007 had Bill returning to Allentown on a weekly basis to service clients WFMZ, Service Electric Cable TV 2 and a few others. The television news aspect of Crumlic News Services never really took off in Manhattan with only a handful of spot NYC news story sales for the year. WNBC 4, WABC 7 and WCBS 2 all purchased video from CNS but Crumlic was constantly being called back to Allentown for assignments and shift work as a WFMZ staff video journalist, assignment editor and traffic reporter. Although this was paying the bills, it hindered Bill’s attempts to become known and reliable as a New York City freelance news videographer. When it became apparent the spot news business was not going to provide a solid income, Bill went “green” and eliminated the car taking full advantage of the city’s extensive mass transit system.
In 2007 Bill also signed a new long term client for video production with whom he had a history. IrishJacks of Hunterdon County, NJ needed videos of puppies added to their website on an ongoing basis and having worked with the breeder in 2005 Bill was the first call owner Susan Sarao made.
Eventually, more offers for video production were being made making the NYC branch of spot news less workable and desirable. In 2007 while covering a news assignment for long time news client Service Electric Cable TV, Bill met David Stravitz of the eDavid Gallery. Like Bill, David lived in Manhattan but his Gallery was located in the quaint historic town of Bethlehem in the Lehigh Valley. Crumlic and Stravitz became quick friends and started developing what would become a Crumlic Media specialty: Art Gallery Event Video.
Around this time Bill received a press release at CNS about an event at another Bethlehem arts venue called the Banana Factory. Former United Nations Chief Photographer John Isaac was to have an exhibit at the venue and Crumlic discovered Isaac lived in nearby Bronxville, NY. Crumlic reached out to John Isaac and arranged to meet him in his hometown for a pre-interview to be used to promote the exhibit. He also attended the opening reception and then created a news story for the CNS website along with selling the raw video to Service Electric Cable TV and WFMZ TV for their own news stories. Bill and John quickly discovered they were kindred spirits with similar views about news and journalism ethics. The two have discussed the possibility of working together on a documentary film about the people and situation in Kashmir. Although there is no formal plan, this project remains as a possible collaboration for the future.
On Thanksgiving weekend in 2007 Crumlic was dealt a personal blow when he learned of the accidental death of his close friend and business associate Jeff Korba. Jeff had introduced Bill to shooting band video in New York City and the two stayed in close contact when Korba left the band to attend college at Montana State University in the fall of 2006. The two had a business arrangement and in 2007 Crumlic shot what would be the final performance of Jeff’s New Jersey band “Fresh Dub” in Pattenburg, NJ during a college break. Jeff traded the license for ongoing use of Fresh Dub’s fantastic music in Bill’s projects in exchange for professional video services for the band. This agility agreement served both well and if not for the accident would still be active today.
The death of Jeff Korba so affected Bill that he assembled a few short memorial videos which lead to the start of a documentary short for Korba’s friends and family. Within the first three months of production it became apparent that there was more than enough source material, interviews and interest for a feature length project. Crumlic continued to gather materials and assemble the various acts that would later become the feature film “On Point: The Legacy of Jeff Korba.”
In 2008 Bill Crumlic was still splitting much of his time between New York and Allentown. Several opportunities presented themselves for work on a larger scale including a production shoot for the national PR firm Golin Harris of Los Angeles for their client Toyota and working with New Zealand TV 3 news reporter Katherine Tulich. Tulich, based in California, was assigned to cover the US presidential campaign visit of then Senator Hillary Clinton to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. While working together the team learned of a suprise visit from Senator Barrack Obama only a few blocks away. The finished story aired on the Campbell Live program and the story can still be seen today on NZ3’s website.
That same year Crumlic appeared in a small acting role in the film “Seemless“ shot in Pennsylvania and directed by Harold Jackson III. During this period Crumlic continued to refine his art gallery video program while only working with a handful of arts clients. Eventually, Crumlic covered the Verdi Square Festival of the Arts final concert for the 2008 season where he met George Litton and Ken Ritvo. Again, creative minds found common ground and the synergy led to Crumlic becoming involved in the Upper West Side concerts on a promotional level. He videotaped each concert in the 2009 season and is preparing for 2010’s concerts. All materials gathered so far are planned for use to promote the artists and goals of the festival.
In 2009 Crumlic was spending less time in the Lehigh Valley and more time involved in the shooting, writing and editing of the Korba documentary. The film’s rough cut was screened in June of 2009 with fantastic reviews from Jeff’s friends and family. By late November the final cut of the film was released on DVD with an agreement made for the film to air on RCN Cable televison in major east coast cities in 2010. The film was submitted to film festivals and Bill is currently waiting for the first round of selection notifications which will start to happen in March of 2010.
From Bill Crumlic’s early years as a professional Firefighter/EMT with the Wormleysburg Fire Department and his introduction to broadcasting as a radio show host and traffic reporter, his experience has all added to the skills needed to operate a video production business. He is still the official videographer for Allentown Fire Department even though he has not lived in that city for three years. His ties to that community and willingness to return and provide his talents to the fire department are important to him. He has developed a reputation for impeccable ethics and work values that follow him to each new project.
Bill’s first experience as a television show director (The Movie Show, RCN Cable 2003) remains a solid example of his hard work and ability to learn and expand his skills. As Bill Crumlic leads Crumlic Media into 2010 he is negotiating new clients and has officially launched the refined Art Gallery Event Video program and already welcomed the famous Agora Gallery in Chelsea to his New York City client list.
In late January of 2010 an agreement was reached to bring Bill Crumlic’s talents as Director and co-producer in television production to the Sherrina Navari franchise known as “New York Mother.“ Navari operates a website that provides working mothers with valuable insight and information on how to make the most of life while being a great parent. She produces and hosts a half hour webisode for the site that includes interviews and segments to help Mom’s have the best life possible while tackling tough subjects and issues. While Crumlic and Navari work to refine the half hour show and shop it to networks they are also producing another pilot show for a large network based in New York City.
Bill Crumlic has had vast other experience in radio as the host of various music based programs including morning drive host of “The Pocono‘s Rock Station 107.9, WPMR“ where he also served as interim General Manager in 1994. While with the Traffax Traffic Network in Allentown he was a corporate member of the “SIRT” Special Incident Response Team covering hurricane Floyd and several floods. He was also team leader of the new facilities operations set up team and opened the Lewes, DE and Wilkes-Barre; PA facilities.
Early in his career he was a DJ for other radio stations including WGPA Sunny 1100 AM Bethlehem, PA; Kiss 95 FM Harrisburg; 98 WYCR FM Hanover, PA and WCTX-FM, Palmyra, PA.
One more important job experience helped to shape Bill’s ethics and moral compass. In 1990 the Traffax Traffic Network was sold and Bill had immediate issues with the way the new owner was handling the business. Like Bill, Traffax founder Brian Freeman had a background in emergency services and treated the company with the same ethical imperatives. The new owner was a car salesman and when the respected network started to have a decline in quality Crumlic approached the new owner with his concerns and his employment was promptly terminated.
Through some volunteer work Crumlic had become involved in after moving to Allentown, his network of peer volunteers suggested he apply for work with Valley Wide Help which was a multi-purpose human services project of the American Red Cross-Lehigh Valley Chapter. Crumlic became an Information Specialist and worked with the program for one year, until the new owner of Traffax defaulted on his agreement with Freeman. Freeman soon re-gained control of Traffax and asked Bill to come back to the helm of the Allentown office and help re-build the company in 1991.
Crumlic remained with Traffax for several years but took an 8 month break to host the morning show in WPMR-FM and fill the role as interim GM. After that break he returned again to Traffax where he remained until a challenging new position was offered at Traffax affiliate WFMZ TV. Crumlic was offered and accepted the position of the Chief Assignment Editor for Channel 69 News. This would be a defining role for Crumlic where he would remain for more than five years, leaving only to start his own business. Shortly after Crumlic's departure from Traffax, the company was sold to Metro Networks.
Today Bill Crumlic is focusing on his growing video and film making business. With the success of On Point, he is considering and developing other feature projects. 2010 is off to a strong start with two new major clients and others in negotiations. Bill will experience his first film festival season and is excited to gain the experience. At 44 years old he has found a wonderful balance in life and has recently re-connected with many people who were instumental in his professional and personal development.