Table Of ContentIn Memory of Dirk Koning
1957-2005
His gentle, visionary nature leaves an
extraordinary example of leadership.
He was truly a passionate ambassador
for the industry and will be deeply missed
Cable/Broadcast Automation CONTROL PRODUCTS
pioneering web-centric automation for access stations
program library . character generator . web schedule . event controller . di-e -! o servers I
h e r o .
I
public relations tia
operations managt
graphic artist
director
en the ~ , t yof Savage cut the community television
budget, Jeff was the only one left standing. He was expected
to maintain the quality and quantity of programming on their
public and government channels ... by himself. With Cablecast
and Carousel, Tightrope Media Systems' powerful web-
centric automation sytem, he is able to do just that.
"I do not worry about ai.
on my mind In fact, so1
Jeff Renner, City of Savage Minnesota
Jeff took advantage of Cablecast's web interface along with
Carousel, its built-in character generator. Any time he needed
to add messages to the Carousel system, he logged in from
home and updated it within seconds. Cablecast and Carousel
are the centerpieces of a two-channel head end that cost the
city less than ten thousand dollars!
If you really want to know how station managers feel about
Cablecast, jump on the ACM mailing list and ask the people
who already use it. If your station is exploring ways that it
can use its head end more effectively, you need to see
Cablecast.
Alliance for Community Media
International Confere
and Trade
+he Marriott
Y
UPFRONTPA GES 3-8
Anthony Riddle, Tom Bishop, Board of Directors, Remembering
Dirk Koning
FORWARTDO THE PAST PAGES 1 1-43
Introduction, Tim Goodwin, 11 1 Who Will Benefit from New
Technologies?, Rev. Dr Everett C. Parker, 13 I Putting Communities
First: Telecommunications Policy in the Public Interest, June
Holley, 15 /BIG: the Consolidation of Corporate
Media, Robert W McChesney, 171 Cable
Franchising: Notes on Creating Public Space,
Fred Johnson, 21 1 Communications as aTool of
Democratic Community, PatAufderheide, 24 I
The Essential George Stoney, George Stoney, 27 I Basic Principles:
Maintaining the Foundation of PEG Access in a
ChangingW orld, Sue Buske, 30 /The Praxis of Access:
Access and Global Activism, John W Higins, 31 1
Pixel Dust &Rainbow Slush: Dichotomies of Digital
Distribution, Dirk Koning, 33 133Years Later: Why
Access, Bob Devine, 34 /Publicly Owned Networks:
Considering the Options, Brenda]. Trainor 361
Free Speech in the '90s: Myths and Realities,
HerbertI. Schiller, 39 I Access in the 1990s: A
Modest Manifesto, Fredlohnson, 41 /Freedom &
Community: Staying Relevant in the Digital
Age, Dirk Koning, 43
ON COVER
THE
The collage of covers from COMMUNMITEYD IAR EVIEW[Sa nd
CTRslfrom the 1990s and 2000s on this issue of CMR rep-
resents less than halfof those in the publication's 28-year
archives, the source of articles for this issue, as we reprise a
few that help frame some of the philosophical underpin-
zings we hold dear as community media activists.
A5 thejournal of the Alliance for Community Media, COMMUNITYMEDIA"RsEhValIlEsuWpp ort
the Alliance mission by providing: a comprehensive overview ofpast, present and future issues
critical to the Alliance and its membership; vigorousand thoughtful debate on those issues;
and a venue for members and like-mindedgroups to present issues critical to the Ailiance.
à ‡
New Emergency Blast software lets you
send critical messages from a remote PC.
Ideal for communication such as:
Emergency Messages Inclement Weather Alerts
School Closures Fire or Traffic Accidents
Time-Sensitive Community Information
Emergency Blast software works with the Aavelin
Composer software. Create information quickly
from templates, then "blast" as single pages, or
a crawl line. Content may be scheduled. Because
everything is done remotely, this is an ideal usage
environments
-
Linda O'Toole Kaylynn TwoTrees
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Moving Forward, Looking Back
BY ANTHONY RIDDLE
T
he next two issues of COMMUNITY In looking at CMR-and its predeces-
MEDIARE VIEWa re inextricably linked: sor, COMMUNTITEYL EVISIROENV IEW-wea re
This issue represents Community struck by how prescient and accurate
Media Past and the next, Community have been the articles carried in these
Media Future. One cannot talk about the pages. There has been a consistent and
latter without first considering the former. strong balance between noting possibility
Recently, I have been dubbing all my and threat in technology and politics. The
oldVHS, 314" and Betamax tapes to DVD. articles have been written by early lumi-
It saves so much space and is so much naries of community media-George
easier to maintain than those wrinkly, Stoney, Sue Buske, Bob Devine, Dirk
oxide-flaking,s ticking-together-and- Koning, Fred Johnson, John Higgins and
breaking, Alzheimer's-waiting-to-happen others. They have included the stories
that I have entrusted with my history. Last and observations of countless blue-collar
weekend, as I was dubbing tapes from the community activists and organizers. And,
1996 Cable Act hearings, I was taken by of course, Managing Editor Tim Goodwin
the very wild, utopian ideas expressed by and Editorial Board Chair Dirk Koning
some of the Congressional have woven a powerful and consistent
Representatives, nameless for now, in voice throughout.
support of deregulation and consolida- As we look forward to making the
tion of ownership. There were many changes to CMR that new technology
unbelievable comments about how well demands, we take this moment to look
the public interest would be served auto- back. The Asante people of Ghana have a
matically in a 500-channel universe. symbol called Sankofa~as wan with its
There was confidence that deregulation graceful neck turned to the rear. It means,
would lead to greater competition. "One cannot move forward without first
Instead, the opposite has happened. looking back." Historical perspective, tra-
Objective reports show that cable news jectory, direction.
services have adopted entertainment for- In this issue, we invite our friends to
mats in the race for greater profits. As look back at our words and deeds. The
fewer cable companies gain greater con- Alliance for Community Media was com-
trol of the market, they also have a greater munity media before community media
share in ownership and control of the was cool. We know who we are, we know
content they deliver to maximize profit. why we're here and we know where we all
Smaller internet and broadband providers should be going. Our organization has
are constantly driven out of business by embodied the true spirit community
cable and telecom giants. media for almost 30 years. In this issue we
But what interested me most was that review. In the next, having caught a fresh
the arguments made by business, the few breath, we will renew, reorganize and
representatives of community and the refocus on the next 30.
committee members all relied heavily on Anthony Riddle [[email protected]]
an ability predict the future. It was a con- is the new executive director of the Alliance
for Community Media.
test. As though it were a sports show dur-
ing which the sportscasters prove their
mental acumen by predicting contradic-
tory outcomes to the same event. Why is
this activity so important to us humans?
Because those who accurately predict the
future on a regular basis are more likely to
choose the correct path in the present.
FROM THE ALLIANCE CHAIR
Mind If I Philosophize?
BY TOM BISHOP
G
re me one public access producer,
me school video instructor, one city Imagine tnai, a media mere everyone can say what they
telecommunications officer, one non-
profit community access executive direc- want, not just the rich and powerful. A media where commu-
tor, one community radio station general nities can come together instead of being divided by what
manager, an unlimited bar tab and the
passes for news on most broadcast stations. A media that
ability to fiddle around with the space-
time continuum, and I can provide you actually fulfills the vision of our nations founders and holds
with a work on community media philos- government accountable instead of currying its favor.
ophy to rival the works of Aristotle and
Plato.. .
.and when its all said and done you'd
find that not everyone agreed, and that's broadcasters who are tired of being more other items of importance possible.
part of the beauty of our movement. commodity than communicator, citizens By now you've probably noticed the
Paraphrasing from Tip O'Neil, all access who don't know beans about the inherit danger for amateur philosophers
philosophy is local, and more than that, Telecommunications Act of 1996 but like me ..., the tendency to ramble! But I
it's personal. know that there is something wrong with defend that practice because in such ram-
We all have different motivations that their local media and many, many more. blings the new ideas and kernels of truth
bring us to community media. Some are All of these people hold their own that help enhance and define our move-
activists, some feel the need to broaden philosophical views as to why we need ment are found.
the horizons of others, some want to media that is for the people and by the The theme of this edition of the
change the world and some just want to people hut they agree that we need it. And Community Media Review is "ForwardTo
have fun. that right there is your most basic philos- The Past," and in it we look at the very
But underneath all this is an idea we ophy for community access. We need foundations of access with articles from
can all agree on; we need electronic green media that is for the people and by the previous CMRs by much more learned
space. We need a place to carry out our people. access philosophers than me.You'll read
personal philosophy of community My philosophy on Community Media about the philosophy in what we do and
media. is pretty broad. I want a place for all peo- the motivations that bring us together.
At the recent National Conference on ple to communicate; I want all people to We often get caught up in the day-to-
Media Reform I had the opportunity to have the tools they need communicate; I day activities of working in Community
see not only how threatened that elec- want all people to have the-training nec- Media: DVD's and BNC cables and micro-
tronic green space is (something we in essary to use those tools. For me that is phones and camera reservations. We don't
Community Media have known for a long cause enough. For others it is their specif- always take the time to step back, view
time) but also how strong a movement ic cause that necessitates a vibrant com- the whole field of play and contemplate
there is for changes in our laws to ensure munity media. It might be spreading their our movement with a broader vision.
and grow a media that serves communi- faith, speaking out on issues of public pol- This CMR is a golden opportunity to
ties and individuals. icy or seeing to it that young athletes get take that step back, shut out the noise
Imagine that, a media where everyone the exposure and recognition they and glare, and think about why we are
can say what they want, not just the rich deserve. here and where we want to see this organ-
and powerful. A media where communi- The difference here is one of degree. ization and this movement go in the
ties can come together instead of being For me, and many of you, community future.
divided by what passes for news on most media is our cause. For many who make Tom Bishop [[email protected]]i s execu-
broadcast stations. A media that actually use of the services we help provide, it is a tive director of Media Bridges In Cincinnati
fulfills the vision of our nations founders means to their own primary end. and chair of the National Board of the
Alliance for Community Media.
and holds government accountable It brings to mind something that our
instead of currying its favor. late friend Dirk Koning often said in refer-
And the beautiful thing is that we have ence to community broadhand, "This is
allies in this vision. CommunityWiFi pro- oxygen." Community Media is the oxygen
ponents, LPFM advocates, creators of necessary for communities to survive and
zines and underground newspapers, thrive. It is the fuel that makes so many
m
Remembering Dirk Koning 1957-2005
BY TIM GOODWIN answer "two-meters plus." Height was his Dirk. He was, he said, a "community
'I
e stood six feet eight inches tall and most obvious feature, and it served him organizer, around the use of media to
he was dressed in a T-shirt with a and the community media mission well. share information." Maybe you'd expect
slogan on it and his name was Dirk Inevitably, it found its way into scores of no less from this son of a missionary who
and he loomed over me to ask if I had a articles (this one no exception) and in began life on a Zuni Indian reservation in
few minutes to talk about public access most of the eulogies that followed his New Mexico.
TV Sure. Hell, yes. As soon as my pulse death February 10,2005 from an often- Dirk understood early where the tech-
rate returned to normal. As soon as I done heart procedure gone fatally wrong. nology was heading. "It seemed to me
could stop wondering whether I'd get to Physically big that he was, Dirk was such a natural evolution-convergence of
keep my credit cards. Actually, once I real- absolutely huge in our movement. He all information into digital transmission,"
ized he did not intend to carve a zodiacal was, I would tell him, the best thing I ever he said, "Voice, video and data would not
sign on my abdomen with the rusted edge did for community media, an honor I had necessarily be independent worlds any
of an Indiana license plate, I sort of wel- as founding chair of the Grand Rapids longer, either in the media or the meth-
comed his company," Community Media Center when we hired ods." And then he set out to make it so at
So began Pulitzer Prize-winning him as executive director in 1981. It was a the Grand Rapids Community Media
media critic Ron Powers in his July 1986 choice between public access television Center, which today exemplifies the com-
column in GQ magazine following the or the US. Peace Corps for him. Hiring munity media center model with its pub-
annual meeting of the National Cable Dirk was also one of the best things I ever lic access television, FM radio station,
Television Association in Dallas. Of all the did for myself.W e became best of friends, nonprofit internet service provider, com-
13,148 "bust-my-buttons hidnisspeople" soul mates, and fellow travelers along this puter access, and media literacy institute.
there, he found Dirk's rap on community path of democratic communications and Dirk saw long-term survival in providing
media the most compelling. free speech. Then as now, it was all about all things media to the community, and
Dirk Koning was a big man! "Five- the mission, this philosophy of building he bad a knack for keeping his eyes on the
foot-twentv" he often would tell ~. eo.n le community through media. prize.
who invariably asked. Overseas "Every man a king, Huey Long "We have an old fashioned co-op with
he would once said," Powers concluded in a new tech twist," he told me. "There's a
that 1986 column. "Access television sound bite for you!"
is beginning to promise that every And Dirk is largely the reason you're
man can at least he a Ted Turner. reading COMMUNMITEYD IAR EVIEriWgh t
Or a Dirk Koning. Eat your heart now. For many years, up until his death,
out Dallas. The hour of Grand he was chair of the CMR Editorial Board.
Rapids approacheth." His byline appears in CMR more often
Dirk defined the very mean- than anyone else. He was guest editor-in-
ing of community media. The chief more often than anyone else. During
medium was never the mes- some tenuous times for the Alliance [then
sage. It was never just televi- NFLCPI, he managed to rescue CMR
sion. Never just radio. Never [then CTRI from obscurity. He prevailed
just the internet. It was all on me to become managing editor in the
those things and more. early 1990s, and again when I returned
These were just tools to from Russia and the Peace Corps in 1997.
The world's biggest executive director in the wortd's smallest office as
Amsterdam's Ruud deBruin remembers him.
