WPAA-TV is Officially Recognized As An Arts Organization

Since reorganizing after the end of WPL-TV in 1993, community media in Wallingford has been part of something larger than itself: the democracy movement that has embraced storytelling, conversation & technology for the people: public access television. The idea was radical then and remains so now—that everyday people deserve tools and a stage to tell their own stories, that free speech belongs to everyone, not just those with printing presses or broadcast licenses. However, Cable TV’s decline forces us to ask this question: “What are we without the TV?” The answer emerged clearly: we’ve always been more than TV.

Classification of What We Do Together: Storytelling & Media Arts

In a letter to President Herb Jackson (Oct. 8, 2025): Wallingford Public Access Association (WPAA-TV and Community Media) has been deemed an arts organization and is eligible to apply to funding opportunities offered by the CT Office of the Arts.

Art & Culture 100% of the Time

One only needs to step through the door to know WPAA-TV and Community Media Center is an arts space. The 2025-28 Strategic Plan formalized the recommittment to empowering the people of Wallingford and beyond to uplift the community through story, conversation, and content creation by operating a community‐centric, digital media center and public art gallery. We facilitate the integration of art and culture into civic life. We foster dialogue to build shared understanding across differences, develop new policies, and empower communities to address social and political issues. We are open daily. Usually from 11 am to 8 pm and until 3 pm on Sundays. There is no need to knock or plan. Just come in.

Democracy Is A Creative Practice

Storytelling is widely considered the oldest art form. It is also at the heart of community media. We support it all—from the informal sharing of stories in conversation to highly produced digital content.

Democracy is a cultural process of active participation, storytelling, and collective problem-solving. It requires citizens to be creative, engage deeply, and collaboratively shape their communities and society to build a stronger, more equitable future. This is the creative practice we support.
From inception, community TV existed to enable 'just', creative, and individual expression and the freedoms that make it possible. When portrayed as an electronic soapbox, public-access TV reinforced singular ideas by individuals. Community media today embraces a different model—we’re a hub for collaborative engagement and creation. “Bringing people together” and “allowing people in to do their thing” are very different dynamics.

Local Happens Here When U Participate

Even with the resources devoted to news in Connecticut, the local feel has diminished. People are quick to say, “There is no local news”. Across the nation, including elsewhere in Connecticut, community media stations are examining their role in the transforming media landscape. Some are considering expanding resources to cover local news. This was not a logical direction for us. Connecticut and New York are fortunate. While much of America battles against becoming news deserts—those places where local journalism has withered and died—our corner of the country still has newsrooms. The Record-Journal, though no longer family-owned after its purchase by Hearst Connecticut Media Group, continues to publish. Independent nonprofits like the New Haven Independent and CT Mirror are striving and, in many ways, thriving. The Hartford Courant legacy, which began in 1764, continues. And several platforms redistribute news and provide event and local self-publish articles like Patch.com

This news gap may be more than perception. And together we can play a part as we recommitted to being what news organizations cannot be: a place where the community tells its own stories, in its own voice, on its own terms.

Unity begins with ‘U’. All that is missing is U.

Join Us.

Link to full backstory: The Road Taken: Community Media ‘Story vs. News’