Our Site Map and direct support links


About

Mission Goals and Legalese https://wpaa.tv/mission/
What People Are Saying https://wpaa.tv/testimonials/
Who is behind the curtain? https://wpaa.tv/communitymembers/
Who has served in the public interest https://wpaa.tv/alumni/
How did the nonprofit WPAA-TV come to exist https://wpaa.tv/our-history/
The News we share with the community https://wpaa.tv/newsletter/
What it takes to run WPAA-TV and why https://wpaa.tv/sunshine/
Deep Dive Documents https://wpaa.tv/governance_documents/

Make TV

Be A Producer https://wpaa.tv/mediacenter/producer/
Community Conversations Interested in doing just one show, this may be for you, https://wpaa.tv/contributor/
Guest host pre-designed shows https://wpaa.tv/befreeman/
3-Minute Movie Challenge (prizes) https://wpaa.tv/moviechallenge/
Film Initiative (application required) https://wpaa.tv/mediacenter/studiowfilm/
We are a performance venue https://wpaa.tv/destinationstation/

Watch TV

Find What is playing on TV https://wpaa.tv/watch/program-schedule
Watch TV online https://wpaa.tv/watch/studiow/
Educational Content STEaMc and In2Languages https://wpaa.tv/learn-by-watching/
Content made local from elsewhere by neighbors that think it is #GoodEnough2Share https://wpaa.tv/goodenough2share/

More Than TV

Volunteer Featuring Youth Teen Tiger TV https://wpaa.tv/volunteer/
Moses Yale Beach | His Time and Ours https://wpaa.tv/myb_revealed/
Community Media Day https://wpaa.tv/cmd/
Be The Media Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/587887694620085
#socialactionart StreetshotZ https://wpaa.tv/mediacenter/gallery/
Podcasts from TV Archives As Told Here http://wpaa.tv/as-told-here-podcasts/
Find All podcasts https://astoldherewpaatv.buzzsprout.com/
Feature Project PlaceYourself In History https://wpaa.tv/mediacenter/history_remix/

Google Maps and Frequently Asked Questions. And Events What is Happening at WPAA-TV

Programs for Youth

About Grassroots Support to Sustain What We Do Together

Media Maker Mingles Schedule

Volunteer: High School Community Service Hours

Place Yourself in History: Prizes, Ongoing

Open Letter to PURA & OCC


Objection to Motion #1 Denial based on evidence presented within the Denial Document

Objection filed March 17, 2025 Docket #25-01-06 Annual Support Review. This filing was submitted by WPAA-TV Executive Director, the person most familiar with the details of Motion #1, I am responding on behalf of WPAA-TV. Motion #1 Filing asks sixteen procedural questions regarding alignment with CT Statutes that establish the post-franchise Community Media and the role of PURA.

OCC & PURA

The Denial Document states that OCC is a separate agency from the Authority, and any questions regarding its role should be addressed to OCC.

Fact: This communication and the letter requesting a motion went to PURA and the OCC.

The 10-03-02 decision does not reference any input from OCC regarding the distribution of consumer fees outside of the community where cable TV is available. Being listed as an intervenor does not equate to participation. Consumers were not represented in the 10-03-02 Docket, a docket directly related to the fees they pay. Our opinion remains that PURA is responsible for ensuring that all stakeholders are represented in PURA docket outcomes.

Funding Vs. Regulations

Motion #1 was filed approximately 8 weeks ago. The filing includes several questions. The questions align with requirements within General Statutes § 16-33 … In the denial document PURA suggests the Annual Support Review is about funding. However, all Annual Support Review Dockets include orders about filing Annual Compliance Reports. Therefore, it remains our opinion that these dockets, inclusive of 25 01-06, are about statutory compliance of all stakeholders. Subsequently, every question in Motion #1 is directly related to the Annual Support Review Process.  

Once again, the denial response ignores the intent of motion #1 to identify what can be improved or corrected within the current statute. Before 2005, franchising and transfer dockets provided communities with the potential to hold cable providers accountable via Advisory Councils and renewal Need Assessments. In the denial document, and on its website, PURA suggests its only responsibility is funding regulation: ‘PURA continues to regulate funding…”  Then what is the purpose of compliance reporting?

The rationale for requesting that stakeholder compliance reports be included as primary sources in the 22-06-26 study was to provide data that could inform the Authority’s recommendations. Unfortunately, there is no evidence that these primary sources informed the study outcomes. Not one outcome referenced data in reports and some contradicted the data. Guess what, use of collected public data was denied by the Authority. This particular 22-06-26 study denial establishes the Authority’s lack of oversight related to compliance reporting. IMO, It also demonstrates a lack of understanding of the data and operations of community access facilities. 

In Motion No. 7, Wallingford proposes seven modifications to the CAP interrogatories. The following are Wallingford’s proposed modifications with the Authority’s responses there to: 1. Expansion of the Authority’s October 6, 2022 Notice of Evidentiary Material (Notice) to include annual reports filed in Docket Nos. 18-01-32 and 22-10 02 for all entities and for-profit “Company Provider Reports” in Docket Nos. 19-02-15, 20-01-09 and 21-02-52. Id., p. 4.

The Authority declines to expand the Notice to include additional annual reports for administrative efficiency purposes and because not all community access providers (CAPS) consistently provide the information requested in the CAP Interrogatories in their respective annual reports. Additionally, in its responses to the CAP Interrogatories, a CAP may update the information provided in its most recent report as the CAP audits that information in preparing responses to the interrogatories. 

This Denial Document provides insight into PURA’s lack of self-awareness

By example, in this denial, PURA infers a break with protocol to provide clarity in the section ‘Questions Regarding Website Topics. ’ It states, ‘… lists are maintained with regularity’. What does regularity mean? Certainly not annually. Today’s date is March 17, 2025, The website has a .pdf for Public Access Channels dated 10.18.2022, which is 29 months ago.  

1. Among the questions that attempt to address PURA’s responsibility in maintaining the lists is: Does PURA update public lists with outcomes of the proceeding of transfer of responsibilities? There were transfers of responsibility dockets for Waterbury and Atlantic Broadband. PURA did not update the public lists with the outcomes. Websites, addresses, and telephone numbers in Annual Reports are not updated in the public lists. I tried several telephone numbers on the currently publicly posted list, including Cox. Many were out-of-service. 

2. Does PURA provide public lists searchable by community (169 towns) to locate community media organizations? The simple answer is ‘no’. The inability of people to understand and find their community media resources is directly related to the current viability circumstances.

“There is also no easy way to search and find existing community TV channels and the affiliated cable
access providers and facilities.”

No. 22‐06‐26 | PURA
Q. 1 of 4 | WALLINGFORD PUBLIC ACCESS ASSOCIATION, INC | S Huizenga | 11.08.22

WPAA-TV is found by people all over CT. An intern created a by-town search tool because we receive several calls a year from people seeking internships, producer opportunities, and more. We validate the search outcome before making the referral to the person’s community. If they call back because they fail to receive a response or timely support, we help them. As a consequence, we have award-winning productions from people who live in North Branford, Hamden, Madison, and Berlin.  

How Do Matters of Procedural Integrity Get Addressed? 

This denial reply document states “While the Authority is not in the practice of addressing questions posed to it in this fashion, … It goes further to state: If there is something particular that WPAA-TV identified as a problem with any of these documents, WPAA-TV should bring that specific issue to the Authority’s attention. This part of the denial reply deserves an emoji.   

How does the public, or stakeholders, bring to light concerns about transparency, accuracy, and accountability? Is there a tip line or process outside of dockets? What ‘specifically’ is the process to bring specific issues to the Authority’s attention? We have used petitions, motions, and detailed answers to questions in a study. We have testified at hearings. Concerns like the ‘definition of capital expenses’ which do not align with FCC’s definition have been raised in numerous PEGPETIA dockets. We write cover letters with the submission of Annual Reports with information about the state of our industry.

Every channel has the same number of hours for play, but every organization administers those hours differently. It takes the same amount of time to process content with a duration of 15 seconds as one of several hours. And post-production of short videos can far exceed the support used for gavel-to-gavel of a government, including virtual meetings.  We have the potential to be more relevant with museums, water authorities and government departments and people turning to video to inform their neighbors. However, completing this report is a reminder of …how antiquated how we measure and represent our work.     

WPAA-TV Annual Community TV Report DOCKET NO. 21-02-52       

In conclusion, our relevance is our existence.

Every question in Motion #1 has one or more related concerns. Many represent the community at large. Most tie back to the crippling of community media in 2005 statutory changes which did not put a fair and accountable system in place.  

The Authority has repeatedly denied a legitimate request to make our Comcast Branford CAP subscriber payments public. The challenges inherent in complying with that request suggest something is broken. Similarly, ensuring all community access providers receive CPI increases has been denied twice. The Motion #1 questions were submitted on behalf of all nonprofits providing community media and all people of CT. Taking them seriously has been denied.

PURA is a critical stakeholder in the existence of community media. PURA’s role extends beyond the summary in the denial document because all stakeholders submit compliance reports to PURA.

It appears all our avenues with PURA have been DENIED. Is it time for the courts, or court of public opinion? That will be on the agenda item for the next WPAA-TV Board Meeting.

Nonprofit Community Access Funding 2025


When there is so much to be concerned about, we go through the motions we knew to be appropriate before this precursor to a Golden Age. (satire)

March 12, 2025 HB5837 Testimony Submitted to Appropriations. There is no hearing scheduled on this matter. The Legislature has much on its plate.

Absent a Legislative Solution HB 5848, 5837 Community Media Bridge Funding

An active 7-day-a-week, 24/7 public digital media organization needs a minimum of 1.75 FTEs to provide services the community considers a ‘reasonable need’. Therefore, base staff costs with skill-level dependencies are $100,000 annually. This assumes a minimum of 12 hours of studio production time a week. This is bare bones; not competitive wages, benefits, training to stay current, or 9-5 hours. If a nonprofit station has less revenue, it cannot provide minimal services without relying on volunteers, grants, contracts, or municipal underwriting.

A decade ago, cable TV was in its stride. At that time our small town-specific community media station received $93,000 in cable revenue. Another approximately $22,000 went to neighboring towns (pass-through fees from Wallingford residents). Our anticipated cable fee revenue in 2025 is $58,000.

Even with all of Wallingford’s fees staying in Wallingford, revenue alone would not have been enough to thrive. To keep the doors open and invest incrementally in a permanent home, I have volunteered full-time since 2011. Wallingford is an outlier. It is also proof that a bare-bones investment can empower a community. I tell my community media story here.

Current State

With a new generation choosing not to subscribe, and cable TV subscription costs becoming prohibitive for many households, community media revenue is declining exponentially.

The current revenue model is restricted by statute. A 2022 PURA study confirmed any change in funding, or the provision of the public benefit, requires statutory change. A bill drafted by the Consumer Counsel with support from PURA failed in the last session. Heavily lobbied with a veto threat by former cable guy, the governor, leaves community media in limbo. 

Backstory

Community TV was to be a public benefit. The benefit was local government, schools, and ordinary people would have access to resources for media creation and distribution. For the use of rights-of-way, cable companies were to cover the cost of this benefit. However, the 1960 lobbyists argued that the ‘new’ industry should only pay based on the number of hookups. This led to cable viewers paying for the benefit instead of the companies. Decades later, the now Fortune 100 and 500 companies use the same polls for several different business models BUT the only revenue used for public benefit is cable TV subscriptions.

Bridge to …

HB 5848, and 5837 were drafted for the 2025 session to allocate supplemental funding to keep nonprofit providers of community media afloat in locations where millions of dollars in capital investments have been made in the past decade.

How Much and for How Long

It is strongly recommended that this bridge allocation underwrites a need assessment* styled after the franchise renewal process of 1960-1995. Need assessments enabled communities to weigh in on the media needs of their communities and what should be provided in exchange for physical access to consumers and transfer capabilities. This would include the channel capacity question.

Cable TV companies have morphed into something ‘other than cable TV’. However, the results are the same: Content is viewed on screens. An infrastructure that has similar dependencies on rights of way.

At the moment, crafting the right balance for true accessibility within a stable funding framework is no one’s responsibility. We face an erosion of this public benefit at a time when ‘media’ is ubiquitous, in a constant state of transition, and unreliable. At a time when it is important to do more, we can barely do what we have been doing.

The question “How small or big (geography and population)?” is appropriate for community media. However, absent an assessment process, the current statutory legacy language mixed with a heavily lobbied push that community media is no longer relevant yields one thing: less community engagement, youth training opportunities, and an underutilized investment in technology across CT.

I encourage a simple approach to funding with the assumption that it will take at least 18 months to determine a ‘future state’.  Provide all public access community media centers with the same baseline investment and see where that investment leads concurrently with a need analysis.

Thank you for considering how community media can provide resources in this time of uncertainty.

What is Next?


Our situation: End-of-Life for Cable TV

Our core function is ‘Make TV’ which is supporting the production of digital media content by, or for, the people for hyperlocal cable TV distribution. Providing this media agency to nonprofessionals is one component of P.E.G.: Public Access Community TV. Is it still a needed thing? For how long? What is Next?

Limitless
Past, Present and Future

Since 2005 media distribution options for content produced by people has expanded beyond community TV. In 2009, one of the most profitable YouTubers was homegrown at WPAA. The availability of social media platforms has helped, and hurt, the evolution of ‘equitable’ access to production & distribution resources for the people. Most users assume that social media platforms are free and free speech friendly. They certainly can be used that way but that’s not their purpose. Social media platforms are private company owned. They are not bound by the First Amendment. They can moderate, deny and inequitable influence content visability without violating users’ speech. Their primary focus is monetization. They will constantly encourage you to pay them to ‘promote’ your content.

For the most recent Supreme Court-level discussion on Public-Access as a Free Speech platform, check out this 2019 SCOTUSblog post.

How do you view Community Media?

For decades, regulatory restrictions limited the use of Cable TV public-access funding to content created for TV distribution. PURA affirmed in a Q&A (10.28.24) that PEGPETIA grant funds ‘… can be now be used to distribute programming on other platforms to increase viewer access to our ‘public benefit’ existence. It is conditional. The content must still be played on TV. There is an annual request and award process for capital funding. Awards are not guaranteed. Ideally, they are sufficient to cover bandwidth, website domain, and other public distribution expenses.

For nearly a decade, a local company, Discover Video, enabled WPAA-TV to provide on-demand internet access to our locally produced content. This tech donation kept us at the forefront of innovation. More importantly, it expanded access to a broader population. We are grateful for years of free support; however, underwriting has ceased. Now we provide this extended distribution as a customer. We submit the cost in PEGPETIA applications.

We do more than TV distribution. Our channel is simulcast in HD to the internet at wpaa.tv/watch 24/7. Videos with evergreen content are reformatted for Podcast and are available as As Told Here: WPAA-TV. Content produced by WPAA-TV is distributed on YouTube @WpaaTV. Short-form digital content is posted on social-media. Local producers use YouTube Channels to share their content. It belongs to them.

Our cable TV affiliation could disappear

Since 2012, our subscriber fee income has been in steady decline. It will continue to decline without statutory reform. It is intrinsically linked to cable TV subscriptions. Federal and State laws and regulations are anchored in archaic technical ‘cable TV’ language.

Wallingford (and the Branford Comcast franchise towns receiving a percentage of Wallingford subscriber fees) benefited from the AT&T and Frontier cable TV deployment because our town was their initial hub. In 2012, WPAA-TV received nearly $27,000 in revenue from this market competitor to Comcast. Our 2024 income from Frontier is projected to be $3000. The most recent quarterly payment for year-ending 2024 was under $1,000. Frontier no longer markets cable TV. They have partnered with AT&T to provide satellite using the last mile of fiber from the same poles. Instead of satellite dishes on the roof, people have a small converter box and remote control very much like cable TV subscribers. The result is fees are not paid for using the poles. Satellite TV does not include local content. There is no public benefit.

In summary, there are now several noncable users of the public rights-of-way who have no public benefit requirements for the use of ‘telephone’ poles along our streets. The landscape for providers and viewers is changing. Comcast is considering divesting to Verizon. Frontier has partnered with satellite. They are incentivizing cable TV customers to leave. There is significant and unpredictable change. Community TV is being cancelled by Fortune 500 companies have rebranded.

The Community TV Study Docket #22-06-23 affirmed

  1. The current statutory framework, … is not designed for this new landscape… Under current statutes, cable companies must provide community access…
  2. re-imagining the statutory framework for community access will require a balancing of interests.
  3. there is no consensus among community providers who have different ‘In The Public Interest’ nonprofit models
  4. there is consensus among the 10 cable providers in CT that there is no need for them to have this public benefit obligation. 

At the opening of the 2025 CT legislative session, 555 Bills had been drafted. By the bill filing date a few friends of community TV drafted transitional funding Bills for community TV: House Bills 5833, 5837,5848 Rep. Mushinsky submitted HB5848

If not TV, what?

In the event that our TV affiliation becomes mute: Is it the intention of WPAA-TV to remain an art, humanities & culture organization? Would this include retaining an internet channel? If yes, should we embody the original intent of the public access television as a local democracy movement providing agency to individuals, civic groups, and non-profits at no or low cost?

This will be reviewed in the Board’s next strategic planning session.

ACTIONS To-date

Our mission statement is used in grants and public profiles including our website. In 2024, the mission statement was modified to be more ‘place-based’. Our mission image was colorized to represent inclusion. The image and brand tags are ‘TV’ and Wallingford-centric.

Mission: To provide a brave, safe, and creative space for a diversity of expression from within our community. Make TV |Watch TV|More Than TV – Join In. Discover what you did not know you needed.

(2024) Wallingford Public Access Association (WPAA), d/b/a WPAA-TV and Community Media Center facilitates the production of digital media by people and organizations and distributes the content as community access television. Our doors are open to all on a 1st come, 1st serve basis.

Goal: To empower the people of Wallingford and beyond to meet their communication needs, as they define them, by facilitating digital media creation and managing its public distribution. The use of WPAA-TV digital media tools and studioW stage can help inform, connect, and build community through the production of ideas, opinions, stories, news, information, or performance.  Our tools & stage yield more than videos when U watch and share.  Unity begins with U.

Community TV, an experiment in democracy, engages people in ‘Good Trouble’. This experiment has at its core, the idea that ‘We The People’ must sustain our democracy. What we do together is anchored in valuing free speech, individual expression, inclusion, and diversity. 

WPAA-TV is an award-winning volunteer-run Art, Culture, and Humanities organization that focuses on #SocialActionArt: We use art to uplift, inform, or inspire. We believe performance speech is the richest kind of free speech.

Our core program is ‘Make TV’. However, WPAA is #MoreThanTV. It is a place-based adaptive space for community meetings, theater, art exhibits, and special programs like film initiatives and internships of various kinds. We also bring creators together in response to our community’s needs for civic & digital literacy and well-being. We collaborate with other local nonprofits to advance their missions.

WPAA supports, or produces, a limited number of ‘Mission Continues’ projects. These projects must have the potential for community impact for the underserved and/or youth.

Our 2024 Annual Report theme: ‘Democracy is a Creative Practice’.

Examining the Creative Practice

Story and conversation are the cornerstones of our nonprofit business. TV is merely a distribution platform. Story crafting, people gathering, and uplifting voices are the practice.

Fundamental to the practice of Making TV:  Story

Before technology of any kind, there was story. Stories bring people together to entertain, learn, or take action. They play a crucial role in fostering connection, building shared identity, transmitting cultural knowledge, promoting empathy, and creating a sense of belonging. Storytelling leads to engagement by fostering opportunities for sharing experiences, perspectives, and values. Ultimately bonds are strengthening within a community. Stories can provide a common language for discussing complex issues and fostering open communication within a community.

Public Access content is predominantly comprised of recorded conversations, performances, and event coverage including spiritual services. All include some element of ‘story’.

Outside of the community TV sphere, several nonprofits are anchored in the Impact of Story. Change The Story Change The World   sixdegrees.org  StoryCorp Other nonprofits rely on powerful narratives to communicate their cause and inspire action. Recent misinformation research suggests the two biggest action-motivators are fear and inspiration. Some provide marketing support to nonprofits as a nonprofit MissionStory The StoryTelling Nonprofit or as business consultants. Some are shutting down. Socialbrite since 2011

For Strategic Consideration: Focus on the studio and legacy vs. TV

Is there value in rebranding away from our core function: TV? What building blocks are in place? Should we lean into the theme of our 2025 Annual Video Report: Democracy is a Creative Practice? Full Annual Report Video here.

Since 2010, studioW has referred to the area of our building used for TV production. The studioW graphic incorporated three words: Express + Show + Perform. One version appears over ‘We the People’. Our anchor show, CommUnity Conversation, produced since 2015, includes it in the animated opening. We provide full technical support for this theme-based, two-person conversation program.

Express + Show + Perform remains a viable tag; however, without the ‘We the People’ the connection to ‘democracy movement’ is lessened. Early advocates envisioned rigorous debate, exposure to distant cultures within our communities and stories as tools for change. Putting tools in the hands of the people could open doors, hearts and minds. Aspirational but possible.

The creative team’s proposal to the Board suggests leaning into our roots as a strategy for future sustainability. Building on what has come before, WPAA offers a physical space with video production technology tools that people do not have at home. In 2007, the initial strategic plan had the primary goal of ‘Seek New Home’ with the intention to purchase. By 2011, volunteers successfully purchased and completed an adapted renovation of an in-town structure. Being place-based has been an anchoring part of the vision. The studio is what makes our place unique.

The ‘W’ and the ‘play’ buttons are repurposed from the WPAA-TV logo. Orange is used in teentigerTV logo.

Green is suggested to align with sustainability. Green is the color of the new Endowment Fund page. An interactive version of the logo could have the 3rd word spin through several words and land on community: advocacy, awareness, change, connect, educate, insight, justice, understand, community.

This brand design, its potential use and adoption are on the agenda for Feb. 5th.

Footnote: About the studio: No longer State-of-the-Art

Building on what has come before, WPAA offers a physical space with video production technology that people do not have at home. Our studio is very adequate for community TV; but much of our technology is no longer state-of-the-art. We are working on that.

Same Day Sunday Celebrating 20 Years


Celebrating 20 years of Same Day Sunday. The Board, staff & volunteers of WPAA – TV and Community Media Center are grateful for the video crews that produce content for their communities of faith AND continue to share with #wpaatv for those who find comfort watching TV.

Did U know? In 2005 #wpaatv was the 1st community media station in the ‘nation’ to cablecast church services on the same Sunday that services were recorded. #Innovators

Some community collaborations are decades old: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Wallingford, CT & First Congregational Church of Wallingford, CT before DVDs. New Life Church CT on boarded with DVDs and Church of the Resurrection joined us during the COVID pandemic. All content is replayed on a pre-arranged schedule weekly. 11 pm and early morning and midday beginning at 1 pm.

Others have come and gone. Reasons vary: Limited volunteers, a preference to drive traffic to their online communities. Relocation.

Walk-in-the-door (now file transfers) ‘community media’ is as important as what is produced in studio #wpaatv. #yourtownyourchannelyourvoice We appreciate the producers and the #wpaatv channel 18 (basic cable) 1070 HD viewers.

2005 VHS Tape and Edit Rooms

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church always had a volunteer at WPAA-TV after service to modify the recorded service with an opening graphic identifying the church and the date and closing credit identifying the pastor, guest pastor, organist etc. First Congregational Church dropped off their recording. By 2009 DVDs were the format of choice. Does anyone remember the weekly open with the cascading break of one of the church’s stained glass windows? It was a bit controversial. There was consensus on the audio message which is no longer part of the production.

Two True Wallingford Stories in THE CHECK MINUS


​A Story About Truth-Seeking and Community from the Perspective of an Immigrant Child

Premise:

  • Setting: Wallingford, Connecticut (present day and flashbacks to 1991)
  • Characters: Youssef Fam (young boy, protagonist), Youssef’s parents, Amina & Amir (cousins), Teacher
  • Circumstances: Youssef, a recent immigrant from Morocco, struggles with his first school assignment in America due to ‘reliable’ but conflicting information.

Plot:

  • Inciting Incident: Youssef receives a “Check Minus” on his assignment about Moses Y Beach because of the birth date reported.
  • Rising Action: Youssef is determined to prove his research is correct and seeks help from his cousins.
  • Climax: Youssef and his cousins sneak into the Center Street Cemetery at night to make a rubbing of the inscription on Moses Y Beach’s grave.
  • Falling Action: Youssef presents the rubbing to his teacher, who acknowledges that Youssef used a more reliable information source.
  • Resolution: Youssef learns the value of fact-checking and primary sources.

Character:

  • Youssef Fam: The protagonist, a curious and determined young Muslim boy, new to America. He navigates feeling accepted. He places significant importance in achieving a good grade on his first report about his new community. Frustrated by the injustice of a ‘check minus’grade he sets out to prove his report is the truth.
  • Teacher: A supportive figure realizes that Youssef reported the correct date of birth. She responds with action and insight.
  • Amina & Amir: Youssef’s helpful cousins assist him in his quest.

Prose:

  • The story uses vivid descriptions & illustrations to bring the setting and characters to life.
  • The dialogue is natural and reflects the characters’ personalities.
  • The story uses flashbacks to add depth to the narrative.

Theme:

  • The importance of fact-checking and seeking reliable sources.
  • The value of primary sources.
  • The challenges of cultural adaptation and language barriers.
  • The value of perseverance and standing up for what you believe in.
  • Learn from mistakes and the importance of admitting them.

The immigrant experience and the frustration of being misunderstood are themes that can resonate with a wide audience of any age. The use of flashbacks and a touch of mystery keeps the story engaging.

Here are some additional details:

Vivid descriptions and illustrations bring the setting of Wallingford to life, especially the contrast between Youssef’s memories of Morocco and his new American surroundings.

The story portrays the complex emotions of a young boy dealing with cultural adjustment and the pressure to succeed in a new school

The story follows Youssef Fam, a young Moroccan immigrant navigating his first school assignment in America. The story unfolds through flashbacks and present-day narration, weaving a tapestry of cultural adjustment, academic challenges, and the pursuit of truth.

Readers feel the bustling energy of the Wallingford town center, the hushed reverence of the shared Ramadan feast, and the echoing vastness of the unfamiliar school hallways. They sense Youssef’s frustration with the language barrier, determination to excel, and the sting of receiving a seemingly undeserved bad grade.

The central conflict, Youssef’s quest to prove the “correct” birth date of Moses Y Beach, is the vehicle for exploring themes of cultural difference and the importance of fact-checking. Youssef’s initial reliance on information gleaned from the cemetery obelisk, contrasting with the library’s seemingly authoritative encyclopedias, highlights the potential for misinformation and the need for critical thinking.

The supporting characters, particularly Youssef’s cousins Amina and Amir, add depth and warmth to the story. Amina’s pragmatism complements Youssef’s enthusiasm, while Amir’s adventurous spirit fuels their daring mission to the cemetery. The teacher, while initially skeptical, ultimately demonstrates a willingness to learn and admit her mistake, a quality that adds a layer of realism and nuance.

The story’s emotional core lies in Youssef’s journey of self-discovery. He grapples with feelings of isolation and insecurity, but ultimately finds his voice and learns to stand up for what he believes in. The resolution, where the teacher acknowledges Youssef’s effort and removes the “Check Minus,” underscores the importance of perseverance.

The Check Minus is not without a touch of mystery. The historical figure of Moses Y Beach remains somewhat enigmatic, leaving the reader curious to learn more about his connection to the Associated Press. This subtle intrigue adds another layer of interest to the story.

Gratitude to the talented community creators who helped publish this book. Key contributors: Author Josiah Houston, Illustrator Stefania Munzi, Designer Solomon Sheffield aided by a dozen researchers & reviewers who helped tie all the diverse ideas together.

Civic Organization Award


What we do with others is in the public interest. We compile glimpses of our collaboration in some version of ‘What We Do Together’, our annual video reports. The Community Conversation with TriCircle contributors, ‘Everyone Knows Someone‘ will be in our 2024 report with ten #wpaatv Alliance for Community Media Nor’Easter Festival Finalists. TriCircle, a nonprofit addiction resource organization leans into the mantra: “Together We Are Stronger”. They work together from lived experiences to provide hope & support for individuals and families encountering some part of the addiction, recovery, and sometimes loss, aspects of addiction challenges, stigma, and opportunities for success.

The Gala

TriCircle’s 6th Annual Gala was held on Sunday, November 3rd, 2024, at The Farms Country Club in Wallingford. The Fall day could have passed for Spring, as if to support the gargantuan effort of volunteers who, with hope & service achieved six years and organized a well-attended event.

There were hundreds of stories in the room. Everyone knows someone. Everyone with loss strives to remember the person, not the disease. Everyone in recovery strives to stay on the path. Everyone has stories told, and untold. It was good to be able to celebrate a few.

Several stories, including Susan’s, were anchored in how the Founder Ana Gopian entered their lives. For decades, as each year came to a close, healthcare membership cards were printed & mailed timely to thousands with their carefully choreographed service in the public interest. Ana and Susan spent the year-end holidays together sharing stories, hopes, and dreams of service over the drone of machines. They shared stories from lived experiences. Each year before the corporation appropriated most waking hours of Susan’s life, she had just finished the annual marathon of gathering toys for thousands of children visiting parents in prison as coordinator of the Prison Chaplains Toy Drive. Ana was successfully navigating a one-day-at-a-time life.

Civic Organization of the Year

Ana insisted that WPAA-TV send a representative, ideally Susan, to the Gala. Susan had already checked off consideration as a scheduling conflict. She planned to put something in the program instead. Ten am to 1 pm directly conflicts with 11 am to 3 pm when Same Day Sunday tasks must be done. Local churches transfer files produced by crews in their community to WPAA-TV. Since 2010 walk-in content has been scheduled on TV starting at 3:30 pm on the same Sunday it was recorded. Thanks to technology, what once was a 5-hour Sunday can now be completed in 2 hours. For a short time, this was a part-time job for someone in recovery, but the lack of funding turned this commitment back to volunteer hours by Susan.

An in-person visit from Ana turned into a concession. The Ana energy invite was fueled by the Gala program: WPAA > TV #MoreThanTV was to be recognized as Civic Organization of the Year.

There is little doubt that Ana’s history with Susan set the stage for this honor. As a leader of a community organization dedicated to sharing the stories of others, Susan is comfortable behind the scenes. But on Gala day, in a room full of organizations that WPAA-TV has served and can serve, Ana’s fervor and endorsement seemed perfectly okay. WPAA-TV is a positive connection to the work: Our youth team’s 988 It is Never Too Late video has been seen by thousands and is in the world to save lives. Our space hosts and records monthly Alcoholics Anonymous Special Meetings distributed to 36 Community TV Channels in CT. Produced by Central CT Intergroup anyone can find podcast versions here or any podcast platform of choice. And, the Community Conversation Every One Knows Someone (full) may be the Alliance for Community Media Nor’East General Talk Show of the Year Episode. TBD in Mystic on Monday, December 9th. Ana & Susan will be there. We will update this post with a picture in December.

Investing for Sustainability: Our Stories Merge


On Oct 10th, my 71st birthday, I will be the Investor Guest Speaker at the Captial For Change‘s Annual Meeting.

Diane Smith Introduces Me

Susan Huizenga retired into the role of volunteer Executive Director of WPAA-TV and Community Media Center fifteen years ago because any person or organization could be empowered using its tools & stage.  Her community service began 45 years ago with two years in VISTA. Subsequent roles have included foster mom, President of the League of Women Voters of New Haven, Chairman of a Cable Advisory Council, Prison Chaplain’s Toy Drive Coordinator, Fantasy of Lights Holiday Team Lead, and church treasurer – all with two things in common: cherishing family and staying out of the limelight. Finally, heeding the advice of her VISTA supervisor, she agreed not to keep her light under a basket. Susan Huizenga, her friends call her Adele, will share how she came to be a C4C advocate.

Our Story Together Begins in 1971

In 1971, a few months before Ned Coll‘s ‘Free the Beaches‘ fame, the Founder of the Hartford North End Revitalization Corps was my high school commencement speaker.

I was on the speaker selection committee. In my send-off to college, My dad gave me a brick and placard. He suggested I was radicalized by Ned Coll. My Dad had more in common with the tenacious Mr. Coll than he knew. They both had a fundamental belief.

Having a home is essential to stability, which is essential to all other opportunities.

I adopted this belief as a core value.

As a business systems analyst of 30-something years, I am a fan of solutions with process improvement. The 2016 merger forming Capital For Change elevated my awareness and appreciation of what I knew about the Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund (GNHCLF).

The loan fund was incorporated, in part, as a result of a two-year interfaith collaboration that supported people temporarily housed by the state in the motel near Merit Parkway Tunnel. We funded security deposits, found furnishings, and moved families into their new apartments ~ many times after cleaning them.

It was there that I met Mr. Harris and his two grandchildren. He was at the motel for 18 months. He provided Social Work Services to motel families without compensation. He had lost his home to fire. The kids lost their mother to opiates. He was relocated to Newhallville. We kept in touch. When I relocated from the Beaver Hill neighborhood in New Haven to North Branford for my growing foster family, Mr. Harris moved into my section 8-approved house.

With these stories, I am not suggesting that to be an investor in Capital For Change you need to be radical in any way. However, I believe the values of equity & solution-driven strategies are critical to the engagement of prospective C4C investors.

Investing reconnected me to housing advocacy. I will add to my investment annually until the modest return can pay for the taxes on my Wallingford home. WPAA-TV will soon make at least one more recurring loan as part of its long-term sustainability strategy for 28 S Orchard St.

I do not know if some version of C4C was operating in 2009. The property owner had agreed to hold the paper with terms of ‘no down payment, 15 yrs. for 6 percent’. A few days before our closing, the terms changed to $40,000 down and 6.5 percent interest. It felt impossible and the rationale was disturbing.

It turns out WPAA-TV would be rescued by my dad’s secret love: Violin Music.  The man I excavated out of a dilapidated trailer park in Florida because to quote him ‘He only needed shelter” was a secret fan of ClassicArts TV played after midnight on WPAATV. He offered us a C4C-style solution. He loaned us the down payment at 5% interest. He suggested we do an interest-only loan for our 1st year to help with our cash flow. Within 12 years WPAA-TV was debt-free.

 We, the Board of WPAA-TV, and I know the value of a good investment partner and are proud to be part of C4C’s mission as investors.

Humanities, Community Media Manifest Destiny with AI


Manifest Destiny (Framing Words) 1845 | A Youth Work Project

The framing words of the westward movement in the mid-1800s ‘Manifest Destiny’ were penned by a petticoat hustler, Jane Storm. Most internet search results credit John L. O’Sullivan, an American newspaper editor.

Moses Yale Beach| Expansionist

Early in our excavation of the Moses Yale Beach story, we realized that a better understanding of the period in which he lived was critical to understanding the man, his time, and ours. We anticipated encountering stories of innovation. We still struggle with defining his Antebellum America, pre-Civil War views on “the other”. But the biggest revelation in our slo- moving discovery process is how his core motivation “prosperity” influenced the mythicizing of America’s Manifest Destiny.

Beyond his role as editor of the New York newspaper, The Sun, he literally placed himself into the expansionist story with a trip to Mexico via Cuba from Dec 1846 to April 1847. He was escorted by his 26-year-old daughter Drusilla, and the journalist, Jane McManus Storm, who was fluent in Spanish. His primary interest was in trade routes. He also financed his son William’s San Francisco Gold Rush Trading Post. Trading posts were among the most lucrative ventures of the period.

President Polk’s journal entry, “… it would be a good joke if Beach made a treaty” confirms the ‘spy’ intention of Beach and Storm to maintain peace in the region. However, Polk was committed to power, not peace, knowledge, and progress.

Origin of Manifest Destiny

An 1845 editorial published by John Louis O’Sullivan and ascribed to him, highly mythicized the American westward saga. A recent biography Mistress of Manifest Destiny: A Biography of Jane McManus Storm Cazneau, 1807-1878, by Linda S Hudson, sheds light on the myth and the woman who foresaw the entire continent including Cuba and Canada as ‘manifest’ one nation under a Christian God.

The term “manifest destiny” first appeared in the July-August 1845 issue of the Democratic Review, a publication that was no longer in print a year later. The missive argued for support of the annexation of Texas and acquisition of the Oregon territory, alluding to the fear that Great Britain intended to block American expansion west of the Mississippi. Storm wrote: “Other nations have undertaken to intrude themselves … in a spirit of hostile interference against us, for the avowed object of thwarting our policy and hampering our power, limiting our greatness and checking the fulfillment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.” In another short-lived O’Sullivan publication, New York Morning News, the phrase appears a year later: “…that claim is by the right of our ‘manifest destiny’ to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given to us…”

Ideas fundamental to this predestination of America’s perspective included protecting the western hemisphere from European interference and owning a proactive response to Mexico’s vulnerability to European intrigue.  Underlying personal and political motivations were access to Mexico’s silver mines, agricultural potential, and transcontinental routes in the South. A significant complication was how racism fueled Manifest Destiny. In 1824, the Mexican government banned the slave trade, and in 1829, it abolished slavery. This granted Black people full citizenship and land rights

Unintended Consequences

In this period, Storm wrote forty-three columns in the New York Sun and dozens of personal letters to members of the James K. Polk administration. The ‘peace mission’ propelled her to the national stage as a public figure. Publishing in favor of a Republic of the Rio Grande, she was motivated by both civic and financial interests. Neither Beach nor Storm favored war, or the ambition and greed of war. They directly facilitated communication among Catholic Priests. Indirectly, news articles informed the public and administration. Division over Manifest Destiny— Democrats in favor, Whigs against— was the news of the day. The partisan Press ‘in association to gather war news’ was a very out-of-the-box idea. Correspondence from the Mexican-American War would be the basis for organizing the newspaper collaboration which would evolve into The Associated Press.

Storm’s providential language harkens back to what early settlers heard from the pulpit about their settling of ‘America’. Ironically, Storm’s providential language was adopted by factions with a racial doctrine of white supremacy. In policy and behavior, it involved the expropriation of Indian lands and justification for the Mexican-American War. Tragedies like the Trail of Tears were justified by claiming the support of the Creator.

Layers & Balance | Youth Media in The Public Interest

The Community Media station, WPAA-TV is a host location for a Workforce Alliance summer work program. A handful of socially or economically challenged youth are assigned to businesses for six weeks to benefit from real work experiences. For fourteen years, youth assigned to WPAA-TV acquired transferable skills related to teamwork, planning, interviewing, and letter or script writing, as well as industry-specific skills such as storytelling, camera operation, lighting, set design, and editing.

The WPAA-TV business goal is content creation of Wallingford stories that represent the mission as a media, arts, and culture organization. Each summer youth select from multiple projects with incremental skill levels. The whole team works cooperatively on a capstone project. In 2024, the production of a music video about ‘Manifest Destiny’ was introduced as a possible capstone. The business goal was to support a broader initiative: Moses Yale Beach_Revealed. Ideally, the video would touch upon several themes: the role of the penny paper in the Manifest Destiny story, the role of ‘We The People’ (all people) and extraordinary ordinary people that went west, to suggest democracy is a journey, not a destination, and to introduce a journalist who worked with Moses Yale Beach: Jane Storm. Primarily, the content was to demonstrate an updated interpretation of history from a local perspective using newly acquired media production skills.

It was a lot to ask for one of many projects in a six-week time frame. They rocked their video production skills. The complexity of this period in history is challenging.

Moving Beyond Shallow Understanding Is a Challenge

Contesting media with a confirmation, or affinity bias, has extended to how many accept history. As media educators, we suggest that “How we consume content, including history, starts with knowing what we know is fractured. Missing points of view makes history incomplete.” Exposing the potential of fracture without adding our bias to discover a more ‘whole’ truth is challenging.

In conversation, the immediate answer to the question: Can our understanding of history be changed? was ‘No’. History is history. We can not change it. However the youth team discussion concluded with, “What we know is limited to what is available in school books and found in Google searches. Yes, they did say Google not the internet.

To explore the potential to change our understanding, a team member read a familiar piece of literature. It was an Arabic version of the Lord’s Prayer. It begins: “O Cosmic Birther of all radiance and vibration, soften the ground of our being…” It was foreign and familiar. From this exercise emerged an openness to new understanding from a different point of view.

Within the hour, the consensus was, “We have a shallow understanding of history”. We also confirmed the public internet readily affirms our shallow understanding. Search criteria and prompts, results improve based on what you already know. Lazy is the enemy of accuracy.

Appreciation for historians who have done a deep dive into journals, early publications, and other primary sources was manifested. Pondering how primary and secondary sources, where most new understanding of history is culled, could inform the public internet was more than the group could imagine. More consensus: It would be a good thing.

After this session, the team received an AI-generated lyric sheet. They were split into pre, production, and post-production teams. The pre-production team needed to determine the storyline. The production team would later scavenge our space for potential mid-1800 set ideas. The post-production team would search for b-roll images with keywords like ‘Indigenous’, ‘trader’, and ‘historian’. The video results were strongly influenced by the 4th of July props, development a few characters, and the idea that destiny was personal.

What Appealed to the Young Content Creators?

The beat, the fighting righting words, and the tools & stage captivated the creators. 

Mastering the wall-to-floor green screen, turning random objects into sets, and stretching their imagination with choreography and camera angles brought the neophyte crew together with a common purpose. But it all started with correcting, from their perspective, the beat and rhythm in the AI version of the Manifest Destiny song. Pursing the ‘sellers prospered more than We the People’ theme led them to the story of denim, Levi Strauss, and fur trader Robert Stuart— a complete hop & skip over the lesser figure William Beach, Son of Moses Y. There was fierce competition among early 19th-century fur traders. Navigating what would become the Oregon Trail was critical to success. A connection between a props closet red, white & blue coat and the Oregon Trail metastasized into an obscure but accurate verse in the youth’s version of Manifest Destiny.

Fur coat, Robert Stuart made/He found the path that’ll get us paid/Wagon built and we moving weight/Oregon Trail, uniting states

Several very good lines landed on the cutting floor.

  • Enter journalist Jane, an anonymous woman, who hide her name
  • I called for the crusade, I gave it a name
  • Hustling for money and power,
  • Behind the lines, the body count got higher.
  • The man stole my lines, I write more, a witness to history

Integrating AI| A Rap Music Video

A ChatGPT prompt for a Manifest Destiny Rap provided rhyming lyrics. A comparison with middle school history books confirmed what the public internet knows and what is taught in school tracks:  Dreams, timelines, and key events. The team’s instant analysis leaned into lines that required personal decisions, where “we the people” were in the story and dissatisfied with the beat.

(Verse 1)

Yo, gather ’round, listen up, it’s time for class,

Manifest Destiny, a concept from the past.       (Does it have meaning today? Is it alive and well?)

In the 1800s, the vision was cast,                     (Role of newspapers?)

From sea to shining sea, the land was vast.

The settlers moved west, with a fervent desire,

Fueled by dreams and a pioneer fire.                 (What fueled the fire within?)

Louisiana Purchase, the land was acquired,

From the Mississippi River, the journey aspired.   (Awkward)

Homestead Act, gave ’em land to claim,

For a little bit of work, they could stake their name.

They battled harsh winters, and the scorching sun,

Dreams of opportunity for everyone.             (‘Everyone’ is not accurate.)

(Chorus)

Manifest Destiny, the westward quest,

Moving ever forward, no time to rest.

From the East Coast to the wild frontier,         (What was included? Mexico?)

A new way of life, the vision was clear.            (Was it clear?)

(Verse 2)

Gold rush fever, California dreams,

1849, with pickaxes and schemes.                    (The sellers prospered.)

They struck it rich, or so they thought,

But many found hardship, and the dreams they sought.

The Oregon Trail, it was rough and tough,                    

Wagons breaking down, food was never enough.

Native lands taken, treaties betrayed,

The darker side of progress, a high price paid.    (Truth)

Railroads stretched, across the land,                  (Big influence.)

Steel tracks laid down by a hardworking hand.   (Source of labor?)

Connecting east to west, a nation was born,

But in the shadows, many lives were torn.           (Truth)

(Chorus) (Bridge)

But let’s not forget, the cost it incurred,

For the native peoples, voices unheard.               (Where is this story told?)

Displacement and sorrow, a cultural tear,

A legacy of pain that lingers in the air.                  (Awkward)

(Verse 3)

It’s a complex story, this destiny divine,              (too complex to for us to sort out)

With triumphs and tragedies intertwined.

Expansion and growth, a nation’s dream,            (What did the people dream?)

But justice and equity, we still redeem.                (What? Whitewash)

So remember the past, as we look ahead,

To the lessons learned, and the tears that shed.

In the spirit of progress, we move and grow,

With respect for all, as our history shows.            (What?/ Whitewash)

(Chorus) (Outro)

So here we stand, on this land so wide,

With a future to build, side by side.

Manifest Destiny, a story told,

Of a nation’s journey, brave and bold.               (What? /Whitewash)

Jane Storm: Not Easy to Represent

And Jane, who wrote for various publishers under various names [pseuds.: Montgomery, Cora Montgomery, Corrine Montgomery], did not anticipate that Providence would involve grit, gore, and often deadly germs. It was a democratic movement she espoused. Writing as Montgomery, columns in the New York Sun helped swing United States public opinion in favor of the annexation of the Republic of Texas. At that time she was preoccupied with Texas where she, according to her will, acquired 1,000 acres at Eagle Pass and other Texas properties. Her preoccupations typically aligned with her acquisition of property. She did argue with the President, predominantly over economics and policy. She viewed expansion as an opportunity for a more perfect union. Her prosperity was an engine in her propagandizing.

As with much of history, the white man took center stage in the rap. Jane was the counterpoint. The youth voices were the reprise. But the chorus did anchor the production in the truth that all the players in the story shared: Doing What Is Best for Me. Hardship likely brought communities together along the journey, but the journey was personal.

(Chorus)

I’m gonna manifest destiny

I’m tryna do what’s best for me

Destiny, I’m ‘gon manifest

Best for me, gaining benefits

West Coast, where I’ll make the bread

Forge ahead, get my family fed

Fur coat, Robert Stuart made

He found the path that’ll get us paid

Wagon built and we moving weight

Oregon Trail, uniting states

John O’Sullivan, I’m that mastermind

With my pen, I’mma redefine the grand design

It’s our destiny, written in the stars

To spread democracy, freedom, near and far

From the East to the West, it’s our grand plan,

The mission as gos: we will take all’ve their land,

And withstand, understand, and defend

Can’t think of a better way to bring a brand

(Chorus)

The vision is clear, we’re heaven sent

We only came here to represent

This feeling of fear is irrelevant

If we move west we are sparing no innocent

                        The miles and miles they’ve strolled

Their legs getting weak, the spirits say no

The blistering blazing of cold

O’Suv’s the name that everyone knows

Behold, this story god told

Wipe out the foes to gain all’ve our goals

We’re grabbing the gold, and hit a new low

Spread the details, the brave and the bold

Critics can whisper, but they can’t deny

Our destiny’s written in all of gods eyes

We’ll build a nation that’s so mighty and grand

O’sully will lead, with a steady hand.

(Chorus)

Where the Youth Got It Right

Our nation’s story has been glorified. The transition from the voice of Jane to one representing themselves is on target with the program’s goals: Finding a new understanding and exposing fractures.

The youth participants became a team as they acquired new skills. They moved out from feigned curiosity with no interest in the news or history, to creators of content from a fresh perspective. It has been more than twenty years since Ms. Hudson provided conclusive evidence that Jane Storm coined the framing words of a consequential period in our country’s history: Manifest Destiny. Today you can find this fact on the public internet as presented in Manifest Destiny Framing Words 1845 by the TeenTigerTV youth community media project.  

In conclusion, this project exemplifies where Humanities & Community Media intersect: Expression about what to trust, what to dismiss, and what to debunk using new media. AI was integrated to save time with research and confirm the assumption of historical bias as a “story of glory”.

Humanities in the public interest relies on individuals who pursue better knowledge with an open mind. The Moses Yale Beach_Revealed Project is indebted to historians Linda S Hudson and Robert E. May for providing their excavation of our collective history.

Footnotes To History: Is Ours A History of ‘Good Neighbors’

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) is available from The National Archives. Signed on February 2, 1848, it ended the war between the United States and Mexico. By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including the present-day states California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. Mexico also relinquished all claims to Texas, and recognized the Rio Grande as the southern boundary with the United States.

The primary reason for the Mexican-American War was a dispute over the border between the United States and Texas, which Mexico did not recognize as American territory after the U.S. annexed Texas in 1845, leading to tension over the boundary line between the Nueces River (claimed by Mexico) and the Rio Grande (declared by the U.S.). This conflict was further fueled by the American concept of “Manifest Destiny,” which encouraged westward expansion and acquisition of new territories.

In our Bicentennial year, 1976, President Ford proclaimed Good Neighbor Day:

This Bicentennial Year is an appropriate time to emphasize that only by accepting our individual responsibility to be good neighbors can we survive as a strong, united Nation. By recognizing our dependence on each other, we preserve our independence as a people.

As we teach our children the cherished ideal of government by and for the people, let us begin by teaching them to know and care about the people next door. We must not only help each other, we must be willing to learn from each other so that we may remain forever united. Each individual American must make his or her special effort to be a good neighbor.

Good Enough To Share Courtesy of Your Neighbors


Neighbors view content believed to be worthy of their time, courtesy of community members. Thanks to all the guarantors; especially; long-time participants: Mr. Krupp (RIP), Mike Spiteri, David Burghardt, Lisa Catherine, Rich Mavrogreanes, Wallingford Public Library, and SCOW. The Folklorist NewTV’s Emmy® award-winning original program provided glimpses into the lesser-known occurrences in history when represented by Craig Fishbein. Mike brings daily Independent News Democracy Now to Wallingford. Lisa represents good music. David is our Throwback Movies Guy. This content plays at the stroke of midnight to begin Thursdays: Creature Feature Horror, Classic movies, intermingled with B&W public domain. Rich connects us to UCTV and other informational content. More participants can be located here.

About the Good Enough To Share Program

The media release begins: ‘Thanks for your interest in the Guarantor Program Good Enough to Share at WPAA-TV.” Email correspondence confirms the program, its source, and the agreement to be affiliated with content promotion. The guarantor is asked to reply to an email with their details.

 A Guarantor is someone 1) registered with WPAA-TV, 2) passionate about the subject matter, or free speech, and 3) who by publicly being affiliated with the content will take responsibility, for any local interest, and feedback. Guarantors can share the content play schedule with the community via social media or word-of-mouth. The Guarantor’s name is added to the WPAA-TV website as the individual(s) helping to bring content to Wallingford. This individual will also be identified in program promotion-related Social Media.

There are two ways to participate:  1) WPAA-TV can suggest video programs already in compliance with local non-commercial policy and have copyright clearance for redistribution as local TV to individuals interested in supporting the local play of informing content. All programs are of good technical quality and can be acquired at no cost to individuals or WPAA-TV. 2) Prospective guarantors can identify content developed elsewhere and secure permissions to re-distribute. In this instance, the User takes responsibility for compliance with all content issues including copyright.

Most of our global news content is curated through the #GoodEnough2Share program. It aligns with a Think Global, Act Local worldview. Mr. Krupp felt others should be interested in global affairs. This is America and the World and Conflict Zone (30 minutes weekly) were shows he represented.

As Guarantor of “Conflict Zone ” I, “James A. G. Krupp” accept responsibility to be the local representative of media created by Deutshe Welle  for re-distribution by Wallingford Public Access Association Inc. (WPAATV).  I agree to have my name publicly affiliated with the appearance of this program on WPAATV.   I understand this program is noncommercial. I understand the content complies with the policy.

I understand that WPAA-TV is relying upon this Agreement and its representations for the legal distribution of the named media under its Guarantor Program.

Organizations Participate in Good Enough To Share

ABOUT BOOKS is a collection of conversations with authors ‘represented by’ the Wallingford Public Library. It includes the nationally syndicated show Book Lust with Nancy Pearl produced in Seatle. Other content may be sourced from the Library of Congress, National Archives, universities, or Community Television stations.

About Authors and Books in collaboration with Wallingford Public Library

In2Languages is not only represented by SCOW it helps fulfill our obligation to do what other channels managed in town are not committed to doing. We use current global news, arts, and technology news magazines produced in Germany by DW to assist community members with language literacy. This collaboration began as a pilot in 2013. It expanded to 4 shows, midday, 6 days a week in English then Spanish, Spanish then English in 2017.

Eric wins his 1st Emmy in 2017

One Year Older | So far, A Lonely Celebration


They say it’s my B’day. Celebrate with me. Subscribe to @wpaatv on YouTube. Retrospective content will be cablecast on Saturdays from 8 to 11 p.m. And Mon-Wed at 7 pm. Open Studio is being discontinued.

To be eligible to win: You must be an @wpaaTV YouTube subscriber, WPAA-TV FB Follower, and Freeman P. Quinn‘s friend. Submit answers to Email

Up to three winners will be recognized at the ‘Community Media Day’ Event on Oct 20th.

Winners will receive wpaatv swag. and someone may be selected to receive an item valued at $250.

A few videos have some of these questions embedded with clues.

  1. What year was WPAA incorporated as a nonprofit?
  2. What former WPAA employee became an EMMY Award-winning Editor?
  3. What former WPAA Producer was among the 1st to earn $100,000 on YouTube?
  4. What video produced at WPAA-TV has the most views? Clue: Rotary People Involved.
  5. What video produced at WPAA-TV has the most awards?
  6. What award-winning children’s show is featured on WPAA-TV?
  7. What local producer hosted the most shows in WPAA’s History?
  8. What local personality hosted the most shows on WPAA
  9. What award-winning program features women’s stories?
  10. Who is located at our former Center St. address?
  11. What is the most important room at 28 S Orchard St?
  12. What is the name of the Gallery at WPAA-TV and Community Media Center
  13. What production at WPAA-TV involved over 75 people?
  14. What is the name of the Tiger in the ARCY Mural?
  15. Can you name all the colleges that had interns at WPAA-TV?
  16. Whose show is this (musicians Thursday at 9 @2005)
  17. Who is the watercolor artist? Extra Points for knowing the Gallery Name.
  18. Who is the mural artist who created Hercules?
  19. What local event was covered annually for over a decade?
  20. Who played the Ompa Loompa?
  21. What year was the move to 28 S Orchard?
  22. How many miles of Cat 5 is in the wall?
  23. How many shows does WPAA Produce?
  24. What type of shows are on WPAATV?
  25. What is the Cable Channel you can be watched on?
  26. Are there audience welcome events?
  27. Who was the most famous musician to perform at studioW?
  28. 1st address
  29. Who is the mascot?
  30. What is your Favorite Program