Agenda - Council - 03/27/1990 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Cable AIMING TO SERVE Commission Promotes Community TV by Terry O'Connell, Administrator Cable Television and public service may sound like an unlikely brew, but that is exactly what the Quad Cities Cable TV Commission, representing the cities of Andover, Anoka, Champlin and Ramsey, has been trying to accomplish for the past year. In January of 1989 a change in the role of the Cable TV Commission took place. The Commission went from being strickly a regulator), board to the management board of Quad Cities Con~nunity Television (QCTV-33), tile community television channel number 33 of the cable tv system. Part of the Commission's programn~ing philosophy for community channel 33 is to provide cable tv viewers with programs designed for their public service and informational value as well as entertainment value. As Administrator for the Cable Commission for the past six years and Executix/e Director of the programming entity let me explain how the Commission wound up as community television manager and give an overview of how its programming philosophy compares to national community and public access trends. Cable TV companies have been required by law to provide PEG (public, educational, and government) access on cable television systems since 1972. However, the early promise of "public access" as it was called in the 1980's, never materialized. Current trends see the cities taking back the control for community channels from the cable tv companies. This new change in responsibility is creating a current upsurge in community programming. In the 1990's communities are still just waking up to the possibilities of running their own television channels. However this upsurge is far more than just waking -up to a potential that existed. Sue Buske, one of the founders of the National Federation of Local Cable Programmers describes a more complex scenario. She listed four arenas of change driving the trend towards increased community access programming: regulator3,, operational, community and technological. From the regulatory angle, the Cable Communications Act of 1984 codified the authority of local government to require cable operators to provide PEG access as a condition of renewing the cable tv franchise. From tile community angle, Buske pointed out that the 80's "gold rush" of cable franchising into metropolitan areas upped the ante. Cable companies vied for the right to deliver cable service, so money and video equipment became readily available. However, putting that hardware to a viable, meaningful use became another story when inexperienced community organizations, politicians and volunteers became involved. Some access centers experienced a lag of up to five years in the development of TV-literacy and the training of volunteer programmers. However, as the technology became more "user friendly", eager but inexpierenced producers found it easier to avail themselves of all the new technologies of cable television These fitctors have combined to help community television take off in the past few years, while still falling short of the envisioned potential. These channels or mini-tv stations are now usually being operated by organizations employing experienced "media-savvy" personnel. Like QCTV-33, many of these evolving community program entities still train anyone in the community interested in creating programs, from second graders to seniors, but the emphasis on production responsibility has been shifted to themselves. Typically, similar to our situation, the cable operators provide on-going funding, a certain amount of equipment and facilities in addition to the channel space. Building and training a base of part-time, experienced production aids and prioratizing and determining the types of community programs for our four cities were the major tasks facing the Commission. Now, one year later, programming includes live call-in shows, local sports, musicians, artists, commedians, school events and programming with the school district that acts as another media component to broader educational programs. The responsibility of community programming is a challenge the Commission has freely chosen to take on, serving as a meaningful way for the local governments to improve the information flow ttzroughout their four communities. It is through this kind of local infom~ation distribution that the Cable TV Commission and its programming entity QCTV-33 hope to fulfill the original promise of good community relations via the business of cable television. Anyone with community program ideas or comments, or anyone simply wanting further information about Channel 33 are encouraged to call us at 427-1411.