WCCA TV
“The People's Channel”

Mission
To ensure people have access to the use of a public forum through various channels of communication including technology and media with education and training resources.

Benefits to the Community:
Citizen Produced programming: Behind every show and every electronic message there is a Worcester person, group or organization behind it.

Increased Communications within the city: WCCA is a voice for all a beacon to Worcester's diversity, fresh ideas, news and information, a home to all types of different languages and ethnic backgrounds. Inspires discussion and encourages community dialog.

Citizen Empowerment through Electronic media: Opened to all on a non-discriminatory basis, WCCA is participatory and democratic media. WCCA provides access to channels tools, education and resources to media which in turn, allows people to make a difference, impact their community through shared ideas, opinions, and action. People become franchised owners through such participatory use.

Shared diversity of Ideas, culture and information: WCCA is unmatched in the number of programs that aere Worceseter centric. WCCA presents locally produced News, in nearly every language, the vast spectrum of ideas, backgrounds ethnicity, technology , institutional offerings, individual opinions, together, contributes substantially to the creative and smart city model.

Promotion of sense of city pride: Watch WCCA programming or read letters we receive from around the world, WCCA is window into Worcester. Community media producers are more than proud of their accomplishments, WCCA is a model public access center, more importantly, the public access process , as a free speech platform, nurtures community spirit and pride.

Community outreach venue: Nearly every non-profit in Worcester has taken advantage of WCCA, as an affordable media tool it is unmatched and extremely valuable.

WHAT MAKES WCCA TV IMPORTANT FOR YOU?
Community Building block giving voice to the invisible in our community
Classes and Workshops on TV or media, from KidsNet/Youth Channel, Young Views Real News, Internships, Weekly production courses, web classes.
WCCA's Interactive website and streaming media,
WCCA's Community Computer Lab
Internships and volunteer opportunities
Producing MY OWN Community Media, your own TV show
Being a guest on any of the hundreds of locally originated WCCA shows.
Local news and information, programming you can not find anywhere else. TV BY THE PEOPLE FOR THE PEOPLE AND OF THE PEOPLE.
Outreach the station provides fro non-profits, cultural events, social service agencies, artist.
Other:

Thanks for your support.
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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

CONGRATULATIONS to the city council and all citizens of Worcester.

The council chose to stand with the people tonight as they unanimously passed a resolution strongly opposing Verizon's petition to change state cable franchise rules.
The motion read:

That the Worcester City Council does hereby urge the Massachusetts Legislature, in the strongest possible manner, to oppose any effort to eliminate the municipal consent process for competitive providers of cable television service, until, at a minimum, a thorough evaluation is completed of the current system and the effect of any proposed changes on local government residents, competitors and incumbents is analyzed. (Lukes, Haller)

I believe Gary Rosen, Joe Petty, and Kate Toomey signed on as well as sponsors.

Way to go! Be sure to say thank you to the council members for doing the right thing.

Also, later in the meeting, Gary Rosen requested information from the City Manager's office seeking the status of the cable franchise renewal process. He stated that many are interested in knowing where the city is regarding the process and timeliness of the proceedings. It would be nice to know.

We are three months into the extension and there is no news relative to the status of the renewal. Let's hope this situation isn't dragged out too much longer. We believe there could be a lot at risk, for the city as well as our PEG channels.

From the Telegram, Allen Levine:

The ongoing contract negotiations with Charter Cable threaten to shut down WCCA TV-13. For 20 years I’ve captured arts events in Worcester with my video camera.

My shows, “Organic Vapor,” “Alternative Equinox” and “Static Fusion” are locked up in WCCA and will be lost if the station is shut down.

My main concern is, how do you save all that art and not have it trash-canned by politics, lack of money and the “I don’t care” attitude of Worcester?

Highlights from the Jan 31, 2007 Public Service & Transportation Committee meeting, Worcester, Mass.

Download the mp4 video (53MB) or see other formats. You can subscribe via Democracy and see all WCCA videos as they are posted.