Agawam Democratic Committee seeks to overhaul Agawam Cable TV

Date: 8/22/2012

By Carley Dangona

carley@thereminder.com

AGAWAM — On Aug. 14, the Agawam Democratic Town Committee (ADTC) introduced its goal for the Agawam Cable Television station to become a tool for residents to share the happenings and the concerns of their community.

"The critical thing to do is to be available to the public," Dave Bartlett, station manager of Longmeadow Community TV (LCTV), said. "Invite them to be involved."

Robert Kadis, member of the ADTC and the Agawam Cultural Council (ACC), said, "Our biggest obstacle will be community buy-in [to participate in making the station their own]," he said. "[Technically], we can do pretty much anything."

A resident attending the meeting said, "The public needs [to have an] awareness about the possibilities [available to them] we need the public to buy into it [the station] to move forward."

Walter Mantani, member of the ACC, offered advice from his experience working with public access stations. "Public interest needs to be generated," he said. "One angle — tell people they can be their own producer. Let the community know it's in their interest; the station is there for them [to utilize]."

Joe Fitzpatrick, chair of the ADTC asked, "What's our [the ADTC's] next step [to move ahead with the project]?"

The ADTC members agreed that the next steps are: to check the budget to verify the funds allocated for the station, to take inventory of the equipment available for use, and to start the search for a station manager.

For more information about this project and the ADTC, visit http://agawam-dems.com or email info@agawam-dems.com.