I recently received this article in which an associate editor of MediaShift discusses the current and future relevance of public access television.  You're invited to read it here and provide your responses to questions:

Is public-access TV still important or is it a relic of a bygone era?

How would it have to change in the future to stay relevant?

And, if you're a fan, what shows do you watch on public access?

In the heart of the media world, the City of Los Angeles, through California State legislation, appears to be shutting down public access television operations by the end of this year.  Read and hear more about this action at Full Disclosure.net

A little closer to home, the City of Madison's Mayor Dave Cieslewicz recently mentioned an idea to remove funding for WYOU, Madison's public access TV channel, and direct these funds instead to Madison City Channel, broadcaster of City meetings and civic activities.  As reported in the Madison paper, Isthmus, by Vikki Kratz, the Mayor's goal "is not to kill WYOU, but to find efficiences.  Kratz quotes the Mayor: "I understand WYOU provides a service.  I want to discuss with them if there's a way to do it differently."   WYOU has since launched a petition for the Madison area to save its station.

Entry revised 10/01/08.   Since this blog was posted, Madison's Mayor announced he would not cut funding to WYOU in 2009, but would seek to cut it by 50% in 2010, and to cut funding entirely in 2011.    Read and view more on this story at WYOU.

Entry revised 10/03/03.  Los Angeles isn't the only California city in which public access TV faces extinction.   In Ventura County, public access TV operations to the City of Ojai face the end of operations by year's end.  As reported on the Ojai Valley News Blog by Nao Braverman, "Public access cable services provided by Time Warner, which have dwindled over the years, will be terminated at the end of December, according to Time Warner’s spokesperson Patricia Fregoso."

 

. . . and its name is Denver Open Media.  Geoff Daily at App-rising.com wrote an excellent article recently about activities in Denver, CO to "develop a model for PEG access (public/educational/government) access centers that introduces new efficiencies through automation and open source software, and that redefines what it means to have a community channel".  It applies opportunities used by the public to upload their videos to YouTube and other online locations to the arena of PEG access television.   Denver's access TV programming schedule is determined by its viewers, who are invited to vote on the shows they enjoy.  This feedback determines the programming schedule on the TV channel.   This voting procedure has had its challenges in Denver, but its staff is working to make it fair and efficient.

Recently, New York radio station WYNC posed the question: “In the era of YouTube and other citizen media like blogs, online social networks, and wikis, is public access television still relevant?”   What's your opinion?

An article by Josh Goodman at Governing.com reports, “one could argue that public access TV has outlived its usefulness. In the era of Internet video, anyone with a digital camera or cell phone can broadcast his musings around the globe with minimal effort.”  In a Concord Monitor article, Georgia Tech professor Hans Klein says, “I'm a sympathizer. But it hasn't worked. It's hard to find someone whose life is not touched by Internet-based community media.”

Others continue to find tremendous relevance today in public access TV. Cliff Jacobs of Queens (NY) Public Television writes, “The Borough of Queens is the most ethnically diverse community in the United States. Mainstream television can not cater to the needs of such a diverse community. QPTV's independent producers create programs for our multi-cultural community. Without these multilingual programs, many of our viewers would be devoid of a lifeline to their community.”

Several years ago, Public Access of Indianapolis published an online profile of media activist George Stoney in which Mr. Stoney argues that the Internet has not replaced public access TV. “It's getting the attention of a lot of people, but it doesn't replace the need for group action,” he said. “So much of the Internet is individual stuff.” He adds, “So many people have their own cameras, but even if they have editing software on their computers at home, they lack the kind of group discussions and leadership that makes their stuff look competent and carry a full message.”

Lauren Glen-Davitian, Executive Director of Cambridge Community TV commented last year (after winning the George Stoney Award for Humanistic Communication), “Free speech is more than just shouting out into the wilderness . . . Just because you can post something on YouTube doesn’t mean you have free speech.”  Her interview appeared in an article by Ken Picard for Seven Days--Vermont's Independent Voice.

Our own organization Kenosha Community Media, Inc. has only recently stuck its toe into Internet-waters with development of a Web site, an e-newsletter, YouTube videos, and this blog, but these features—while they certainly can be improved upon and added to—do not replace, but instead enhance, KCM's purpose to provide a community conversation among citizens of Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie, and Somers, WI on ideas, issues, services, events and activities that are important to them and our community.