WCCA TV 13: Worcester Community Cable Access, Inc.

The Open Media Globe
Submitted by erin on Mon, 08/03/2009 - 13:56
Contact Information
Individual Applicant Name: 
Mauro DePasquale
About the Center
1. Does your organization currently have a public computer center?: 
Yes
2. What is the goal of your public computer center? If it currently is not set up do you have organizational capacity for one?: 
The lab is open to public for free on a daily basis M-Sat
3. What percentage of content submitted to your station is posted online?: 
75
4. Will your organization's public computer center be available to all members of the general public or a specific population?: 
We interpret our mission to include an objective to ensure that everyone not only has access to any platform or mode of communication on the Internet, cable, what ever is yet to be invented, but we also provide the education necessary to achieved successful use of the tools and resources needed to generate and distribute community or user created content.  Inherent in our mission is also to advocate for community media rights in a pro active manor. We see our mission and purpose as vital to the free flow of information, free speech and a creative adn opened economy as well as to nurture democracy.
5. Do you charge membership dues or other fees to the population you are proposing to serve?: 
Yes
6. What is the disabilities status for members in your area? Check all that apply.: 
Answer to be determined.
Center Capacity
7. For the following questions regarding your center's capacity, are the values current or proposed?: 
Current
Public computer center name and type.: 
WCCA TV 13 Community Media Center
How many broadband-related equipment units (e.g. computers, wireless devices) have you/do you intend to purchase overall?: 
15
Center's Broadband Connection Speed (MBps): 
1
Number of Persons served per 120-hour business week?: 
75
Number of Persons served per 48-hour weekend?: 
15
Center Demographic Information
8. What is the estimated population size of your service area?: 
783806
9. What is your service area identifier?: 
Worcester County Massachusetts
10. What age distribution(s) will your center serve?: 
5 to 19 years
20 to 29 years
29 to 39 years
11. What ethnicity(s) will your center serve?: 
Hispanic
Non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic Black
Non-Hispanic Asian
12. What gender(s) will your center serve?: 
Male
Female
13. What is the median household income for the population your center will serve?: 
$50,000 - $74,999
14. What education levels will your center serve?: 
Middle - Grade 6 to Grade 8
Secondary - Grade 8 to Grade 12
College
15. What is the unemployment rate for your service area?: 
10
16. What describes the language preference of your service area?: 
English - Primary
17. Please describe your center's outreach strategy and how can you reach communities lacking broadband access. : 
The board ensures community interaction, advocates on matters of free speech, community participation and inclusiveness, governs policies and procedures and helps with fund raising.The board approach has been to prioritize and support our mission with self sustainability now at the forefront. The staff is the backbone to our operational infrastructure. The staff also advocates for community public access on all electronic venues, encourages community participation, builds and nurtures community partnerships, moves citizen initiatives forward through use of the channels of distribution, educates community members on all technological tools and resources.
18. If you provide a computer checkout or giveaway program, how many users do you expect to provide equipment or computers?: 
Answer to be determined.
19. How will you measure the program's impact in reaching disconnected communities and increase broadband adoption?: 
We have fourteen dedicated non-linear PC based edit suites, and a small computer lab that can also sustain edit and graphic projects.
20. Please describe your primary training and educational programs, including curricula, student certification programs, etc.: 
WCCATV offers editing and field production classes, as well as basic and intermediate computer literacy classes for members.
Other Information
21. Is there evidence that less than 40% of your service population has broadband web access?: 
No
22. How will your center provide a $10,000 match of funds?: 
We feel this will be a part of our everyday work flow and an essential aspect to our mission. At the moment we are not sure what the full scope of the project will entail. Whereas we feel this is important to the sustainability of our future operations, we are opened to considering as much as 30% of our capital and 25% of operational budget toward the goal of the project as needed pursuant to our mission and current contractual obligations, for the purposes of increasing bandwidth connections, adding servers, and webmaster.
23. Does your center currently have an online component or plans for an online component?: 
Yes
26. Are you interested in enabling your community to directly schedule any portion of your programming schedule?: 
Yes
27. Are you interested in sharing content with other public access TV stations?: 
Yes