WAKEFIELD — At their meeting Monday night, the Town Council approved the “WCAT Community Media Day Resolution.”
Community Media Day is celebrated annually on October 20 (which almost always falls in line with Free Speech Week) and recognizes that community media provides local producers, journalists, community members, media professionals, nonprofit organizations, schools, and government agencies with the resources to produce television programming and have their voice heard at little to no cost.
Wakefield Community Access Television has been able to do this through the support of the local government, franchise fees paid by cable companies (Verizon, RCN, and Comcast), and the hard work of the staff and community members who volunteer their time, effort, and expertise.
For more information about programming opportunities, volunteering, membership, podcasts, or sponsorships please call 781-224-0300 or email info@wcat.tv
The resolution reads as follows:
Town of Wakefield
WCAT Community Media Day Resolution
Whereas: the sharing of ideas and information helps to build common understanding and common values within a community; and
Whereas: access to information in today’s media environment is critical for the healthy functioning of our community; and
Whereas: community media organizations provide a means for diverse communities to tell their stories, hear each other’s stories, and create new stories together; and
Whereas: community media organizations provide information to the community that is not covered by mainstream commercial media; and
Whereas: community media organizations provide people with the skills necessary for the creation, sharing, and consumption of knowledge and ideas through media; and
Whereas: community media is an important resource for participating in local democratic policy and processes; and
Whereas: community media connects community organizations, schools, and local governments to their constituents; and
Whereas: in many communities, people are not aware of the diverse and valuable programming on public, education, and government access channels or community radio channels; and
Whereas: communities will benefit from increased general awareness of, viewing audiences for, and creators of media content created by and for the community.
Now, therefore, I, Mehreen N. Butt, Chair of the Wakefield Town Council, Town of Wakefield, Massachusetts, proclaim October 20, 2022 as Community Media Day within Wakefield, and all people are hereby called upon to promote the importance of community media, training available at Wakefield Community Access Television (WCAT), and programming available on WCAT.
Be it further resolved, that WCAT plays a vital role in the building of our community by encouraging conversations about our common interest, increasing discourse around policy issues, fostering understanding of local cultures, and sharing information to improve our lives.
Dated: this 7th day of October 2022.
(signed) Mehreen N. Butt, Chair
Wakefield Town Council
To view the full WCAT-Town Council-community-media-day-resolution-2022 click here.
