Question #19 asked participants about what kind of programming they would like to see on PEG access television.58
19. Along with considering your communications needs, tell us what kinds of programming you personally would like to see on PEG access television. Check all that apply.
The following gives the real numbers of responses for each type of programming.
21 City/County Council Meetings (Zoning Boards, etc)
14 Government Agency Programming (such as Police and Fire Departments)
19 Safety Programming
24 Health Programming
19 Parks and Recreation Programming
22 City/County Sponsored Events
11 School Board Meetings
12 Focus on Schools Programming (curriculum reviews, district mapping, school schedules)
11 School Sports Programming
18 School Arts Programming
16 Academic Competitions
19 Higher Education Programming (spotlight on colleges, universities, entrance requirements)
17 Distance Learning (for and not for credit courses)
9 Higher Education Sports Programming
17 Higher Education Arts Programming
12 Higher Education Academic Competitions
32 Community Arts and Festivals Programming
26 Community Information Programming (spotlight on recreation, dining, entertainment, shopping)
24 Neighborhood Shows
21 Seniors Programming
21 Shows by and about Children
20 Shows by and about Persons with Disabilities
14 Second Language Programming
26 Ethnic and Cultural Programming
18 Women’s Programming
12 Gay and Lesbian Programming
17 Fitness and Lifestyle
15 Home and Garden Programming
8 Animal Shows
25 Political Programming (discussions, debates, candidates, “get out the vote,” etc.)
8 Military Programming
30 Local History and Culture Programming
24 General Non-Profit Programming
9 Religious Programming
A high level of interest among the respondents would rate at 20 and above. Numbers 10 through 19 show an average interest and numbers below 10 show a weaker interest. The listing of these types of shows comes from programming guides from access centers from across the United States. Depending on the community in which this question is asked, interest in particular types of programming will be stronger or weaker.
Participants were also asked to add their suggestions to the list of programming. Four participants did so as follows:
+ Veteran’s groups/issues
+ Special competitions such as a film festival w/all films shown on WCCA TV 13
+ English speakers of other languages
+ What’s here, what’s now!
+ Environmental concerns
+ How about a talk show? One with a live audience and contemporary topics. You could even do something like this once a month.
+ Renewable, sustainable and clean energy for transportation and buildings
+ Cooking—featuring local chefs
+ Employment opportunities
+ Call-in or write-in advice shows, i.e., car trouble advice, health advice, legal advice, mental health advice, home improvement advice, relationship advice
+ Need a separate channel for a menu of programming
+ College consortium
+ Featuring the inventive/inventions
+ Weekly news cap. The city suffers from not having a network affiliate and the news on the local Charter news show is woefully deficient in covering real issues in Worcester
+ By starting with the United Way, as a program all of these shows could be branched out
+ I think everything from A to HH is worth covering.59 However, I don’t think that each constituency can support such “niche” programming. So the ideal kind of programming would seem to cover a spectrum related in some way.