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.
Leave your answer as a comment.

I received this indirectly from Ellen Dunlap , President of the American Antiquarian Society, sent us an interesting article she found in CNNMoney.com

According to CNNMoney.com. Worcester ranks as 38th in the Top 100 best places to live and launch, according to CNN Money.

link

Congratulations to ALL those who helped make this possible. Everything Worcester has to offer, from the smallest and most invisible voice, our many institutions and organizations, our schools, our services, our diversity, to the highest level of leadership, is what makes Worcester as good as it is. We are all proud to be a part of it and to call it home.

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!

Every time I view channel 13 or visit this website I am amazed. My love and respect for the people of this is heightened with each viewing or read.

Jeff's (Wormtown Taxi)blog expressing his insight regarding the city's treatment of the cable franchise, reminds me of why this whole situation matters to everyone. There would be something deeply wrong with our city government, it's leadership, it's system of operation if Jeff is right. It would be wrong to toss aside the over 22 years of WCCA's accomplishment, and valuable service. It is wrong to think that advocating for WCCA is just about jobs. It would be wrong to impose further bureaucracy to drain funds mandated by law, that are not tax dollars, away from public access. To do something wrong against WCCA is to do something wrong to the people of Worcester.
Who are these PEOPLE on this channel?

Well, if you take a quick look at WCCA TV channel 13 or on WCCA TV's website, you will see this is a TV station about YOU about Worcester, from the ground up.

YOU ARE WCCA:
You're: the abolitionist(Love146), the youth media student (Young Views Real News, Teen Central), the music enthusiast(Video Jam, Youth Session), Indymedia, a blogger (the Taxi guy), the Cultural Coalition(WCC) , a church, a library, a historic Institution, a college, a museum, an independent journalist (Ramona Interviews), an activist collective, a graduate student, a neighborhood center, a medical society, a monk (Love Truth and Miracles), a politician (Coffee with Konnie), a concerned citizen (Flipside), a technology buff, a charitable organization, an immigrant, a homeless person, a veteran, a retiree, a mom, a friend, a tax payer, a cable subscriber, an author, a cook, an artist, and everyone else. YOU ARE ALL WCCA TV.

Concerns about the future of WCCA are concerns about YOUR voice

It is such an honor to see YOU on WCCA TV.

We appreciate your support and encouragement.

Mauro De Pasquale, Executive Director, WCCA TV,
“The People's Channel”

[Late update: Here's the contract (PDF).]

The city has announced it is about to sign a new agreement with Charter Communications.

I'm grateful that there has been some consideration to support the Public (WCCA TV 13), Education, and Government channels. Without having seen the actual agreement, there's not much I can comment about at this point. (The negotiation process has been almost entirely opaque to the public, and to those of us at this station.)

After reading this morning's T&G article by Nick Kotsopoulos, it's not clear if the city's PEG channels will be able to expand, or even maintain their current services.

At this moment we can only have faith the city will do or has done the best it can do to meet the expressed needs of the community as presented during the ascertainment process. It may be too early to tell but I hope not too late.

I welcome your comments and questions here on this web site.

Mauro DePasquale, Executive Director, WCCA TV 13, "The People's Channel"

Doug Grindle writes:

"When Does The Level of Violence Become Acceptable?

The night convoy supply run in Iraq isn't what it used to be.
Tonight we are doing the run between Camp Anaconda (40 miles north of Baghdad) and Camp Scania (almost 200 miles south of Baghdad).
The risks of doing this run are:
IEDs (improvised explosive devices - aka roadside bombs); EFPs (explosively formed penetrators - charges that blast molten metal through armor effortlessly); and small arms fire.
The drivers, huddled behind thick armored glass, peer into the night. All three crewmen in each humvee - the driver commander and gunner - focus intently on the 25 yards of road lit up by the glare of the headights, looking for bombs.
It is a testing time, for both the powers of concentration as well as basic human courage.
These people (men and women, for I am with B-Co, 297th combat support battalion, which includes women, including the woman driver in our truck, Spc Jiminez, known as "Jimmy") do this almost every night. They will continue to do this in coming months before rotating home to Alaska in the Spring.
Almost every night something happens on this road, called Tampa, which is the main supply route leading north from Kuwait, and along which flow masses of supplies - tires and bullets, ice cream and eggs - that an army uses to fight. A couple of weeks ago one of the trucks of this squad was blown up (no one was killed) doing a similar run. These soldiers drive all over Iraq, escorting supply trucks.
But despite the present danger, this run isn't what it used to be.
Its been two years since I first covered (another unit) driving this stretch of road. Simply put, this run sees a lot less action than before. There used to be more bombs, more small arms fire, more of everything, up until as recently as last June. These days the army's techniques are better, the insurgents are fewer in number. Attacks are down.
In recent months the army is running about one casualty a day. That's just under 40 a month, down from casualty counts of over 100 a month in mid-2007.
At some point Americans and Iraqis are going to have to contemplate the next step in the war (unless things reverse and get dramatically worse) - when does America call victory and go home? How many casualties per month does it take before a war becomes something less than a war? One American a week? Two a month? 70 Iraqis a week, both civilian and security forces?
For now this question doesn't affect daily life here. These soldiers driving the main supply route in the dead of night will keep on, until they head home in a few months.
For the soldiers, if you are part of a squad that takes a hit, even one casualty per year is almost certainly way too many."

Because someone asked:
Short answer: Educational purposes.
As folks are crying for cable competition, the telecom giants, like AT&T and Verizon, are lobbying hard to avoid accountability to municipalities and thus the people. Open and democratic media platforms such as this WCCA TV, public access station, and community media in general can shine a light on injustice.It appears that AT&T didn't want us to hear that the government may be reading their customer's emails.
This video has been on line, prior to being posted on ours. It has been posted on blogger web sites, as well as other digital venues, and perhaps even other public access web sites as well. Today PEG channels face many threats. If legislation passes at the whim of telecommunication corporate interest ($), WE, the people, will have less digital, less electronic "public space" to participate on. Our freedom of speech and our ability to independently share views and information and as well as, meet local community media needs will be compromised. This is why we need stronger legislative mandates to ensure public access/community media is protected FOR THE LONG TERM. That is the point.
WCCA

HERE IS WHY:
URGENT January 28, 2008

RE: Council Meeting Item: Reconsider against shortest term possible for the cable franchise renewal with Charter.

Please reconsider this request. There are many benefits to a local cable franchise authority including the asset of PEG channels that will be at risk in the balance.

Looming proposed legislation lobbied by major telecom companies threaten to eliminate municipal cable franchise authority. WCCA has presented extensive information on this subject on it's website
wccatv.com/save access

So fare with the help of a nation and state wide effort including support form various municipal groups and associations we were successful in holding such potentially damaging legislation at bay.

If the lobbyist are successful Cable Franchise licenses will be terminated either immediately or immediately upon the expiration of the current franchise. In such a case, is it worthwhile to let our frustrations and disappointment with a company such as Charter Communications, ruin the opportunity to sustain franchise assets currently benefiting our city and it's citizens?

We suggest a long term franchise written with strong language to enforce and ensure the needs of the city and it's community (including our PEG channels) and consumers are met on a timely basis.

SAVE ACCESS INFORMATION

Verizon Raises Rates Too
http://saveaccess.org/node/1877

What is in the balance:
http://www.wccatv.com/search/node/Save+Access

Mass Save Access news
http://saveaccess.org/taxonomy/term/26

Mass Access Highlights of the proposed bill sponsored by Verizon:

The bill transfers license approval from municipalities to the State, allowing the state 15 days for state level review and approval. (Section 4(D))

State review would be superficial at best with only 15 days to review a license application.
There is no provision in the bill for public hearings or public input.

The bill provides that if the cable license application is complete, it must be approved.
(Section 4(D))

The bill ties government's hands, as the State must approve the application if it is a complete application. Thus the bill provides NO mechanism for state or local negotiation of better terms regarding service area or provision of Institutional Network. Therefore a new company can pick and choose ("cherry pick") which neighborhoods it serves, and neither the state nor the municipality can negotiate better terms. There is no provision for negotiation of Institutional Networks or other community-specific benefits.

In a radical departure from decades of prior law, the bill does not provide for any state review of the qualifications of a new cable company. This would be very problematic with respect to new entrants that do not have proven qualifications. Unqualified, high risk, speculative companies could apply for and take over the last remaining pole and street space available for this important service.

Even the process of license transfer approval is eliminated so the cable licensee can transfer its system to any entity, without any public hearing or public input. (Section 4(G))

The bill provides that cable operators would pay the municipality a franchise fee not to exceed a total of 5% of "gross revenues" as defined by the bill, and as established by the municipality. (Section 7(B)). However, the bill is harsh on existing public access facilities, as follows. Although the new company would initially have to match the incumbent company's support for public, educational and governmental (PEG) access, the bill specifically provides that when the incumbent cable operator's franchise expires, then such PEG Access support shall not exceed 1% of the franchise holder's gross revenues. (See Section 8(C)). This could result in loss of funding to PEG Access facilities depending on how other franchise fees are allocated. In any event, because there is no requirement that Verizon negotiate or match other Comcast obligations, e.g., service area or INet obligations, Comcast would seek reductions of PEG obligations so that it would operate in "level playing field" conditions, as discussed below.

Existing Comcast licenses all provide that if Verizon (or any cable competitor) does not match what Comcast is providing, Comcast may seek relief and reduce what it is currently providing, going down to the competitor's level of local support. As the new bill would result in Verizon providing less than Comcast (in terms of service area construction and Institutional Network), the new bill (if adopted) could result in Comcast being able to seek relief to reduce its existing obligations to go down to the new lower level. The areas where Comcast would seek relief are PEG Access and/or INet support, because those are the main areas where Comcast can reduce monetary payments to redress level playing field inequalities.

Access Channels: The new bill requires only 2 access channels for new entrants in communities with populations under 50,000. Many communities with population under 50,000 now have 3 access channels, so the bill could result in a loss of access channels. Larger communities would have 3 access channels. (Section 8(B)). Another problem for municipalities: Under Section 8(B) the cable operator could reclaim community channels used for non-repeat programming less than 8 hours per day.

Interconnection of Incumbent and New Company Access Channels: The bill appears ambiguous about access channel interconnect, as it provides for reasonable efforts to negotiate interconnection, creating the risk of dispute concerning what constitutes reasonable effort. Section 8(H). Another problem for municipalities: the bill provides that the municipality shall be responsible for the operation and content of access channels. (Section 8(d)). The bill also makes the municipality responsible for access channel interconnections by providing, "The must municipality must ensure that all transmissions, content or programming to be transmitted over PEG access channel or facility…are provided in a manner or form that is capable of being accepted and transmitted by the franchise holder." (Section 8(E)). The foregoing shift responsibilities to the municipality that the municipality can now shift to third parties through a local franchise.

Term of License: Existing law (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 166A) provides for license of up to 10 years for renewals and up to 15 years for initial licenses. Expiration of license term has been of enormous benefit to towns and cities because at expiration, the parties have renewal negotiations to update terms and conditions. This is the practice in the overwhelming majority of states. Under the proposed new law, once a state license is approved, there is no expiration of license terms, eliminating critical renewal negotiation opportunities.

Emergency Alert System: Cable operator only to comply with FCC emergency communications standards, and FCC does not require local override capability. (Section 8(G))

Indemnification of municipality would only be for negligent acts or omissions of cable operator. Current law requires indemnification for injury caused by acts or omissions of cable operator based on causation, without requiring showing of negligence. (Section 5(E))

New bill says that in any community with 2 or more cable companies, locally mandated customer service standards would no longer apply. (Section 9(C))
Loss of renewal process (if the bill goes through). Existing cable operators like Comcast would have the option of seeking state authorization pursuant to the new legislation upon expiration of an existing franchise. (Section 2(B)) So Comcast could simply opt out of renewal if it did not like the local renewal process.

Comment: Massachusetts municipal officials made a strong and unprecedented outcry against adopting 90 day licensing (at the state DTE hearing), however, the new bill seeks to usher in a new regime of 15 day state licensing.

SAVE ACCESS INFORMATION
http://www.wccatv.com/taxonomy/term/65

Verizon Raises Rates Too
http://saveaccess.org/node/1877

What is in the balance:
http://www.wccatv.com/search/node/Save+Access

www.saveaccess.org

Mass Save Access news
http://saveaccess.org/taxonomy/term/26

In the balance
LET'S NOT REDUCED LOCAL TV COVERAGE TO 17 seconds per day:
http://saveaccess.org/node/2100