Wrentham Cable Access (WCAC) is a private non profit corporation that was created to manage the PEG (Public, Educational & Government) access channels for the town of Wrentham. WCAC is a member run organization meaning that the corporation is comprised of Wrentham residents who have “joined” our corporation as members. The Board of directors, which manage the day to day operation of the station are elected by our members from among our member pool. Membership is available to any Wrentham resident over the age of 18. Membership is free and once you join us you remain a member until either your residency changes or you request to be dropped from our member lists. To become a member call the station at 508-384-3888. It’s that easy.

Currently WCAC broadcasts on eight Channels. Four channels on Comcast, 8, 12, 22 and 98. And four on Verizon, 39, 38, 37 and 36. Channel 8 & 39 is our entertainment channel. Channel 22 and 38 is where we broadcast Wrentham government meetings. Channel 12 and 37 is our educational programming (Including but not limited to Wrentham Elementary, King Philip and Tri County Regional schools.) Channel 98 and 36 which is where we air Community Bulletins 24/7. WCAC is the entity that keeps the access channels in Wrentham working, WCAC maintains the equipment required for the continued broadcast and production of local programming and makes decisions regarding purchase of new equipment. WCAC also provides training in the use of the technology that we possess.

Contrary to popular opinion Wrentham Cable Access does not produce local programming. We do not have film crews that we send out to “cover” events. All programming shown on Wrentham Cable Access has been conceived and created by Wrentham Residents or found by Wrentham Residents and given to WCAC for broadcast. Wrentham Cable Access in a very real sense is no less nor more than what you the community decides it should be.

Again, WCAC does not produce its own programming. Programs generally come from Wrentham residents who have an interesting hobby, skill or idea that they would like to share with our community. If you have an idea for a cable television program that you feel would be of interest to the general community WCAC would like to opportunity to assist you in the planning, Set Design, training of background personal like camera operators and technical directors and help you bring your program idea to life. If you have an idea call our station today at 384-3888 or email us at wrenthamcableaccess@comcast.net 

In between programming on channels 8, 22 and 12 WCAC runs a continual loop of bulletins of interest to the residents of our community. On Channel 8 we run bulletins of general interest for the community, Notices of Government meetings (no Agenda’s) , Wrentham Community groups and organizations,as well as Church notices. On Channel 22 bulletins relating to the Senior Citizens will air. On channel 12 we run bulletins related to the Wrentham and KP school systems. Bulletins are only accepted from registered 501(c) Corporations. Bulletins can be requested by any resident providing they represent the organization, club or committee posting the bulletin and that the following policies are adhered to:

1. No commercial notices. Items for sale, flea markets (other than civic organizations) are permitted.
2. No personal messages, birthdays or anniversaries are permitted.
3. Only authorized representatives of an organization may request bulletins regarding that organization.
4. All bulletins are subject to editing.
5. Any bulletins containing Political ads or campaign material will not be allowed.
6. Any bulletin containing material that constitutes either libel or slander is not allowed.
7. Any bulletin containing copyrighted material will not be allowed.
8. Any bulletin that contains obscene or pornographic material will not be allowed.
9. Any bulletin that contains material that is in violation of FCC rules, and/or State, Local or Federal laws will not be allowed.
10. If requested we will run notices of government meetings on the bulletin board. We will not run the agenda for any meeting.
11.  Bulletins thanking sponsors/donors are not permitted.

WCAC Reserves the right to air or remove from air any bulletin, on any of our channels without prior notice. For a list of all the regulations that govern the use of the Bulletin Board contact our office we’ll forward the use restrictions to you.

If you have questions about your bulletin please either call our station at 508-384-6275 or email us at Wrenthamcableaccess@comcast.net

Wrentham Cable Access is managed by our Executive Director who oversees all aspects of the stations operation including; Scheduling of programs, preparation of instructional material and classes, creation of on air program tapes, scheduling of the studio facilities which includes our main studio as well as the private editing suites, the tracking and maintenance of our state of the art equipment , purchasing office equipment and supplies. In Wrentham the Executive Director is Frank Whitehead. Frank first came to WCAC as a volunteer back in 1992. He has produced many great programs like Picture Poetry and Ride around Wrentham and of course his long running program, The Coin Shop. Frank was the President of WCAC from 1998 – 2000 before becoming the Executive Director in 2001. He has a great feel for cable access and will be able to assist you in creating a new show or simply finding a place where you can best help the Wrentham Cable Access family.

Once a Month Frank provides a report of the station activities to the Wrentham Cable Access board of directors. The Board meets on the second Wednesday of each month in our studio. The board is comprised of members each elected to serve three year terms from among our membership. The current board of directors are;

Bill Keyes – President
Kyle Jackson – Secretary
Robert G. Leclair – Treasurer
Bob Magnarelli – Board Member
Bill Jones – Board Member

The Board of Directors is basically a policy setting body. Their role is to set the policies which govern the station. They also control the purse strings and mange the financial side of the corporation. The board of directors never involves themselves in the creation of programming and in fact make no decisions regarding programming or scheduling of programming on Wrentham Cable Access. No Town funding is ever used for cable access.

Becoming a member of Cable Access enables you to vote on important matters before the corporation at our annual meeting which is usually held in March. Also as a member you have the ability to stand for election to the WCAC board of Directors. Becoming a member is as easy as filling our a simple form. This form is available for download from our FORMS page. Once you become a member you remain one. There is no renewal of membership required.

Other than being able to vote at our annual meeting being a member of Wrentham Cable 8 and what that means remains up to you. Your level of involvement is also up to you. For those who chose to make the most of the Cable Access membership there are many exciting and fun ways to experience a greater role in Cable Access. If interested call or station today and ask for Frank he’ll help you decide what role is right for you.

Video taping Government meetings is a right given to any resident of the Commonwealth under the Massachusetts Open Meeting law. At Cable 8 we endeavor to tape all the meetings of the following boards and committees; The Selectmen, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Finance Committee, Conservation Commission and the Board of Health. We also tape the two school boards, King Philip Regional and the Wrentham Elementary when time, equipment and videographers allow. Wrentham Cable Access tries not to air any of the chatter before a meeting is gaveled to order, or comments made during called recesses or those after the meeting is adjourned. We do air all comments and discussions made during the actual meeting. We do not edit the gavel to gavel content of any meeting ever. In this way we attempt to bring the process of government to the community complete with all of the interaction between the citizens and the board members so that not only are the boards decisions captured but the reasons for those decisions as well.

Submitting a program for broadcast on Channel 8 is quite simple. All Wrentham residents are welcome to submit programming for broadcasting. These programs can be produced using your home video editing equipment or the cable 8 studio equipment or professional Videos. If submitting a professionally made video residents must obtain all permissions from the copyright holder and submit them in writing along with the broadcast request. It should also be noted that cable 8 bylaws allow the Executive Director to reject professional videos or videos made outside our community or those made for national distribution for any reason. Locally (Wrentham) taped and produced shows will be aired as requested providing the program contains no pornographic material or any illegal material. To submit a program Simply fill out the Channel Time request (see our forms page) and either drop it off or send it in and we’ll get your show on the air.

Cable 8 bylaws do not allow individuals to campaign on any of our channels. We do produce one program per year during election season where each candidate is allowed up to 15 minutes to talk about their candidacy. The show is a simple show that allows every participating candidate to read either a prepared speech or talk off the cuff about themselves and their views. The show is filmed in a manner that does not give any one candidate an edge over another.

Our bylaws require that all programs aired on Wrentham cable be submitted with a channel time request form signed by a legal Wrentham Resident who accepts responsibility for content of the programming material.