MEDIA DEMOCRACY COMES TO THE CENTRAL VALLEY

MEDIA DEMOCRACY COMES TO THE CENTRAL VALLEY
by Mike Rhodes

Don’t like what you see on the television these days? Think you could do better? Well, if things go the way they should, TV (cable TV, at least) is about to get a whole lot better. That is because our new cable service provider, Comcast, must renegotiate the franchise agreement with the City of Fresno. Actually, they are negotiating a new agreement with Fresno County, the City of Clovis, and Madera. But, more about that later.

The new franchise agreement will determine the future of cable TV in this area for the next 10 to 20 years. Perhaps the most interesting prospect is the possibility of Public, Education, and Government (PEG) access:

The “public” channel(s) will give every person and organization the opportunity to have a TV show, for free. Individuals and groups can produce a show about anything they like: immigrant and worker rights, a talk show like The Right Stuff from the Left, or music from Cambodia. The possibilities are endless.

The “education” channel(s) will be used by schools to share knowledge through distant learning programs, inform the community about learning opportunities, and show events that take place at schools, such as musical performances, dance, and sports. This channel will also provide students with a valuable opportunity to learn the skills needed for television production.

The “government” channel(s) will give you a chance to see how government works. In addition to showing the City Council and Board of Supervisors meetings in their entirety, the channel can be used to show what is happening in important board and commission meetings, to interview elected officials, and to cover key events.

PEG access will increase civic participation by providing the community with as many channels as needed. When one PEG channel is filled up with programming 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the community will get another channel. PEG access on cable TV will be the biggest soap box for free speech ever imagined in this community. There will be no censorship, there will be unlimited time available, and best of all, it will be free. We expect Comcast, when the new franchise agreement is signed, to provide the community with PEG access, a community media center, and all the equipment needed to produce quality programs.

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What would you do with your own TV show?
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Our taking control of what we see on TV bucks the trend of media consolidation and the domination by corporations to control all content. PEG access will give a voice to the voiceless and give community groups and individuals an opportunity to participate in public debate about important local and world issues. I believe that this is the largest restructuring of access to the media in the Central Valley since TV went on the air more than 50 years ago.
What the community stands to gain with PEG access is threatened by corporate greed and public apathy. Comcast is not going to give us all these new services out of the goodness of its corporate heart. Expect Comcast to fight tooth and nail to limit PEG access in any way they can. They will send in the best lobbyists to convince City Council members that nobody cares about this issue. They might threaten us with higher rates or offer a better deal for education and government access if the City Council agrees to drop public access. The possibilities are endless and the stakes are high. The counter to the endless resources Comcast will throw into this fight is community involvement. If community groups and individuals want to democratize media and have a voice in their world, they will keep their eye on this ball.

The City of Fresno is setting up a series of community needs assessment meetings that will be held in October to find out what you think about and how you would use PEG channels. It is absolutely critical that the city hears from community members at this time.

The City of Fresno has hired the Buske Group (http://www.buskegroup.com) as a consultant to help in the negotiation of the franchise agreement with Comcast. City Council members should be thanked for their wisdom in hiring a consultant and leveling the playing field in this effort to support community media. The current agreement between the City of Fresno and Comcast ends in December 2004 but a new contract could be settled at any time.

Comcast contracts are also being renegotiated in Clovis, in Madera, and with the County of Fresno. If you live in any of those areas you should contact your elected representatives and ask them what they are doing to guarantee PEG access in the new franchise agreement. Encourage them to hire a consultant to help their staff in this technically complex field. It would be great if these different government entities worked together and cooperated to bring media democracy to the Central Valley.

For more information about this project contact Cable Access Now (CAN) at (559) 226–0477.

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