Cable station looks for general manager
By Ken Powers Contributing Writer

Westborough - Interested in a career in television? Westborough TV Inc. may have just the opportunity.

The station, which oversees the town's three public access channels, is looking for a general manager. It's a full-time job and prospective candidates shouldn't worry about getting bogged down behind the scenes as the plan is to have the new general manager out front and in the public eye as much as possible.

"That's the biggest feedback we're getting - people are interested, but they're shying away because they don't feel they're knowledgeable enough about the technical end of the business," said George Barrette, chair of the Westborough TV Hiring Committee. "But that's fine with us. We've already got a superb guy - Bob Cantera - to handle the studio and production and the technical end of things.

"We need someone to be the point person, if you will, to let people know what we're doing and what we're providing the community," Barrette said. "We're the best-kept secret in town and I don't want us to be that anymore."

Whoever Barrette and the hiring committee decide to bring on board, they'll be replacing former General Manager Mark McMinn, who left Westborough TV in the spring.

"We both - the station and Mark - decided to go in diff erent directions," Barrette said. "Mark is the guy that got us started, that made us, and he's very knowledgeable about the technical aspect of the station. When he began, it was a one-person staff, now it's grown to three. Our technical needs are really served by Bob, who also makes sure the shows are up and running when they're supposed to be.

"What we need now is someone who is going to give us a presence, be our face in the community, our voice," Barrette said, "a person who is going to promote the station at Board of Selectmen meetings and Rotary Club meetings and Woman's Club meetings and Corridor Nine Chamber of Commerce events."

Barrette, who retired in the spring after two terms as a member of the Westborough Board of Selectmen, said the committee hopes to hire the new general manager by the fall.

"We're looking at September or October," Barrette said. "This is our slow season, so there's no need to rush to fill the position. We can work at a normal pace. As a committee, we took time to really think through what we wanted and design the job before we began advertising it."

Barrette said the committee has already received a dozen resumes and has had inquiries about the job from about twice that many people. He said the committee will continue to accept resumes for a few more week and then begin to pare down the list of candidates and begin interviews later this month.

"I don't know how many people we'll interview - the committee as a whole will decide that," Barrette said. "But I think we'll probably have two rounds of interviews before we decide."

Barrette said the committee has held meeting to go over the resumes already received and will do so on a weekly basis until the application process comes to a close.