About WIMPEG

What is Community TV?
How Can I Get Involved at WIMPEG?
How Do I Get Started?
Who is Eligible?
What Can I Say on Television?
How is WIMPEG Funded?
Board of Directors
How to contact WIMPEG

WIMPEG House   Headend at WOU

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What is Community TV?
Community television is non-commercial television made by people in the community about local events and critical issues in the community. The programs are produced from the interest of people in the community, not the results of programming decisions made in New York or Los Angeles. Community television, also called Public Access or PEG Access is a feature of virtually all sizable cable systems in the United States.

WIMPEG is your community television. WIMPEG is a non-profit service organization. It was created to be a valuable non-commercial information service available to the Independence and Monmouth area communities.

WIMPEG schedules programs about community events, politics, school sports, the arts, community information, religion, and entertainment. All of these and more are the topics of programs made by people like you using WIMPEG facilities and equipment.

Through WIMPEG, you can create your own program. WIMPEG teaches you television production skills and provides you with professional videotape equipment that you can use to create programs to show the community.

WIMPEG is an intergovernmental cable advisory commission consisting of Western Oregon University, the City of Independence and the City of Monmouth. WIMPEG provides Public, Educational and Governmental Public Access cable television to these communities.

How Can I Get Involved at WIMPEG?

Use the Community Billboard (It’s free)
Provide information about your group’s meetings, events and non-commercial services.

Take a class, and then Produce your own show
As a producer you decide what you’d like to see on TV and produce the program. Except for a few legal and common sense restrictions, the possibilities are limitless. You can share your interests with viewers and with other community TV volunteers.

Volunteer on a Community Program
There are many opportunities for people interested in the behind-the-scenes technical aspects of television production ranging from camera operation to audio technician to directing. If you want to participate in community productions or are interested in a career in television, working with WIMPEG equipment and producers will add significantly to your knowledge and expertise.

How Do I Get Started?
First attend an Orientation session. Orientation is required before you can sponsor or produce programs for WIMPEG, or take classes and use WIMPEG equipment. This class is currently being offered on an appointment basis. To arrange a session, please call Bev Davis at 503-838-3174.

The orientation is an overview of how to use WIMPEG services and how to make television work for you. After the Orientation you can take classes in three areas of TV production: Camcorder Production, Linear Editing, and Non-Linear Editing techniques. The orientation is free, and lasts approximately one hour. Each production class lasts about 2-4 hours and costs $30. After successful completion of the courses, each participant is eligible to checkout and use WIMPEG equipment to produce programs for cablecast.

Who is Eligible?
If you live within the Independence and Monmouth city limits, you are eligible to take classes, to use WIMPEG facilties and production equipment, and to sponsor or produce programs for the channels. The Cities of Independence and Monmouth fund WIMPEG with a portion of the franchise fees received from Charter Communications and MINET.

What Can I Say on Television?
Freedom of speech is vital to a healthy and democratic society and is a right guaranteed in the First Amendment. As the electronic version of the First Amendment, community television is an appropriate medium for all constitutionally protected non-commercial speech. Community television cannot:

How is WIMPEG Funded?
WIMPEG is funded by a portion of the cable television “subscriber franchise fees” paid to the City of Independence and City of Monmouth by Charter Communications and MINET. WIMPEG is not a government agency and is not funded by your tax dollars.

Board of Directors
WIMPEG is governed by a five member Board of Directors with a representative from Western Oregon University, and two representatives each from Independence and Monmouth.

Board meetings
Check the website home page for the announcement of the next meeting.

Pat Henderson	Chair	Independence
Beverly Davis	Vice Chair	Monmouth
Jerry Hoffman		Independence
John Oberst	Secretary	Monmouth
vacant		Western Oregon University