Submitted by the Oswego Rotary Club
Sue Witmer introduced Amy McCoy and Rosie Taravella, who talked about WCNY. WCNY is Central New York’s own member-supported public broadcasting station. As a public voice for Central New York, its mission is connecting with and giving back to the community by inspiring, educating, and entertaining the public as well as encouraging a deep appreciation for diversity and shared humanity with content-rich programming. WCNY’s vision is to be the “hub†connecting Central New York to education, the arts, and public affairs.
After showing a video describing many of WCNY’s recent endeavors, Taravella noted that the station currently broadcasts 3360 hours monthly to a 19-county area. WCNY broadcasts programs on the following channels: WCNY 24.1 (its main channel); WCNY 24.2 (featuring a family and news block); WCNY 24.3 (featuring its movie channel, “Your Movie Connectionâ€); WCNY 24.4 (a digital channel broadcasting programs in true high definition); and WCNY 24.5 (a 24-hour channel featuring how-to programming).
WCNY is the only PBS station in the country that is completely pledge free; it does not interrupt its programming to request funding from viewers. Instead, WCNY uses membership drives plus special events and auctions to finance its operations. McCoy noted that WCNY is always seeking volunteers to help out with its various activities and she introduced Doug Clemens, who spoke for a few minutes about his role as a WCNY volunteer in recent years.
