Community Media Review, Vol. 25, No. 4, Winter 2002

44 Pages·2002·28.1 MB·

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UPFRONTPA GES 3-8
WINTER 2002-2003
VOLUME 25, NUMBER 4
Bunnie Riedel, Brian Wilson, Board of Directors
CMR EDITORIAL BOARD
Dirk Koning, Chair
ilarry Haasch, Information ServicesCha
John W. Hiegins, Bill Kirkpalrick
Introduction, Heidi Grace, 9 1 Elections & Community Access
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF THIS ISSUE Television, Lurline McGregor, 11 I Creating an Election Portal
-
Heidi Grace
in Santa Monica, Robin Gee and A1 Johnson, 14 1
Election Coverage Using Community Television
& Internet Streaming, Kyrsten Thompson and
IIeidi Grace, Government oan Gerten, 15 1 Contra Costa Television Surveys
RelationsICommunications
ection Viewers, Chris Verdugo, 15 I Video Voter
Information: How Community Media Can Educate Voters,
ALLIANCE FOR COMMUNITY MEDIA
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Area Madaras and Tracy Westen, 16 1 WhoA re You VODing
For?, Brenda Trainor, 18 I A Legal Analysis: Political Speech &
PEGAccess, James N. Horwood and Allison L. Driver, 20 I
Robert Xcal, Miguel Ortega. Steve Ranieri,
Kevin Reynolds, Nancy Richard, Nantz Rickar
16 Years of Television Extending Hillsborough
Dchra Rogers, James C, Rossi, Jr,
Matthew Schuster, Jackie Steven County, Florida's Horizons, GregVawter, 22 I
Karen Toering, Brian Wilsot~,
Two Tales of Capital Community TV& State
Politics in Oregon, Rosa Leonard!, 23 1
Public Access a Powerful Tool in Norwood,
and Carmen McKeehan, 24 1 'Passion'PowersB NN Coverage
ofBoston Politics, Curtis Henderson and Joe Heisler, 25 1
Towards a Regional Collaboration in Utah, James Harvey, 27 I
inquiries to the Alliance for Communily Medi Becoming 'The City'Channel, Mark L. Neuman, 28 I City of
666 11th St. NW, Suite 740, Washington,
Tampa Television, Thomas Dea, 29 I Chicago's 50th Ward
Leads the Way, Barbara Popovic, 30 I Yolo County Supervisor
it wivw.alliancecm.org
Dave Rosenberg, Autumn Labbe-Renault, 31 1 Government
Resources: National Guard, Department of
Copyright 02002 by the Alliance for Co Education,Army Newswatch, NASA, 33 1
munm Medid, Inc Prior mitten Dermi'ision of
the 'Mliance for Community Media required Doonesbury, 39 1 UN Leader Lays Down a
all qrmts or udge
Challenge, Kofi Annan, 40
rrnrinref!
As the journal of the Alliance for Community Media, COMMUNITMYE DIAR EVIEW shall support the
Alliance mission by providing: a comprehensive overview of past, present and future issues critical
to the Allianceand its membership; vigorous and thoughtful debate on those issues; and a venue
for members and like-minded groups to present issues critical to the Alliance.
M 3
Remembering Antonia Stone,
Founder of ~ K i V e t
Antonia "Ton? Stone, founder of Playing to Win and CTCNet,
died November 21,2002, from complications of myelodysplasia, a
form of leukemia.
The community technology movement lost of one its major
founders and leaders. Those of us who had the opportunity of
knowing and working withToni over the last several decades will
miss her vitality, vision, energy, commitment, and good humor.
Toni founded Playing to Win and the Harlem Community
Computing Center in 1983, seeing more than a decade before
anyone began talking about the digital divide what the potential
problems were as well as the promise and hopeful possibilities.
Like the organizations she founded, Toni was a leading advo-
cate for equitable access. Toni personified the mission to "strive,
in every arena, to bring this about." In a weakened physical state,
she traveled to Barcelona to deliver the keynote for the
Community Networking Global 2000 conference. Last fall, she
participated in an innovative multi-media Greater Boston
Broadband Network program on the Politics of the Public Access
Cable and Community Technology Movement, an archived video-
on-demand project, her last public appearance.
The 500 or so links that one can find using a search engine for
"Antonia Stone" point to some of the accomplishments and
acknowledgements of her work and life, none so characteristic as
her final conversations that mixed reflections about death and
dying with inquiries, comments, and concerns about family,
friends, colleagues, and the state of the movement. Toni will he
missed. More information is availabe at www.ctcnet.org.
-Peter Miller
Media Democracy Week
March l6-ZZ,ZOO3
The Alliance for Community Media is designating March 16-
22,2003 as Media DemocracyWeek. This is a week to celebrate
and advance the role of media democracy in the perpetuation of
liberty and freedom. This is also a week to bring attention to all
the good work you do everyday. We hope access centers around
that's reliable, easy to use. the country join with us in reaching out to our communities to
educate and advocate on behalf of media democracy.
Possible activities to celebrate Media Democracy Week
include (but are not limited to):
b Have your city or county council pass a resolution pro-
claiming March 16-22,2003 as Media DemocracyWeek (a sample
features you want. proclamation is available at www.alliancecm~;
b Circulate the Petition for Media Democracy to various
groups and organizations within the community (the petition is
also available at www.alliancecm.orgl;
b Create a Public Service Announcement or air the
Campaign for Media Democracy video at your access center.
magicbbxinc.com
(Available at cost for $5.00 from the Alliance national office.)
tel. [phone] For a full list of suggestions on possible Media Democracy
fax 541.752.561 4 Week activities, visit the Alliance website at www.alUancecm.or&
Remember. . .this is a week for you to do what you think works in
your community.
I had three experiences in one week
I often think of access television as a three-legged stool,
that reminded me of the importance of
access television. Government access being one leg, Educational access being
The first was seeing the "State of the another leg and Public access being another leg. In my opinion,
County" address delivered to the local
the stool is dependent on all three legs, notjust one or two.
Chamber of Commerce by my county
executive. GW the government access
channel for Howard County, Maryland, allowed me to become a partner in the me that he had seen access television in
showed the entire address from start to challenges we face rather than just a pas- his own community and he thought
finish without commercial interruption sive recipient of the decisions that my access was doing an excellent job. It was
(of course) or post-speech pundit analy- local government makes. a pleasant visit, one that I hope will help
sis (why not?).T he video of the speech A few days later, I traveled to York, us meet the challenges of the future.
has played several times on GTV and Pennsylvania to speak to the member- The meeting with Commissioner
frankly, I discovered it while channel ship meeting ofYCAT, York Community Adelstein highlighted for me how impor-
surfing. Access Television. About 70 producer vol- tant it is to make sure our regulators and
I was able to learn some valuable unteers showed up for the meeting and it elected officials are familiar with access.
information about the financial state of was my pleasure to watch them elect a Whether that is getting them into the stu-
my county and I was able to learn some new hoard of directors. YCAT has been in dio, or visiting them in their offices, mak-
valuable information about the chal- existence since 1975, and now it runs the ing sure that people understand what it is
lenges facing my county. For instance, channel 2417, all because of the dedica- we are accomplishing is critical to our
the county is going to receive less money tion of its volunteers. Starting in 1997, very survival.
from the state for public education, but YCAT began receiving $500 a month in Access is not one-dimensional or eas-
because of the population growth and support. Serving almost 95,000 suh- ily categorized. It is expanding as new
the demographic changes in my county, scribers, YCAT exists on $6,000 a year technologies both direct and are
we are going to need to build more pub- plus whatever they can raise from inter- informed by it. I often think of access tel-
lic schools. During the recent sniper ested citizens and volunteers. Even under evision as a three-legged stool,
attacks in the D.C. area, my county spent these terrible circumstances, YCAT covers Government access being one leg,
an additional $300,000 it had not budget- the city council meetings. Educational access being another leg and
ed to post police outside each of our My purpose for speaking was to Public access being another leg. In my
schools. The snow and ice storms that encourage the YCAT producers and to opinion, the stool is dependent on all
have hit our area have put our snow give them direction on how the next fran- three legs, not just one or two. It is these
removal budget into the red by about a chise renewal could he improved. Luckily three legs that often serve differentf unc-
quarter of a million dollars. there were a couple of council members tions but depend on one another to fully
These facts are not just about budgets in the audience so hopefully what I deliver necessary information to the
and number crunching, hut have pro- shared will give them the courage to community.
found implications for the quality of life improve the franchise agreement and the It often strikes me as I describe access
in my county. Howard County, Maryland fate ofYCAT, to people how neatly the functions of
prides itself on top-notch schools, top- At the beginning of the next week, PEG fit together. What one does not or
notch storm response, low crime, good Heidi Grace (the Alliance's communica- cannot do, the other can and will. The
roads, superior libraries and excellent tions and government relations associ- Alliance for Community Media is com-
social services. James Robey, my county ate) and I met new Federal Communica- mitted to upholding all the components
executive, pledges we will not experience tions Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. of PEG access television. Each and every
a slippage of services and I appreciate The purpose of the visit was to introduce community in America needs all three,
that, but as I watched his address I real- the new commissioner to PEG access and Public, Educational and Government.
ized that in order to keep the quality I've establish our organization as a resource Working together we can assure that the
come to expect, my property taxes will to his office on issues that affect PEG. As I need is met.
probably be goiog up. laid out our materials and began to
Bunnie Riedel is executive director of the
The simple act of GTV cablecasting describe what PEG is, Commissioner
Alliance for Community Media. Contact her
that speech has allowed me to be Adelstein interrupted me and said, "You
at [email protected]
engaged in my local community. It has guys are really important." He also told

FROM THE ALLIANCE CHAIR
The Yin and Yang of Government and Access
BY BRIAN WILSON
In the early '90s I was operations man- telecommunications operators provide internet accessibility, checking out the
ager of LMC-TV Once a month the mayors "green space" for public use. We, in our appropriate card to laptop users like a
of Larchmont and Mamaroneck, New York government role, need to better under- library book or a video camera, for use at
would descend upon our little studio and stand your needs and mission, and you the access center. Combined with e-
tape a talking heads program. They need to better understand the issues and Government and I-Nets the list of support
arrived, sat down in front of a generic set, threats cities face from the industry, lobby- to government grows.
clipped on their mics and I called "action." ists and even the state and federal govern- A recent study by Elway Research, Inc.1
Within an hour the program was done and ment. Given current politics and difficult found that 55 percent of citizens pay "a
on the channel. The same was true of the financial times, this should give us all lot" of attention to local government.
town supervisor, The League ofwomen pause for concern. Thirty-four percent thought they were
Voters, the Democratic and Republican During recent negotiations with a tele- poorly informed by local government, and
parties, and our Congresswoman, Nita corn provider in San Francisco, it was our 47 percent rated government information
Lowey. grassroots community, a coalition of local to be fair. When asked how they would
Nothing sold local government more nonprofit media arts organizations and most like to receive information abont
on access than the mayor walking down Access San Francisco, that kept the com- their local government, 46 percent said tel-
the street and having residents comment munity's concerns on the front burner of evision and 77 percent of those said their
on the program. And personally, nothing those discussions. But in the last year, sev- local programming channel. Sixty percent
made me happier than when Nita Lowey eral bills were introduced in Congress, and said they had web access and 89 percent of
told network reporters to step aside during NARUC, a national association of utility those said web programming was some-
her re-election victory party to give Access commissioners, in support of a "one sue thing they would like to have. In San
her first live interview after winning. Move fits all" franchising process, came danger- Francisco, about 48 percent of cable sub-
over ABC, LMC-TVwas there to stay. Those ously close to passing a resolution favoring scribers watch access for government
experiences were well remembered by federal leadership. The passage of this or information?
politicians when it came time to renegoti- anything like it poses a serious threat and We in access may argue against num-
ate the franchise, or publicly defend access has a direct impact on what access centers bers and ratings, but they are the barome-
when there was a programming controver- do. We need you to embrace our cause and ter that most people understand. In the
sy. Times have changed and technology turn out the grassroots support to hold mid-80s I was a writer on a CBS TV show
has advanced. But, the symbiotic relation- government's feet (including local) to the that was cancelled for ratings in the 5.0
ship between government and access fire. We need your support in our effort to range. Recently LifetimeT V won the rat-
remains.Yin and yang. We need each facilitate real competitive broadband ings sweep in cable with a 2.0+ rating.
other. deployment. And we need yon to under- Times have changed. But here in San
I now sit on the other side of the coin. stand so you can educate your grassroots Francisco, in 2002, SFGovTV had ratings of
I'm a government regulator and analyst. supporters and they will understand. 10.7 and a market share of 22.8, represent-
My job is to create, implement and oversee Likewise, you need us to protect your ing more than 48,000 viewing homes, and
policies that govern franchisees occupying interests, defend your appropriations and Access San Francisco had al.5 rating and
our Public Rights ofway (PROW) and to programming when citizens call for 3.1 share. That's better than A&E. Make
administer the grant for the management removing programs from the channel, or room Lifetime, access is here to stay.
of the city's Public Access channel and tight budgets call for cinching the belt and This appears to be a partnership to me.
facility. I interact with telecom companies, elected officials eye franchise fees. There By improving our mutual understanding of
cable providers, overbuilders, constituency are many opportunities to demonstrate our respective roles and responsibilities we
groups, elected officials, access producers the depth and capacity that access has to can better serve each other in Alliance.
and the list goes on. Government needs to reach the public in support of government. 12001 Elway Research, Inc, Seattle, WA,
look to you to provide access to the public, The obvious is programming by and for statistically valid phone survey.
support in the provision of services and its local officials,b ut there are other examples 2 2002 Pacific Research Institute,
Viewership Study
struggle to insure that authority over the and models-websites, web streaming and
PROW remains local. archiving of programming, and offering a Brian Wilson is chair of the Alliance for
Why care abont local authority over variety of telecommunications services Community Media and a former PEG ED
the PROW? Because it is the industry's beyond video. Digital compression has the and currently a public policy, planning and
complianceanalystfor the City and County
occupancy of those PROWS that translates potential of offering six channels where
of San Francisco. Contact him at
to the lifeblood of access, funding through there was just one. WiFi (802.11) might be
Brian. [email protected].
franchise fees, and demanding that explored as a way of providing wireless
t
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