What is the future of the Weston Media Center?

Weston Media Center, the town’s nonprofit public access media provider, is seeking help from the community to address funding challenges and consider future programming decisions.

Founded in 2009, Weston Media Center provides access to government meetings through broadcast and streaming, and supports local creators interested in video production. Its funding primarily comes from the television portion of cable subscriptions, which have declined over the past several years. Weston Media Center Executive Director Nathan Suher said the current model is unsustainable. As the organization looks for new sources of funding, he also wants to check in with residents to see how Weston Media can best support the community.

“We don’t want to close off or cut services,” Suher said. “We want to hear from the community about what’s valuable to them.”

Weston Media is responsible for recording, airing and archiving government meetings. According to Suher, they recorded and aired over 400 hours of government proceedings last year. The group also produced nearly 300 videos in collaboration with local residents, non-profits and town agencies.

Under the Federal Communications Act, cable companies negotiate franchise agreements with local governments which require cable channels to be set aside for local public access programming. These local channels are funded primarily by franchise fees paid by cable subscribers which towns receive from the cable provider and then distribute to local public access stations. As more people cancel cable subscriptions, funding for local stations shrinks. According to Suher, revenue loss has been around 3% each year.

“It forces Weston Media, it forces all of us, to think outside the box about how we are going to stay in business the next five, 10, 15, 20 years,” Suher said. “Once local news and information goes away, it weakens the community. We’ve seen it.”

Across the State

There are bills in both the State House and Senate that would require streaming services to set aside money for public access media as cable companies are currently required to do.

Rep. Alice Peisch, who has produced shows with Weston Media, said in a statement that she supports the bill H.106 because she believes broadcasting government meetings and providing educational content is important.

“Weston Media Center is a vital resource for our community,” Peisch said in the statement. “As more households shift away from traditional cable, community media outlets, which have historically relied on cable fees, are experiencing a significant decline in funding.”

Sen. Michael Barrett also supports the bill, which was referred to the Ways and Means Committee for review in July.

“There are some real issues that we have to work through, but at the end of the day, the question is how do we put local media on more stable footing,” he said. “This is not a quick process, but there is significant funding at stake and you’d want the legislature to stroke its chin before deciding.”

Local Usage

Town Manager Leon Gaumond uses the Weston Media Center to make Select Board Rewind, a podcast recapping the executive board’s meetings. He also produces Under The Cupola, a show in which he interviews local figures such as the town planner and the local veteran services officer. Gaumond said the Weston Media Center was useful for getting information out to the town during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now provides an opportunity to meet residents where they are.

“Nowadays, creative municipal leaders try to utilize them not only to further the mission of our organization, but also to increase ways of educating the public that we didn’t have before,” he said.

Police Chief Denis Linehan also uses Weston Media as a way to keep Weston residents informed. Linehan has a monthly show called The Chief’s Dispatch, where he shares public safety tips and information about local cases. He said the show gives the community a chance to get to know the police force.

“I’ve always been of the viewpoint that you have to be proactive in keeping people safe and secure. You also have to be proactive in letting them know what’s going on in Weston or the greater community,” Linehan said. “It’s a way for people to see me and what the police department is doing…“I’ll be somewhere in town and I’ll go into one of the stores or Heirloom and someone will come up to me.”

Weston Media Center’s equipment is available to residents as well. Natalya Lucas, a sophomore at Weston High School, produces Teen Exec, a podcast in which she interviews experts on executive functioning skills. She found out about Weston Media Center because the organization had recorded her choir concerts.

“They’ve been an amazing help,” Lucas said. “They have a really great program and it’s a really great resource.”

Outside of the work Weston Media Center does with town organizations, Suher said there has been little engagement with residents about what services the center provides.

“We work with town organizations a lot. What we are lacking is the community,” Suher said.

Weston Media Center will be holding a public forum to discuss its future programming and a path to financial sustainability at the Weston Public Library on Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m.

Editor’s note: The Weston Hub community calendar is made available to readers of the Weston Observer courtesy of Weston Media Center.

Editor’s note: The AIC is an advertising sponsor of the Weston Observer. Two members of our Board of Directors serve in positions with the AIC, one as an Executive Committee member and another as an AIC Advisory Board member. Editorial content was produced independently of the sponsorship and the relationships.