Telegram writes about the city's delayed descision about Public Access support

Selected from email and on line:
Pam wrote:
" I read the Telegram article yesterday. I have to get this off my chest. The station is a cutting edge facility, and has recently done pioneering work in web video. No other station local or otherwise matches the tremendous daily output of commercial free programs. WCCA TV sings of Worcester's diversity. Young and old, neighbors, average people, politicians, educators, municipal people, artist, musicians, and organizations ALL produce and present their story, their events, their news and information. True to it's mission, the city has forced the station to use and continue to use operational funds to work out equipment needs, while the capital exist in city coffers. Failing to fully fund the station makes the city look like it doesn't want the electronic soapbox that WCCA is. Equipment in a thriving public access environment such as WCCA will always be over used and stretch far beyond it's normal wear and tear life span. The annual funds the station receives wouldn't be enough to fund a single commercial episode of Judge Judy, Helen or the Today show. The city collects a capital funds intended the public access specifically for equipment capital. And now it seems they are holding it back rather than give that money as the Federal and state cable law restricts for it. According city reports I have read, the poor
signal controlled by Charter and city Inet are the only problems challenging the station. WCCA staff help
hundreds of local producers, the staff actually produces very little. Community volunteers handle most aspects of each production. Details,production value and quality is up to the volunteer community producer(s) and dependent on the amount of time each person wants to put into it and available equipment. The station does not discriminate and make value judgments.
When I volunteered there I've seen some 30 to 50 new shows each week.Their cutting edge accomplishments with use of the web should be recognized too. I used to volunteer there too until I moved. In my town we WISH we had a station half as good as WCCA TV. I hope the city does the right thing when it comes to this valuable community station."

T&G selected comments:
"I watch the cooking shows with Georgia and Maria. I find that they're as good as anything on food network. If it's true that Charter pays for the channel then how come the city has refused to fund them? If the Council and City Manager can blow over a million tax payer dollars on something as hair brained and foolish as a skating rink then they can take the money that Charter gave them for Channel 13 and pass it along. Or are they so greedy that they want to grab that loot too when no one is looking? And as far as the other two channels, government and school, there's no comparison to Channel 13. Does anybody even watch those channels? No cooking shows there!"

-Lena

"I've always watched public access tv wherever I lived and I can say that Channel 13 is among the best I've seen. Now, I just learned that my tax money doesnt pay for it, Charter does. So I don't get the problem? The Council or whoever should just give them their money - just make believe it's a raise - and then move on to other real business."

-Jan

"WCCA is something that belongs to everyone, all of the people. I've been thinking about that since I read it on another blog site. The statement that the city manager wants to negotiate, is indeed another way of saying he wants to compromise a valuable and empowering commuity resource, namely WCCA TV, the people's channel. He is a bit disengenuous with his statement regarding the cable advisory work. They already did the work in the last 3 or 4 years. Now he seeks to have them do it all over again, redefine standard definitions, collect irrelevent data,the whole run around, for what? He should be asking what more he can to help the station and all the good it does in this city. The cable company already paid funds intended for the PEG channels including WCCA, as soon as they sign the renewed franchise. This city is now withholding the money. In addition, the city has over a million bucks left over from channels 11 and 12 from the last 10 year cable contract. Now the Manager wants to 'compromise' our channel, the people's channel, the one station that the community spoke in favor of and deserves it. The manager should take good care of the people's channel and stop wasting everyone's time. It is the best thing that we get out of that cable license. Shame on the city administration and those Councilors who remain silent. When WCCA is gone, the people will have less of a voice and less to empower themslves with. There is still time for O'Brien to redeem himself. See to it WCCA is funded to enable it to continue to grow. I want to watch the station accomplish even more than it already has."

-Nisa

"Having done some volunteering at WCCA years ago, what has changed? I still give it a C for content and a D for production. How many years does it take to eliminate all the glitches? But we are better with it than without. What would replace it? All commercials all the time?

-PhilBo

"Its been 10 Years and 6 Million Dollars, what is to say continued funding won't just land them in the same spot 10 years from now. Why couldn't updates to equipment have been made out of the 600k they were given every year? I support all aspects of public access, including government and education, but I think Worcester should be able to get more value for their dollar."

-Questions go both ways

"It took two years, two months, and five days to build the Eiffel Tower - it's been twice that long and the funding for WCCA TV is still not in place: Stop the shell game; full funding now."

-Chan

"If the City Manager could see nothing unusual about funding a - get this - skating rink behind city hall, it's thoroughly absurd that he cannot see his way to fully fund a proven resource like WCCA TV which has been giving a voice to the people of Worcester for more than twenty years, a flagship public access television station that he and the mayor frequently use to entertain and inform Worcester viewers. The Mayor has her own show Coffe with Konnie which airs every weekend - It's time for the 'public servants' to serve the people who elect them. It's time that they shell game, stop trying to re-invent the wheel and fund the station; it's time, you all got your raises now earn them."

-Chan

"Nick Kotsopoulos writes well of WCCA's angst from dealing with the city of Worcester. This is another prime example of how this city operates: It raises the perception and possibly questions concerning possible deception, hypocrisy, and insidious behavior of the city's administration.

Why on earth would the city NOT want to support and encourage an incredible community resource such as WCCA TV 13?

I don't think Mauro would have it rough finding another non-profit position that pays more than $60,000 for like the fifty, sixty or more hours per week he puts in. Maybe without the ball and chain of WCCA he would run for Mayor or Governor. He'd be great at it. The pay and perks would be much better too.Maybe that would be scary to some to have a real advocate for the people in there."

-rr