Otterbein students working at WOCC-TV may see a drastic change in equipment and experience since the budget was cut by half by the Westerville City Council at its Tuesday meeting.
The council voted in favor of a new hosting fee and a new production and broadcasting budget of $127,200. Under the previous contract, WOCC’s budget amounted to $256,000.
Jeff Demas, associate professor and director of television, said, “The city claimed there were quality issues with WOCC, and we disagreed with that. The budget is quite a bit less than the city was providing in previous years, but they terminated our previous contract anyway.”
The Westerville city staff report said the quality of WOCC’s production didn’t always meet staff expectations, and the city wanted to improve the “quality and quantity of production efforts.”
Previously, WOCC was provided with 55 percent of the city’s cable franchise fee revenues. This in turn reimbursed WOCC for costs such as producing, programming and airing various programs within the Westerville community.
The biggest change to the new contract is how the money from the city’s cable franchise fee revenue is spent.
Christa Dickey, Westerville’s community affairs administrator, said that the city will now pay Otterbein outright to host the signal, to produce city council meetings and explore production and service on more of the a-la-carte-type menu.
This a-la-carte system allows Westerville to hire WOCC to produce and air other programming, like parades, community events and school board meetings on a program-by-program basis.
City Council Chair Michael Heyeck said the new agreement is a “pretty flexible plan that will benefit both parties.”
Demas said that WOCC students will now work on producing instructional and or promotional videos for outside clients.
“We are very excited about a great opportunity for Otterbein students to work in a real-world environment,” Demas said.
Junior broadcasting major and WOCC General Manager Kahla Johnson said she was concerned with the effect this new contract will have on the station.
“This major is all about experience here at Otterbein and in the community,” Johnson said. “I don’t want to see any of those opportunities lost for current or future students.”
