public access

Last night WCCA TV's Studio A was packed with members, supporters,and a least one City Councilor, Gary Rosen, to discuss their need for the future of WCCA's funding and to share their frustrations with the way city seems to be apparently handling the matter. The general membership and opened meeting was cable and web cast live on Channel 13 and wccatv.com.

A community of concerned citizens shared and expressed their questions, concerns, and shared their opinions wanting to know why this process is taking so long, after the city had already spent nearly four years in a public process that included substantial and detailed review of community media needs including that of WCCA TV. Many were also questioned and condemned of the Research Bureau apparent continued attacks on WCCA and other fine community resources such as the Senior Center (WCCA members who produce Senior Speak).
Following my update on the status of WCCA which included a communication relative to the city manager needing more time to re-review the four year community assessment process, which has also appeared in todays Telegram, Community members shared dynamic and passionate views asking the City Manager, through City Councilor Rosen, to step up the pace so WCCA TV operations, which is in dire need of new equipment and building upgrades, can properly move forward with it's charitable mission to provide for public access community media needs and to build community through electronic media while making community empowering communication resources available ona non-discriminatory basis.

I want to thank ALL who time to attend the meeting last night. Your comments were stunning, eloquent, articulate, and direct. People of all ages, a diversity of socio-economic backgrounds and ethnic heritage, came together in a unified spirit. The meeting demonstrated, without argument, that there is a strong community need, care and concern for the continuation of WCCA TV and for the city administration and city council to make assurances to ensure WCCA TV's capacity for increased growth to meet community media needs in all platforms of communication technology.

Those who attended last night's cable cast meeting, and also those who had written support letters, editorials, sent a strong message that you care and that WCCA is important to you. Your message has been well noted and will remain documented and archived on tape and on line for the record, the people's record. Keep it up. Will our efforts to call attention to saving public access be fruitful? That remains to be seen. Thanks for your continued patience.

WCCA will also be re-cable casting the meeting soon. Stay tuned for the new program schedule.

EVERYONE in this city knows WCCA TV is important and should be supported. Either this empowering community resource is nurtured or it is compromised. What does that mean to YOU ?
Thanks for your support.
Wormtowntaxi writes more on the subject.

Photo by Jeff Barnard

Thanks to all to have been writing letters, making phone calls and blogging concerning WCCA TV and the continuity of its future operations. Your help continues to make a difference.

This week the City Manager announced to the city council that he needs additional time for his Cable Advisory Committee and his Administration to conduct necessary due diligence, finalize funding allocation recommendations for the city's PEG channels which includes WCCA TV. Once that is completed, he said he will then be prepared to negotiate a new contract with WCCA TV.

In his communication to the city council, the Manager stated that his Cable Advisory Committee is in the process of researching best practices, determining the specific capital needs of each entity, recommending contract terms and length of contract, performance standards and strategies to ensure financial accountability. This analysis includes review of the contract with the public access television provider WCCA, Inc. which, he wrote, "will form the basis of the upcoming contract negotiations".

He stated that given the importance of the Cable Advisory committee's research and recommendation to the overall allocation process, and the reality that finalizing a new contract with WCCA prior to June 15th is unlikely, that he has decided to extend the contract with WCCA to provide continued funding through September 15, 2008.

Although WCCA appreciates the consideration and sensitivity given by the city to extend continuity of WCCA, the last extension did not address current capital needs or increased cost of meeting current community needs. Many WCCA supporters and community members are concerned with the possibility of the city expending excessive time and expense on this matter as it has already been throughly reviewed during the ascertainment process which began in late 2004.

WCCA agrees and respects a process for due consideration, and it has requested a full opportunity to brief and provide materials to the Cable Advisory Committee. However, whereas the City has conducted extensive ascertainment of need, that began in 2004 and ended in April of 2008, and has received numerous comprehensive assessment reports from a number of public and community sources, including both the Cable Advisory Committee and the Public Service Committee, WCCA and the stations staff and Board, will continue to respectfully request that the Cable Committee and City Manager give due weight to materials already submitted when considering the needs of WCCA and the formulation of a new contract with WCCA. During the recent franchise renewal ascertainment process, materials already submitted called for and demonstrated a need for increased support for WCCA. In addition, in light of this public record, the City Manager had conducted the renewal franchise process with sensitivity to WCCA's needs, and we are hopeful the newly constituted Cable Advisory Committee will act cognizant of this history.

With that said, WCCA is very grateful for the scores of encouraging letters, post cards, editorials, blogs, phone calls, of support. Your help and support in this way is working. Congratulations to YOU.
Our work is not finished with this respect. I look forward to seeing you Wednesday May 21 at WCCA Studio for our open meeting relative to our future.

Sincerely with thanks,
Mauro

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, PEOPLE OF WORCESTER.

Last night, March 19th, WCCA met with members of the city council's Public Service and Transportation Committee to discuss WCCA's operational and capital needs for the next five years.

Councilors Joe Petty, Gary Rosen and William Eddy were very receptive and expressed their support for WCCA. Gary Rosen passionately expressed that he hopes to be joined by all his colleagues on the council in a call for assurances to ensure WCCA will continue the valuable level of service and to meet future community media needs.

Congratulations to YOU, Worcester. Thanks to the people and organizations of Worcester for the tremendous outpouring of support and encouragement you have given to WCCA TV over the past years. You have have helped us with your letters, editorials, post cards, petitions, attendance at cable meetings, and your many phone calls to city leaders. Because of your efforts, the city was able to negotiate a decent contract with Charter. The city will soon be receiving the funding and capital needed to continue WCCA TV's public access mission.

Now WCCA's funding and its future lies in the hands of City Manager Michael O'Brien. It is up to him to allocate funding pursuant to YOUR needs as ascertained by the city. YOU have spoken at those public hearings and through YOUR letters, before the PS&T and Cable Advisory committees. Both Committees echoed your request for increased funding, equipment capital and additional channel for WCCA TV “The People's Channel”, YOUR VISION TELEVISION. The city has been sensitive to all of our voices and, so far, to the needs of public access.

Your continued support is more vital now than ever. Please continue those calls and letters to our councilors and the City Manager.

Stay alert for upcoming public hearings regarding the future of WCCA. Sign up for our WCCA mailing list. Together, we may be able to convince the Manager to see to it that WCCA sustains at least the current level of service and community productions. We must press on together. That is what makes this truly "the people's channel".

Sincerely on behalf of the Volunteers, Community Producers, Interns, KidsNet/Youth Channel Students, Community Board, and Staff, Thank you.
Mauro DePasquale

Only on WCCA TV 13, The People' Channel.

Watch all the preliminary excitement as the new Hanover Theater enjoys it's premier night. Relive the celebration with cameraman Frank Rocco with Gary Rosen and Dottie Hargrove,as they interview crowds on the red carpet.

Cable and web casting this
Thursday night at 9pm, (pre-empting Grecian Melodies), Monday, March 24 at 8:00pm (pre-empting Ted Lalos),
and also on Friday, March 28 at 2:30pm

WCCA's Mike Benedetti also has images posted on Flickr. as well. Congrats to all involved.

Tonight, as I write this, I am swinging to sounds of WPI's fantastic stage band under the direction so Rich Falco. This is the first shooting for WCCA's special music series: BAND EDGE.

Groovy cool big band sounds the way nature intended it.
Awesome, we can't wait to get this on cable and on line for you. Yeah Baby! Swing it man!