You can help WCAT and the town

Two bills, House-74 and Senate-34, have been filed on Beacon Hill by Senator Jason Lewis and Representative Joan Meschino both titled “An Act to Modernize Funding for Community Media Programming” – also known as the “streaming bills.” (visit www.malegislature.gov and search bills for H.74 and S.34 for the complete information and lists of cosponsors). Between the two bills there are 89 cosponsors, including Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian, – almost 45% of all legislators.

With Massachusetts cable subscriptions steadily declining, the essential revenue from cable franchise fees has also declined. Bills H-74 and S-34 would update the law to mirror unrelenting technological advances, allowing Wakefield to keep pace and deliver local information and entertainment to our residents.

The streaming bills would include companies like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video, and similar companies and would impose a franchise fee of 5% of the companies’ gross profits. The fees received would be distributed with 20% going to the State’s General Fund, 40% going to the municipality such as Wakefield (based on population) and 40% going to local cable access stations like WCAT, also based on population.

WCAT has covered nearly 1200 municipal meetings since 2020. Town Council Meetings are held in WCAT’s studios and require three staff members and some volunteers. This is also true for coverage of School Committee meetings. WCAT also films local high school sports (football, boys’ and girls’ basketball, and boys’ and girls’ volleyball). Additionally, WCAT routinely runs religious programming, and films other important events such as Town Meeting, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, the Pride Flag-raising ceremony, and Juneteenth events to name just a few. WCAT provides training for high school student interns that covers camera operation, control room operations (switching, sound board, Zoom support for hybrid meetings, and lighting), and the opportunity to provide commentary for high school sports programs.

Without these services Wakefield would need to absorb the cost of municipal production. Access to technology for residents would likely cease entirely. If H-74 and/or S-34 were to become law, the funds collected would allow WCAT to continue operations well into the future as well as provide much needed funding for municipal communications projects.

An Act to Modernize Funding for Community Media Programming makes sense for Massachusetts, Wakefield, and WCAT.

Please help WCAT and the Town by emailing or calling Wakefield’s delegation:

• Senator Jason Lewis – Lewis@masenate.gov – 617-722-1206
• Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian – Lipper-Garabedian@mahouse.gov – 617-722-2810
• Representative Donald Wong – Wong@mahouse.gov. – 617-722-2488

and ask for their continued support as these bills await committee public hearings.

Both bills have been assigned to the Joint Committee on Advanced Technology, the Internet and Cybersecurity. This committee will be holding public hearings on the bills. You can contact the Chairs of the Committee by email to:

• Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier – farley-bouvier@mahouse.gov
• Senator Michael Moore – Moore@masenate.gov.

and ask them both to pass the bill along with a favorable recommendation.