Mental health issues are still stigmatized. Addiction, PTSD, and more are rarely understood, let alone talked about. Out of the Dark takes a shot at addressing these complicated issues. It succeeds at shedding light on them through frank discussion.
The hosts, Jane Buckley and Joan Landino, are twins. Despite looking nearly identical, they are far from the same person. They have different takes on issues, and sound very different from each other. It is easy to tell which one is speaking, even if you can’t see them.
The two are both APRNs, or advanced practice registered nurses. This means they have more training and expertise than other nurses. This expertise lets the two discuss mental health issues from a perspective that includes more scientific knowledge. Of course, being nurses they see more cases of mental illness than the average person would. That on the street experience gives them further perspective on the issues.
The hosts’ experiences work to provide more information than otherwise. However, their discussion never gets too technical. Everything they say can be understood without a background in medicine.
The mental health challenges they chose to discuss are relevant. Dementia care, addiction, and marijuana especially provide good opportunities for interesting takes from the hosts. There are also a few less controversial episodes. The episode on DNA guided medicine is a particular standout. If you haven’t heard of that concept, definitely check it out to learn something new and fascinating.
A frank look at mental health issues is rare, but Out of the Dark provides it, bringing light to these often ignored issues.
The most important part of government can be smaller than you think. Local politics often have just as much of an impact on life in a town as state politics do, or even federal. There can be a dearth of information about local politics, however.
Citizen Mike acts to fill a gap in Wallingford, providing a place for debate and discussion of goings-on in the government of Wallingford and beyond. Citizen Mike hosts government officials and employees. The show also features people with opinions on aspects of the town, like a teacher to talk about Wallingford schools.
Besides providing a service, the show is compelling to listen to. Much of that comes from the skill of host Mike Brodinsky. Brodinsky has an understated charm to him. He could easily be the center of attention on the show, but instead, he lets the guests shine.
Brodinsky asks questions well, getting the information from guests that he knows listeners will want. At the same time, he keeps the guests from rambling too much. Brodinsky also has a good knowledge of what will get too technical for the audience. He asks guests to clarify what they mean whenever they use jargon or reference things the audience won’t know.
Citizen Mike is a very timely show. It’s been the first source for information on newly announced decisions in the past. This makes listening to older episodes less ideal, since they can be about old news. However, some of the show’s episodes have a longer shelf life.
Citizen Mike provides a service to the town of Wallingford while being interesting to watch. It functions as a fascinating local political news show.
By Garrett Amill
I never thought I’d care about the art of Ukrainian egg dying. Hearing it discussed on Midlife Matters, however, my attention was nowhere else. Midlife Matters manages to make topics I’d never heard of interesting.
The host, Georgian Lussier, brings a calming presence to each show. From the owl sounds that play at the start of the episode to her voice throughout, there is a contemplative tone.
The guests are all women, and all over 40. These women provide unique perspectives. An episode featuring a teacher from an automotive trade school is made better by that teacher being female. The fact that a woman can teach in a male-dominated industry is empowering.
None of the episodes are truly run of the mill. Even the ones that seem that way at first turn out to be worth listening to. One episode on a grief support program has an especially interesting guest, who clearly has a life full of stories to tell. Lussier is capable of letting her guests tell their stories while making sure those stories stay interesting.
The start of shows can drag a little as Lussier finds her footing with the guests. Once she does, however, the conversation flows. It’s worth listening to get to the fascinating discussion.
Midlife matters provides a contemplative look at what is fascinating in the lives of women in the area. It’s a good show to watch while drinking a cup of tea and taking in a unique world.
WPAA-TV reached the end of a ten-year journey that wouldn’t have been possible without community support. On Feb. 24, Nelson Ford, the oldest volunteer, and former board member, excitedly signed the final check to pay off the building, located at 28 So Orchard Street.
The building was paid off two years in advance of the expected 2022 date. The refinancing was made possible through Key Bank, saving WPAA-TV $7,000.
“We’ve owned it for a year thanks to pro bono help from attorney Lars Edeen,” said Susan Huizenga, WPAA-TV’s executive director. “We just haven’t had it paid off until this week.” Fundraising last May raised money from 200 members of the community.
It’s rare for community TV stations to own their building, according to Huizenga. However, owning the building reduces its operating costs. In 2008, WPAA-TV formed a building committee. In 2010, WPAA-TV faced a 60% rent increase. This motivated the nonprofit leadership to continue looking for a new location. “We wanted something on a bus line and in town in terms of walkability,” said Huizenga. “When celebrations were happening in town, in that last space all they had to do is open their doors, set up a booth outside and they were part of a community event.”
After facing rejection from the town regarding one location, WPAA-TV eventually found its current building, which needed significant renovation. “It did not even have plumbing on the first floor,” said Huizenga. “It was not up to code in terms of electricity. It could not be a public space without significant investment.”
WPAA-TV reached out to local skilled laborers, including plumbers, electricians, and carpenters. They agreed to donate work to the renovation project. A local benefactor who enjoyed WPAA-TV’s classic arts TV financed the down payment, and the prior owner of the building, the late Paul McNally, extended credit to the nonprofit for the purchase of the building.
Once the deal was settled, the local laborers sprang into action, renovating the building. “The equivalent of what we get in cable fees was donated by volunteers to bring the space up to code,” said Huizenga. “They aggressively worked on the building for a year and a half, and it made occupancy standards within the first six months so that we could come into the first floor.”
After thorough renovation and years of payment, WPAA-TV gets to formally call the building theirs.
Our last video of the year, Rudolph’s Shiny New Year, by Emma Richardson, is a gift upon a gift to our community.
If you have had a tour of WPAA-TV, you may have noticed the posting: We have art, ghosts, penguins, a tiger, and the stories you tell. You might hear that serendipity is ever-present in What We Do Together, the theme of last year’s nationally award-winning video annual report. Our year-end good fortune is how the very last story produced for us incorporates all the 3-Minute Movie Challenge criteria – a Wallingford person, a place, and/or a thing. It is an uplifting story of starting again. It is a retelling of a clever story about the opportunity each New Year brings. It is a story of sixteen years of delighting neighbors. It is a story about a farmer, whimsy and a street corner near one of the town’s highway entry points.
We are eager to share the charming, short film Rudolph’s Shiny New Year, by Emma Richardson, and the projects that gave it birth. It will be released on social media on January 5, 2020 at the end of the 3-Minute Movie Challenge video contest. Emma’s submission represents exactly what the video contest is about: discovering the characters and characteristics of our town in video stories.
Sneak peek: You might see Rudolph’s Shiny New Year if you are watching television today on Comcast 18/1070 in Wallingford or Frontier 6091 in Connecticut, because we want this video to qualify for festivals accepting entries based on the 2019 calendar year.
Emma Richardson discovered community TV a decade ago with her family. They shared the story about the creation of the BAWA Health Initiative (BHI) in Cameroon, West Africa with On The Parade Ground viewers.In this conversation, the family spoke of learning how the annual cost of a family cat invested in a village could change, even save lives. Their dinner guest, soon to be BHI co-founder, Blaise Donji, inspired the project embraced by the First Congregational Church of Wallingford and other producers of content for WPAA-TV. The #theAfricanDream interview of Blaise Donji, conducted in studioW a few years later, remains a video story on the organization’s about us page on www.bawahealth.org.
Emma was eleven at the time of the On The Parade Ground interview. When I noticed she had gone on to study Film, Television & Media Arts at Quinnipiac University, I sent her a text about our movie challenge. She was hesitant to commit, but by the end of the exchange, she agreed to reach out to a local farmer I had failed to get on camera a few times.
As of this writing no other filmmakers have registered in the Take Three edition of the contest. We did have workshop opportunities. One local family attended. They seemed excited to discover us but the holidays became too busy for them to make a movie. There is a rumor that a first-time filmmaker and workshop attendee is capturing video footage today. There is still time for moviemakers in this 3-Minute Movie |Take Three|2019, as well as in the Take One, Take Two and Take Three opportunities each year.
As we gather to welcome Baby New Year 2020, let us remember it is one person and one story at a time that can change hearts. I know that Rudolph’s Shiny New Year has just that kind of potential. This Wallingford person, place or thing story is a gift upon a gift to this community.
Truth Be Told is the theme of our 2019 annual video report currently in production. Truth be told, as WPAA-TV Executive Director, I tell myself one great story will be enough to change the tide of community interest in the movie challenges as well as what we do overall which is provide a safe place for the expression of ideas. Truth be told, I needed the delightful Rudolph’s Shiny New Year message about the potential of our continuing anew each year.
P.S. Over 3,500 people viewed the Rudolph’s Shiny New Year on social media and nearly 100 people commented about their appreciation of the creativity on display at the street corner near Christmas time. Rudolph’s Shiny New Year won the Alliance for Community Media xxx for 2019.
In the sharing, and promoting the sharing, of A thorny Journey Blooms in Story in the #MyGivingStory contest funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with Unleash Global Good LLC (dba GivingTuesday) there was much personal discovery. The premise of #MyGivingStory follows:
By sharing our stories, we can inspire others to give.
Reading the stories
There were over 2,600 submissions. I read about 25. I scanned several hundred. I encouraged others to randomly read them. The pattern I noticed in these giving stories is that they are often rooted in personal tragedy or struggle. Another is that animals seem to by far outrank concerns for fellow humans. A part of me would love to do a qualitative analysis of this data to learn more about the inspiration to give and the true ranking of relevance and value. About a dozen people contacted me directly after reading my story. It was in those moments of connection that this journey did bloom. Most started with “Wow” and continued “Voted! That was great and thank you so much for what you do for our Wallingford community”.
About ‘community’, or maybe, lack thereof
Stories can change hearts. Networks can change systems.
My networks included 700+ LinkedIn, Freeman on FB 1,500+, Community Media Peers 1,000+, Retirees on FB, Community FB Groups 17,000+, Family & Friends. There were at least a few refreshing reconnects within each network, some new community connections and as always my son and his friends were the most generous and uplifting. The process reinforced that connections are one person at a time and those you know well enough to hug are the ones that can be counted on in real and virtual worlds.
For the record: I did write to local influencers to ask for their support in this effort to win $10,000. Subject line: “Let us do this Get out the Vote together”. The lack of response makes me even more committed to ‘sunshine’ stories’. Truth be told, if I was not the volunteer administrator of the organization tagged to get the prospective win, I would be producing such stories. Every community has them, maybe mine more than most.
What was missing when people made the effort to support was the “connecting” story. The relevance. One share did touch my heart: Support WPAA and Community Media Center!! What an amazing community that supports musicians, actors, activists, and curious citizens like me. A few comments affirmed the story had been read “Please take a moment to read Susan’s inspiring and poignant essay.”
Promoting the story ❤️?❤️?❤️?❤️??? Vote ? Share ?
What does it take to be an award-winning community TV station? Volunteers that believe in supporting their community with media, arts, story and saving an in-town building.
$10,000 for Wallingford for less than a minute of your time. If 1,000 Wallingford people give a minute a day until Dec 10th to VOTE to support #WPAATV it will add 150 hours to this gift of community in service to each other AND increase our chances to win $10,000 to do more.
If you do not know about #wpaatv There is an article in the current issue of The Wallingford Magazine ❤️?
Lessons re-learned
Engagement is one person at a time.
You can change a person’s life but that does not create a relationship.
Stories without an audience are just an archive.
When people do not know it is a gift, they will likely behave as if they are entitled.
With the humor of “Who gives a crap” you can more effectively “give a crap”
Journeying with others fosters connection, which will ultimately do more good
I am now 66 years old. The hours given to community service total 20-years. That definitely speaks to a lifestyle. But the 20+ extra pounds the last seven years of full-time service to Wallingford at #wpaatv may be more relevant. This journey has given me a measure of Wallingford as a whole that I needed to put some balance back into my life.
“What would you be doing, if not doing this?” is coming into better focus. A new connection asked me this very question during this story journey and it gave me pause.
Pause. That may be my gift to me. To be honest I may have been looking for justification for this very thing.
Sharing #MyGivingStorynow seems the right choice as I may be at the halfway mark in my service journey. What does over forty thousand hours of service in one’s adult life mean beyond being a lifestyle? What if I do what I am doing now for twenty consecutive full-time years? What can I resurrect from scraps of recall that can reveal the challenges and gifts of a lifestyle of service that forgoes a paycheck?
I certainly knew 65 was old when age ten, today – not so much.
As we begin to forget more than we know, it becomes clearer that what holds us to our own meaning are the stories we choose for our narration. I have come to realize I have abandoned much of my story.
I see silence as a dance partner with evil, yet I have indulged in it often to survive. Much of my service has been a light under a basket. Oddly, I run an organization whose mission is tied to transparency and the telling of stories.
Our world is full of enigma. Many of my stories of service are not told in order to avoid public feelings of shame or stigma as they are shared stories of struggle or tragedy experienced with others. I have been the shelter, the shoulder, the coach, the mother, the underwriter, the connection, the opportunity maker, the report, the pocket change, the ride or the facilitator of dreams come true.
As a girl born in the 1950s into a large family of laborers, I found myself taking risks with life and yielding much to serendipity. I deeply value the laborer’s sense of hands-on accomplishment and marvel at the gifts of kismet.
My steady diet of embracing service via civic engagement as a lifestyle began with my two-year enlistment in VISTA in 1978. In 2011, I retired from a paycheck to what my dad called my life’s job. I live on a poverty-level stipend which I pay myself from a short-circuited retirement savings. I run a community media center and do a bit of social service on the side.
There is an abundance of past stories in so many venues such as those connected to Criminal Justice and nineteen years collecting toys and personal hygiene products for prison chaplains; Fair Housing which included three years of weekends finding housing and furnishings for families temporarily in hotels in the 1980s; Voting Rights and Environmental Justice as President of the League of Women Voters of New Haven and other service in Arts and Humanities.
My impact is accomplished one story or project at a time: new skills, forever mates, a job, a friend, a new perspective, a place to live, a new language, a movie made, a fear overcome, a new passion discovered, a network created, a hashtag connection, a song that gets a whole room singing, a gallery of #SocialActionArt, a mural, and a blue penguin that is a metaphor for civic engagement by whoever walks in the door at WPAA-TV thereby enabling a TV station to be #MoreThanTV
The range of impact is immense. Our core service of TV connects viewers to wide-ranging ideas. Our open doors have inspired some to make life decisions. Unexpected encounters such as court-mandated community service or a get well video message have changed lives. A family said the happiest six weeks of a retired radio announcer’s life were his last, those spent with us making his show “A Face for Radio.” Several differently-abled proved themselves in ways they could not imagine. A few veterans renewed their service with us. A photographer has an exhibit and a book deployed to help the food and housing insecure. It made the news. A muralist literally explored new heights and became known as among the best in the world. A guest on a show about midlife decided to embody a transition to ‘memoir artist.’ A recovering alcoholic stabilized to become an exceptional math tutor; an actor performed on stage sober for the first time with a theater company that gave him a new start. More stories are experienced and shared each day.
Any topic is fair game, from Creation Station, a show featuring a four-year-old, to teens interviewing folks from all walks of life about first jobs. Subject matter ranges from how to raise bees, make a pumpkin martini or hummus, and the evolution of women in the trades. Among the challenging topics are guns, terror, identity, taking a knee, recovery of all kinds, stigma, faith, and commentary on local issues. As the gatekeeper for resources, trainer for the tools, a technician in the studio, set designer or just a person to work out ideas, I have influenced the creation of over 5,000 shows in the past five years and curated and processed nearly 30,000 more. My practice is to actively listen, boldly suggest and show.
My ADHD life is a good match for Community TV. I get to support literally hundreds of organizations and people of diverse interests and talents and explore #SocialActionArt which is my passion.
When people hear that I do not get paid they assume I am married to a wealthy man. That would be so if counting grandchildren is a sign of prosperity. Being his life jacket is among the thousands of stories I have experienced with a different kind of love. We live in a home too big for two, that has sheltered dozens of people in need of transitional housing. One transitioned to heaven.
My conviction is that everyone needs to be digitally literate. I strongly urge others to watch how media can be reconfigured, and remind advocates that gavel-to-gavel is great for archives but not so great for connecting with people for action. Editing is a ‘power’ tool that community media users need to get better acquainted with.
I have had and even edited, numerous conversations with individuals recently retired. Those comfortably retired love the flexibility this time of life affords. Most are looking for purposeful ways to contribute be it caring for grandchildren, stacking food donations or cleaning up the river. I have no need to look because purposeful and story-full opportunities find their way to me, daily.
I cannot tell or truly express what it is like to see someone realize they are award-winning or published, or exhibited or connected to their own story, or more importantly, survivors of their own story. Chunks of my personal journey story are shared on two blogs. ‘Glimpses Through Stained Glass‘ is under the pseudonym Adele Houston and the other is this WPAA-TV blog.
In one post I shared: I retired from a paycheck to what my dad considered my life’s job. I recall a conversation he started with his poke, “You’ve finally decided what you want to be when you grow up,” to which I replied, “Yes, a thorn.” Because I may have just a day or perhaps a few decades to be that thorn, I embrace my civic life fully.
PS: My little station won Best in the USA for its size in 2019.
The following blog entry into On the Parade Ground was in 2009 when WPAA volunteers had lost a two-year effort to acquire a property on The Parade Ground. They also had no idea they would find an in-town property or keep their doors open daily. Much has changed, but what remains a challenge is the development of an on-call crew and ‘sunshine’ programming.
A Civic Conversation Program – A Gap Exists (12.6.2009)
Community Access TV is called vanity TV by some, the electronic soapbox by others, and sometimes the ‘church channel’ given the predominance of religion oriented programming. I like the change Wallingford’s Public Access Channel is trying to make to become WPAA Community Building TV.
The Community Building theme evolved when the organization sought to find and own an in-town building to control long-term expenses. The first location that volunteers attempted to purchase was on The Parade Ground and was the inspiration for this program’s concept: a regular program about bringing sunshine to local topics of interest.
Thus far, absent from locally produced programs is one that features facilitated civic conversation related to Wallingford’s specific issues … I remind anyone who sees this blog that this kind of program needs a host and crew that can put the community before their personal interests. It is a show that needs a team of people that can see the potential of building community.
Anyone out there interested in being part of such a team can reach us at …
OtPG Host
On The Parade Ground remains an idea about citizens coming together in the town’s common area to discover and share stories that inform opinion, provide useful information, and entertain. There is a growing number of users, and maybe someday a crew of volunteers will discover themselves and their community as they explore the tools & stage of #WPAATV.
In the quiet town of Wallingford, Connecticut, nestled on the edge of Center and South Orchard Street, sits a former barn turned “Community Media Center”. Where cultivated hay and livestock used to be stored, creative and exciting media is now being made. The Wallingford Public Access Association, or WPAA-TV, is one of the 3 local TV stations in the town of Wallingford. It is operated by volunteers to be used by the community and allows community members to express their freedom of speech and share their creative passions, talents, and thoughts.
Visitors to WPAA-TV are immediately greeted by the mural of a tiger on the north side of the building, painted by internationally recognized graffiti muralist, “ARCY”. The mural was named “Hercules”, after the Greek hero affiliated with heroic, empowering, and transformative stories.
Local TV in Wallingford dates back to as early as 1975. WPAA-TV, the nonprofit, was formed in 1993. In 2013, WPAA-TV would be open daily and be as a 24/7 station, and also calling itself a media center. Over the years, much like the industry itself, WPAA-TV has adapted to and utilizes video production technology in order to make high-quality content. Studio cameras, a control room, and professional-grade lighting sit upstairs in the old hayloft-turned-studio. Camcorders, GoPro cameras, and other video equipment is also available to use for any and all creative projects.
Many people walking through the doors at WPAA-TV have no formal education in television broadcasting or production. They could be anyone from friends, neighbors, or even your barber. The beauty with WPAA-TV is that essentially anyone is able to walk through the front door and start their own show. As long as shows do not violate copyright or FCC laws, an idea can become reality.
Viewers can expect a variety of programming when tuning in to watch. Programming is oftentimes “whatever walks through the front door”. Viewers can expect a mix of locally recorded shows (political debates, masses, high school sports games, etc.), global news content, and in-studio shows made by the general public. WPAA-TV staff members try and find interesting and compelling content week after week. Some shows, like “Focus on Europe” and the Spanish speaking “Enfoque Europa”, are structured to air in both English and Spanish content, usually back to back in scheduling. The bilingual content is structured for language literacy and attracts viewers of different languages to enjoy.
Shows made in the studio include Music with Purpose, a talk show designed to showcase local musicians, including interviews and live performances, and Local Lens, another talk show that allows viewers to see local community members on tv talking about anything from their businesses, local theatre productions, among other topics. WPAA-TV prides itself in partnering with other organizations in the community including the Wallingford Public Library, the Spanish Community of Wallingford, and the Record-Journal, in order to reach different groups within the community.
More than TV
WPAA’s mission is to be “More than TV”. In 2017, the board declared that WPAA-TV be “More than TV”, whereas the organization be more than the tools and means for TV creation. The building and the resources were to be used for collaborations, a gallery, space for civic groups and a theatre. All of this combined would create a greater sense of community among anyone who wants to use the space.
With the help of an interchangeable curtain and a set of chairs, the studio can be transformed into a black box theatre for local theatre troupes and productions. A green curtain allows the studio backdrop to act as a green screen, where people can act out scenes or present messages in front of a desired background added digitally behind. Comedians, readers and other entertainers are welcome to show their talents to a live audience.
WPAA-TV also actively partners with local nonprofit groups to help further or spread their messages. The main floor of the WPAA-TV building boasts vibrant art and photography projects from local artists. The “Street Shotz” gallery on the lower level of WPAA-TV is a collection of photographs that visitors can come and see free of charge. The gallery is an example of Social Action Art, where the art is used to make a difference of what it shows. The StreetshotZ gallery has a donation bin where guests can donate non-perishable food items to the Master’s Mana organization.
WPAA-TV offers internships to both High School and college students. Students from Quinnipiac University, Albertus Magnus College, and Marist College have all interned for WPAA in the past. WPAA offers students hands-on experience in various parts of television production. Those interested in participating in an internship for credit are encouraged to reach out to Susan Huizenga, the Volunteer Executive Director of WPAA-TV. Even if not for educational purposes, WPAA-TV is available for youth groups, scout troupes and other clubs that are interested.
WPAA-TV content is featured on YouTube, making it possible for those without televisions or cable in their households to be able to have access to its content. Many of the show hosts have their own YouTube channels in addition to the main WPAA-TV account, allowing fans to follow along with their shows as well as look at previous ones.
Along with the content, WPAA-TV has developed a strong and very active social media presence. In addition to its branded Facebook page (WPAA-TV and Community Media Center), WPAA-TV has another account Freeman P. Quinn. Freeman, a blue cartoon penguin, acts as an avatar and personality of the station. The account is for WPAA-TV administrators to reach out to community members. The use of social media is something that many other community television stations have not adopted across the board. Social media usage not only is way to stick to the mission of “More than TV”, but also a way to reach a wider audience.
In addition to its social media presence, WPAA-TV has a significant physical presence in the community. WPAA-TV staff members have visited Wallingford High School, Wallingford Alliance meetings, and presentations of community leaders. In places like this, students and community members are able to interact with staff, and even Freeman himself has come to these presentations, as someone from the organization puts on the blue and white penguin costume on occasion.
Every October, WPAA-TV holds “Community Media Day”. The event is supposed to act as a self-promotion of the station, as well as quite literally getting a “foot in the door”. The entire day allows community members to come in and do a wide variety of activities with television equipment or in the studio. Local town officials running for office can come and promote their campaign, organizations can do holiday greetings in front of the green screen, and live performances are often done on as well.
Recognition in the Community
One of the most common sayings about WPAA-TV from fans and producers alike is, “I wish I knew this was here before”. Awareness of WPAA-TV is low outside of the existing pool of Facebook likes and users. But why is this? Many WPAA-TV users may not standard cable packages or social media.
The scaling of WPAA-TV in terms of growth and organization happened at the same time as the boom in television and internet capabilities in the 21st century. Gone are the days of channel surfing, and cable viewership as a whole has taken a hit with streaming services and other avenues on the internet. Many households are cord-cutting. As a result, coming across community television stations is not as common. Many viewers who watch community television are watching because someone they know is on their screens. Even with a 500% increase in user activity and an open-door policy throughout the week, WPAA-TV isn’t widely recognized.
Despite recognition within the local community, WPAA-TV has received recognition on the regional and national scale for a community television station of its size. Some of the most recent awards include:
• 2019 Overall Excellence National Budget Under 300k Award
• 2018 About Access & Community Media Award
• 2016 Rika Welsh Community Impact Award
• 2014 Overall Excellence New England Budget Under 100k Award
The list of awards dates goes on and back almost two decades. Although having recognition beyond the town WPAA-TV is still somewhat unrecognized in Wallingford. With content that reaches a wider audience and allows members of the community to tap into their creative self, WPAA-TV hopes more people will contribute to and attract viewers for the station.
WPAA-TV seeks to empower Wallingford residents’ creativity. With a heavy influence on free speech, the content is by the people of Wallingford for the people of Wallingford. Whether it be tv shows, theatre productions, or comedy shows, all content is for the overall benefit and enjoyment of the community. People interested in WPAA-TV are encouraged to like the Facebook page (@wpaatv) and subscribe to their YouTube channel (WPAA-TV and Community Media Center). If you’d like to learn more about starting your own show, the volunteer Executive Director Susan Huizenga is available for presentations and tours of the facility upon request.
More people in town know about the two-story tiger mural painted by #ARCY on our South Orchard St. building across from Center St. Cemetery, than what actually belongs to them, inside. WPAA-TV is inside. It is one of the Town of Wallingford’s three local television stations, the one operated by volunteers for use by the community. Volunteers started an adaptive renovation of a 1924 cow barn in 2010 creating a welcoming public space. The barn’s former hayloft is now studioW, a versatile performance and media space
Some residents remember surfing TV channels and stumbling upon WPAA Cable 18. Recognizing someone from town while channel surfing was the second most likely way anyone became a public access TV viewer. The first way is being told by an enthusiastic friend to “watch me” on TV.
Comcast Cable subscribers living in Wallingford watch on channel 18 or 1070 and Frontier’s channel is 6091 viewable from anywhere in CT. The Internet, via the website wpaa.tv, is the third way to watch anytime 24×7.
As the television and Internet landscape changed, so has awareness of Public, Education and Government Access (PEG) which started here in 1975. In 1993, the nonprofit Wallingford Public Access Association, Inc. (WPAA) was formed. Founding members coined the phrase ‘Your Town, Your Station.’ This adventure in #FreeSpeech and democracy is now called Community TV. A word or phrase preceded by a pound sign (#) is used on social media websites to discover related topics on the Internet. #YourTownYourStationYourVoice is now one of our hashtags.
2013 was the first time the organization had full-time staff, albeit volunteer, increasing its capacity and use 500%. Then, for an unprecedented two years in a row, 2014-15, the station won the Alliance for Community Media North East Overall Excellence Award for the work of its volunteers and citizen producers for “What We Do Together.” Striving to thrive, WPAA-TV introduced more predictable scheduling, simpler access to the tools and stage, and expanded ways not only for citizens to contribute but for local organizations to collaborate. These innovations and the #CelebrateWallingfordEveryday spirit yielded the award ‘Best in the USA’ for media centers with budgets of $300,000 or less. WPAA-TV’s budget is approximately $80,000 annually. Cable subscribers contribute about $6 annually via their cable bills.
The organization’s purpose and tools and stage for making TV is still mostly unknown here in town. The volunteer Executive Director, Susan Huizenga, maintains it is still common for people coming through the doors for the first time to say, “I did not know this was here,” or, “If this were here when I was growing up …” Unfortunately, what we do is literally tied to whoever does walk in the door. As the Wallingford Public Library suggests that their doors are open to endless possibilities, we remain eager to do the same.
One of the ways we connect with our nonprofit peers is to align our programming with their missions and goals. In our #GoodEnough2Share program, the library represents shows about books and authors. These shows are produced elsewhere. The show Book Lust hosted by best-selling author, librarian, and literary critic Nancy Pearl comes from the Seattle Channel. It can be viewed on WPAA-TV Sunday at 11:30 AM, Wednesday at 11:30 PM, and Thursday at 8:30 PM. On Thursday, Book Lust follows our very own LIVE independent wrestling talk show, Center Ring. Hosted by ‘Fogman’ and produced by our former Mission Continues Fellow Bruce Haag, Center Ring now has a global following and is in its 22nd year of production.
Video Festivals is a Benefit for Alliance for Community Members
In October 2019, six local producers won Alliance for Community Media Nor’Easter Awards. These producers are among the participants in our make TV program #BeTheMedia. Local filmmaker, Sal DelGreco, took 1st place for Episode #3 of The Sparrow Falling in the category Arts & Drama. This 180-day, 80-person cast and crew project was filmed in studioW in 2017. Other winners included Georgian Lussier for her in-depth interview with holocaust survivor Judith Altmann, who is now 95 years old. In 2016, Georgian won the prestigious Rika Welsh Community Impact Award for her outstanding series MidLife Matters about midlife women’s wisdom and wit. The youngest winner, age 5, is AyLiz Boran, host of Creation Station. AyLiz discovered WPAA-TV during the annual Community Media Day, the third Saturday in October. She made Halloween video messages with other children she met that day and decided to continue sharing what she knows about crafting.
Her mother, Alyssa Boran, owner of Catalyst Art Studio made a three-minute movie about painting the downtown fire hydrants. Alyssa was later interviewed on MakingIt Artisan $tories.
#3Minute Movie is a 3 times a year, 3-week video challenge hosted by WPAA-TV. The movie-makers must create a video about a Wallingford person, place or thing that includes the challenge line and image. The holiday edition is open from December 15 to January 5. Check out the wpaa.tv website for more details about this all-ages opportunity.
Another award winner was Music with Purpose.
Now in its 4th year, this performance/talk show is also a live audience experience. Guests are treated to refreshments and listen to local original music on the 2nd Tuesday of the month from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM. As with all #wpaatv #BetheMedia experiences there is no charge. Producer, Lisa Catherine, has elicited the generosity of local businesses and musicians to create this cozy entertainment experience right here in town.
Innovative programs such as CommUnity Conversations have also been recognized. The show features a conversation between any two people about diverse topics. A winning episode was “My Neighbor is Muslim,” a story about a differently shared experience. We have received positive viewer feedback about this series as well as HumanKindBoth facilitated by Chaplin Miyan Zahir Muhammad Mannan. It is a program with five strangers sitting around a table discussing current topics.
Hopefully, both shows will return in 2020 if funds or volunteer crew are available. As stated by volunteer crew member, Tom Oh, “WPAA-TV fosters inspiration, and facilitates growth for all, from those on set, behind the camera and in the viewing community; we become a bit more learned, connected via every aspect of the experience of making TV.”
Our contribution to Educational Access is scheduling Life Long Learning content which begins at 5:00 AM. Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts/History, Mathematic, and Experimental Civics (#STEaMc) TV is the #wpaatv independent contribution to Wallingford as a STEM town. Curated content produced by a variety of sources including the National Science Foundation, UC Berkley, Deutsche Welle and Women in Technology Series of The Kamla Show make every day watching a learning experience.
Some #GoodEnough2Share global news content is mingled with Life Long Learning programs. Midday, six days a week from 11 AM to 1 PM, the TV schedule features the collaboration #In2Languages #En2idiomas. This language literacy initiative has stories about the world, technology, health, and the arts, produced by Deutsche Welle in Germany. It is scheduled as follows: English followed by the Spanish version of the same content. At noon, news in Spanish is followed at 12:30 PM by the same content in English. Therefore, content is in Spanish from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM.
These programs may be discontinued in June 2020 due to lack of funding. Because community contributions are needed to sustain all programs, donations received during the annual #theGreatGive hosted by the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven are most welcome.
In 2017, the WPAA-TV Board of Directors affirmed a strategic plan to be called #MoreThanTV. The plan emphasizes the gathering of people, stories and donations for our work. As part of #MoreThanTV, the rotating gallery in the community room has become a permanent #SocialActionArt exhibit. It features StreetshotZ photographs by Wallingford resident Charles Buzinsky. The printing and framing was underwritten in large part by FrameItEasy.com and was selected because the theme aligns with the #wpaatv mission to represent and serve underserved voices. The exhibit is free. However, donations such as nonperishable food are encouraged. Masters’ Manna Food Pantry receives the majority of the donations. 100% of the proceeds from the StreetshotZ book sales are used to fund programs helping with housing and food insecurity.
#MoreThanTV includes hosting local theater companies. Specifically, Connecticut Compass Theater Company (CCTC) and Backyard Theater Ensemble use studioW to develop their ensembles and rehearse for performances to be staged in larger venues. CCTC provides skills training and improv experiences for members of the community, free of charge.
As part of the plan #MoreThanTV, WPAA-TV and Community Media Center has become a training location. Participants in High School Community Service, Summer Work for Youth and college interns have explored media here. There are also opportunities for scouts to earn merit badges, teens to gather after school, and civic groups to meet. If interested in using the space send an email to reserve@wpaa.tv
You can become part of this community-building experience as a follower of #wpaatv on Facebook and Instagram or as a friend of our mascot, Freeman P. Quinn, 1st, who is our Free Speech Ambassador on Facebook and Twitter. Freeman’s friends receive affirming graphic messages for life’s milestones designed by comic book artist Sal DelGreco.
Discover more about our story with our hashtags and help to make our story your story too. #AnyoneCanBeFreeman#NowMoreThanEver we want you to be part of our story.
Remember when you come to take a selfie with Hercules the tiger, come in and say hello and stay to see the gallery.
The hosts’ experiences work to provide more information than otherwise. However, their discussion never gets too technical. Everything they say can be understood without a background in medicine.
