Lycoming Careers that Work
Trailer for this year’s WVIA Lycoming County workforce series. Last season is the NETA nominee — this is the new one.
Director · Cinematographer · Editor
Tim Novotney
Documentary films and public-media stories from Northeastern Pennsylvania. Three-time Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award winner.
Featured
Upcoming
Trailer for the expanded feature — The Secrets Beneath Hazleton, September 2026.
The Secrets Beneath Hazleton
The expanded film. Unmapped tunnels, a rumored speakeasy, and the anthracite history still sitting under West Broad Street.
Selected work
Films & series
Documentaries and shorts. Wrote, shot, directed, and edited unless noted.
The Secret Beneath Hazleton
The Emmy-winning VIA Short Takes film. A forgotten city under the city — it went viral and helped spark a plan to reopen Hazleton’s oldest mine.
The Lost Town Beneath Pennsylvania’s Forest
Alvira. A farming town seized in WWII, bulldozed for TNT bunkers, then grown over by forest. Nominated for a NETA — a national public media award.
The Angel of the Anthracite
Sophia Coxe’s story — coal-region history from the anthracite fields.
Bald Eagles Are Returning to Pennsylvania Rivers
A conservation story on the Susquehanna and the birds coming back to it.
The Lattimer Massacre
They marched for fair pay. Then deputies opened fire. The 1897 killing of anthracite miners near Hazleton. Nominated for a Mid-Atlantic Emmy.
Why Local Elections Matter
Election Day in Hazleton. Voices from the city on why the local vote still counts.
Living Well in Recovery
A journey of healing and resilience — recovery told as a human story, not a PSA.
Great Teachers: Mrs. Cabe
WVIA Education’s 2024 Great Teachers Essay Contest winner — Roxanna Gonzalez on Mrs. Cabe.
Care Can’t Wait
The crisis facing Pennsylvania’s direct care workforce — Aging Together in PA. Nominated for a Mid-Atlantic Emmy.
Is Life After Death More Than Just a Mystery?
A WVIA piece on what people believe happens after we die — and why the question won’t leave us alone.
A Day in the Life of a Certified Nurse Aide
A Careers that Work portrait of the people doing the work most of us never see.
A Day in the Life of a School Nurse
What the job is actually like — not the poster version.
Microplastics and Community Action
Restoring Pennsylvania rivers — Keystone Edition Health.
She Beat Cancer
Keystone Edition Health. A young athlete’s return to the game after pediatric cancer.
Delaney’s Story
Mind Over Matter. A youth mental-health portrait from WVIA’s series on isolation, anxiety, and recovery.
About
Stories that stay in the ground until someone digs.
Tim Novotney is a filmmaker and multimedia producer at WVIA Public Media. He directs, shoots, and cuts documentary work out of Northeastern Pennsylvania — coal-region history, public health, youth mental health, and the ordinary people who carry extraordinary stories.
His short The Secret Beneath Hazleton became the most-watched film in WVIA’s Short Takes series, won a Mid-Atlantic Emmy, and helped push a real-world plan to reopen an 1838 mine as a public destination. He also makes independent films with collaborator Bob.
Penn State. Dual B.A. in Photographic / Film-Video Technology and Film / Cinema / Video Studies. Career across the whole production stack, from tape formats to 4K.
Recognition
Awards
Emmy, NETA, IndieFEST, and Telly. Selected honors.
2025
Director / Camera / Editor
Historical / Cultural — Short Film
VIA Short Takes: The Secret Beneath Hazleton
VIA Short Takes: The Secret Beneath Hazleton
Director / Camera / Editor
2025
Director / Camera / Editor
Health / Medical News
Keystone Edition Health: She Beat Cancer
Keystone Edition Health: She Beat Cancer
Director / Camera / Editor
2024
Writer / Camera / Director / Editor
Societal Concerns — Short Form
Delaney’s Story — Mind Over Matter
Delaney’s Story — Mind Over Matter
Writer / Camera / Director / Editor
2020
Writer / Camera / Director / Editor
IndieFEST Film Awards — Award of Merit, History / Biographical
Hanson’s Amusement Park
Hanson’s Amusement Park
Writer / Camera / Director / Editor
2020
Writer / Camera / Director / Editor
IndieFEST Film Awards — Award of Recognition, Tourism / Travel
Hanson’s Amusement Park
Hanson’s Amusement Park
Writer / Camera / Director / Editor
2020
Novo Digital Media
Telly Award — Silver Winner, General-History Documentary
Documentary of Hanson’s Park
Documentary of Hanson’s Park
Novo Digital Media
NETA
National Educational Telecommunications Association — Nominee
The Lost Town Beneath Pennsylvania’s Forest (Alvira)
Writer / Camera / Director / Editor
The Lost Town Beneath Pennsylvania’s Forest (Alvira)
NETA
National Educational Telecommunications Association — Nominee
Careers that Work
Writer / Camera / Director / Editor
Careers that Work
Emmy
Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award — Nominee
The Lattimer Massacre
Writer / Camera / Director / Editor
The Lattimer Massacre
Emmy
Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award — Nominee
Care Can’t Wait
Writer / Camera / Director / Editor
Care Can’t Wait
Contact
For screenings, commissions, and press.
If you want to license a film, book a talk, or start a new documentary, start here.