(This article originally appeared on the Web site of Arlington Independent Media.)

In the last few years, Indiana has lost many of its public access television stations and with them the locally produced programs that once served its communities. No more high school sports coverage in Merrillville. The sheriff in Porter no longer offers crime-stopping tips on the access station there. East Chicago used to have a public access program devoted to city politics, but no more. Producers of shows that once covered local programming, culture, and events have found the doors locked and the lights down at their public access studios.

It would be nice to say that the forces that killed public access in these towns were local to Indiana. But the fact is that in the U.S., public access is threatened as never before in its 30+ year history. The threat comes from changes in new franchising laws enacted by state and local governments. In some cases, cable TV providers have pressured lawmakers to leave out the franchise provisions necessary for public access to survive.
The future is uncertain. For public access to survive, state and local governments must commit to providing this resource in a time of change.

Why Franchising Matters

Franchising has always played an important role in public access TV. Cable companies need to use local infrastructure (called “right-of-way”) to deliver a television signal. They need to hang cables from telephone poles and tear up streets to bury fiber optic lines. To compensate local governments, they pay what’s called a franchising fee. Until recently, most local governments had complete authority in negotiating these fees. They could determine how much to charge the cable companies based on the needs and goals of the community.

Here in Arlington, Virginia, the local government made a decision in 1982 to provide citizens with the access to media. In its franchising agreement, it negotiated funds for a public access television station, which now goes by the name Arlington Independent Media (AIM). As each franchising agreement expires and the time comes for re-negotiation, the government has demanded funding for the station, as well as a home on the dial for the station’s programming.

Then Came Fiber

The past few years have brought changes to the telecommunication industry. Fiber optic technology has allowed companies that provide telephone service to also deliver cable television.  These new players entering the cable TV market don’t always want to pay the franchising fees that support public access, and have put their lobbyists to work convincing governments to do away with them.

Two years ago, a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives threatened to take away local governments’ ability to negotiate franchising fees. If it had passed, Congress would have determined how much cable providers had to pay for right-of-way across the country. Fortunately, the bill didn’t pass.

Undeterred, cable providers worked on state governments, pressuring them to create state-wide franchising agreements. This is what happened in Indiana, and the result was communities losing their public access stations. These communities no longer have a place for citizens to learn the tools of media nor a place on the dial for local voices.

Community Commitment

The news isn’t all grim. Here in Arlington, we have a franchising agreement that will keep us going until at least 2013. But it didn’t just fall into our laps. To get our franchising agreement, AIM had to organize and let lawmakers know what we wanted. Our experience may give you ideas on how doing the same in your area.

Several years ago, the Virginia state legislature considered a bill which would have enacted a statewide franchising agreement unfavorable to public access Rather than let this happen, AIM took action. We hired a lobbyist. We organized trips to the state capital in Richmond, where AIM staff members and members of our Board of Directors spoke on behalf of public access.

The bill was changed. We did get a state-wide franchising agreement, but not one fatal to public access. Still, it added a new wrinkle to our situation. Whereas the old funding agreement contained a provision that sent funds directly from the cable provider to AIM, franchising funds now went through the county government. There’s no law saying the county has to fund public access; it’s a decision made every funding cycle.

AIM responded by sending a group of more than 50 producers and citizens to a county Board meeting, where AIM executive director Paul LeValley spoke on behalf of the station. At one point he asked all AIM supporters to stand up. The sight of dozens of voters willing to show up at a county meeting on behalf of public access was very impressive. Our franchise agreement turned out well.

Depending on the situation in your state, you’ll need to determine which public officials need to hear your message and the best way to get that message across.

No Entitlement

AIM’s situation is secure, at least through 2013. But in the new world of cable TV, nothing is a given. Franchising fees that funded public access stations were once a given; now, they’re something we have to fight for.

Those who believe in the public access mission of giving citizens the knowledge, tools, and opportunity to create their own programming need to get involved. Step one is to understand the situation in your state. Step two is to make your voice heard to the right people. And when possible, share your experiences with public access producers in other areas, so that they can benefit from your experience.

Update, January 2009: The Los Angeles Times reports that 11 of that city’s 12 public access staions have now been shut down. Read the article here: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/05/entertainment/et-publicaccess5

The man who wrote The History of Public Access Television says that history may be coming to an end. Here’s his take on the three-way dance between access, government, and telecommunication companies that may spell the death of this beautiful, quirky institution.

Threat to Access”
By Bill Olson
May 17, 2007

You might recognize my name as the person who wrote an essay called “The History of Public Access Television. (www.geocities.com/iconostar/ history-public-access-TV.html). Sadly, that history may be coming to an end, thanks to efforts by AT&T to do away with local franchise agreements.

Currently in Wisconsin, AT&T has 16 lobbyists working the statehouse, trying to pass the bills written by their corporate lawyers. AB 207 & SB 107 were written to make it easier for phone companies like AT&T to offer “video services” (cable TV) by doing away with the requirement to negotiate franchise agreements with local governments. It would also do away with PEG (Public, Education and Government Channel) fees, requirements to serve an entire community (including impoverished neighborhoods) and a host of consumer protections.

AT&T has failed to pass a national bill along these lines, so now they are going state by state. They have already facilitated the passing of similar legislation in 11 states, and if they haven’t come to your state yet, they will.

AT&T is so intent to abolish public access TV in Wisconsin that it has singled it out for special requirements engineered to make this valuable service impossible to operate, including that we broadcast no fewer than 12 hours of new locally-produced programming every day, the elimination of PEG fees and that we pay for the equipment to send our signal to the cable companies.

For us, any one of these would put us out of business.

In Wisconsin, AT&T and its supporters have kept the bill on the fast track as much as possible. Less than two months after the bills were introduced, they were up for a vote. We could’ve been abolished in early May 2007. Our supporters in the legislature tried introducing amendments and tried to slow the bills down by sending them to the Joint Finance Committee.

Voting was along party lines. In both houses, all the Democrats voted to send their bill to the JFC, and all Republicans voted against it. The Assembly is Republican controlled, so the bill stayed there, and in fact, they recently passed it. The Senate voted by three votes to send their bill to the JFC where it’s not expected to be taken up again until after dealing with the state budget. We’ve been told we probably have until September.

One can’t really say that the Republican are the villains and the Democrats are the heroes; since the phone companies are organized and the cable companies aren’t, many liberal groups support these bills. And AT&T, apparently dismayed by the party-line voting, has recently hired their 16th lobbyist – Joe Wineke, the state’s Democratic chair.

Republican Assembly Representative Terry Moulton introduced an amendment that was added to AB 207 before it passed. Mr. Moulton as been saying and writing that he has saved public access TV with this amendment, but he only created a 3-year delayed reaction. Three years after the bill is signed into law (if it’s signed into law as currently written), public access TV will be put out of business.

So there is some hope: We have until September (possibly) to defeat or change the law. We are currently circulating a petition to urge legislators to add amendments that would reduce our revenue from PEG fees, but keep the fees in place, keeping us alive. The local city council (we broadcast live city council meetings) unanimously passed a resolution supporting us. We have supporters, we have a little time. We’ll see what happens.

* * *

Bill Olson
www.BillOlsonVideo.com
(715) 835-6446
iconostar@yahoo.com

Well, things are moving fast now that the votes have been counted. According to Gerry Lederer, counsel to the Law Firm of Miller & Van Eaton:

[The Nov. 7, 2006] election probably marked the end of Bell company-sponsored national franchise legislation this year.  Net neutrality and buildout advocates will not allow HR 5252 to be moved. (from A POST-ELECTION ANALYSIS: The Impact of the Mid-Term Elections on Local Government’s Communications Agenda By Gerry Lederer)

Miller & Van Eaton is a D.C. law firm specializing in telecommunications law, both domestic and international. Let’s hope Mr. Lederer is right about this!

There’s a bill in congress that’s bad news for public access television–H.R. 5252, also known as the Telecommunications and Opportunity Reform (ATOR) Act. It threatens the funding to public access stations across the U.S., though you might not realize it from a casual glance.

To understand why it’s bad, keep in mind how public access TV works. Cable companies need to use local infrastructure (called “right-of-way”) to deliver a television signal. They need to hang cables from telephone poles and tear up streets to bury fiber optic lines. To compensate local governments, they pay what’s called a franchising fee.

Until recently, most local governments had complete authority in negotiating these fees. They could determine how much to charge the cable companies based on the needs and goals of their community.

Many towns, cities, and counties decided to use their franchising fees to establish public access stations. These stations teach television production and provide citizens with a channel where their programs can be shown. This has brought real media empowerment to communities, as citizens there have a television channel they controll on their local cable service.

But the latest version of H.R. 5252 (ATOR) takes away local government’s right to negotiate with the cable companies. If the bill passes, Congress could determine how much cable companies pay for right-of-way, regardless of how much it actually costs your town, city, or county.

The good news is that H.R. 5252 hasn’t passed yet. There’s still time to tell your congressional representatives that you support public access, and want them too as well.

When communicating with your congresspersons, remember that H.R. 5252 is a big bill that covers a lot more than public access. If your congresspersons hear only that you’re against H.R. 5252, they have no way of knowing which issue motivates you. Let them know that it’s public access. If you have your own show on a public access station, tell them the name of the show and a little about it. Tell them why public access is important to you and your community.

If enough concerned voters contact congress, they will act to protect public access. Remember, if the people lead, the leaders will follow.

Actions you can take:

1. Send an e-mail to your senator or representative explaining your concerns over H.R. 5252. (Find your your senators and representatives here.)

2. Learn more about the issue. The Alliance for Community Media is the voice for public access on Capitol Hill-visit their Web site at http://www.alliancecm.org. Read their “How to get involved!” page.

3. Consider discussing these issues on your program. A lot of you produce talk shows, and this makes an excellent topic. Use public access to save public access! (The Alliance has even posted questions you could use in such a discussion-visit http://www.alliancecm.org for more information.)

4. Make an appointment to meet with your representative.

I originally wrote this for the newsletter of Arlington Independent Media (AIM), where I serve as president of the Board of Directors. AIM is the public access station for Arlington, Virginia. I’ve edited this article somewhat from the original. I’ve also created a page of links about H.R. 5252 for further reading.-Maurice Martin

This New York Times article does a good job of recapping the debate surrounding the legislation that would effect public access (free registration required).

Turns out the Museum of Broadcast Communications has also posted a history of public access television–this one by Douglas Kellner. Covers much of the same ground as Bob Olson’s piece, but more concisely. 

Did you know that you could go to govtrack.us and get an RSS feed that tells you about recent actions on a particular bill in the U.S. Congress? For instance, here’s an RSS feed on H.R. 3146.

A couple of bills floating around the Virginia General Assembly would have a negative impact on PEG in the Old Dominion: the Video Infrastructure Development Bill (SB 1337) and the Video Infrastructure Development and Competition Act of 2005 (HB 2534). There’s also a draft of a bill to amend and reenact the part of the Code of Virginia that relates to cable and television systems, but as far as I know it hasn’t been given a Senate or House number.

Someone named Bob Bill Olson has posted a nice History of Public Access television. I found it interesting that between 1972 and 1979, the federal government required cable companies to provide access channels in larger markets. From 1979 on, the feds haven’t required it, but they’ve allowed local governments to negotiate with the cable companies for access channels and facilities. The bills now under consideration (Senate Bill 1349, House Bill 3146, and Senate Bill 1504) would take away local governments’ right to negotiate for these resources–further wittling away at public access.