WATERTOWN – Watertown Cable Access Corp. (WCA-TV) is thrilled to announce that its Board of Directors has named Andrea Santopietro as the new Executive Director of the station. Andrea has worked at WCA-TV for almost nine years and has served as Interim Executive Director for the past six months. 

A native of Warwick, Rhode Island, Andrea graduated from the New England Institute of Art with a Bachelors of Science in Digital Filmmaking and Video Production in 2014. She was hired as a videographer at WCA-TV shortly after graduating and was quickly promoted to Media Outreach Coordinator. In 2018, she became Assistant Director and started working closely on the ins and outs of the station with previous Executive Director, Helen Chatel.

“Andrea understands the power of public access and fiercely believes in its value and importance in a city’s culture and civic life,” said President of WCA-TV’s Board of Directors Christopher McKenzie. “Just as our organization has grown so much in the past decade to fill that need for Watertown, we have been proud to see Andrea’s talents and leadership grow along with it — both as a broadcast professional and as a mentor to our staff.”

Andrea hit the ground running back in October, immediately coordinating WCA-TV’s relocation from its current home at Watertown High School to the Phillips Administration Building across the street. She has been working tirelessly to coordinate with dozens of people to ensure that the new station will continue to be a crucial asset to the community. 

“Once we’re moved into our new space, we’ll be able to be open to the public more hours of the day,” said Andrea.“One of our biggest goals is to really outreach to the community more. We’ll continue offering a monthly orientation workshop that serves as a great introduction to what members of the community can do at WCA-TV. Our staff will also continue hosting Community Production Days, where we help local organizations produce videos about their services and initiatives”

The staff at WCA-TV is very grateful for all her efforts over the years to better the mission of the station. Responsibilities as Executive Director include supervising the station’s nine-member staff, coordinating meetings and sports coverage, acquiring new equipment and services for the station, and much more. 

“We couldn’t be happier for Andrea as she officially takes on this role as Executive Director of Watertown Cable,” said WCA-TV Programming & Communications Manager Samantha Olson. “She’s been an advocate, a leader, an example, and a friend to the staff here. Andrea took on the interim director position at the height of many changes coming down the line for the station and jumped right in without hesitation. There is no one I have more confidence in to lead WCA-TV into its next chapter and beyond.”

Already in 2023, WCA-TV has broadcast over 135 hours of original programming; including high school sports games, municipal meetings, and dozens of volunteer and staff produced shows. 

“I am so honored to be able to continue in this role after serving as Interim Executive Director for the last six months. This is truly just the beginning of my journey and I’m thrilled to be able to share it with a community I’ve grown to know and love over the last nine years,” Andrea added. “I want to thank my Board of Directors for giving me this opportunity, and my wonderful staff for being so great throughout this whole process and being so supportive of me. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the future holds.” 

About WCA-TV:

Since 2005, Watertown Cable Access Corp (WCA-TV) has been Watertown’s Public, Education, & Government Access (PEG) station. Our mission is to provide coverage of local events, meetings, and news, as well as access to our equipment and facility to engage our community and amplify their voices.

Our Public channel consists of community events, news, and locally produced programming. On our Education channel, you will find school events, sports, library presentations and WHS student produced programming. Our Government channel provides all your gavel to gavel coverage of local municipal meetings, including City Council, School Committee, Zoning Board, and more. WCA-TV also streams online 24/7, and all of our videos can be accessed on-demand anytime on our website.

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