WCCA TV / Public Access Relevent Programming

I have read and heard many comments concerning public access. Many times the thought comes to me that public access centers need to do a better job educating the public about what public access / community media is and what it is not. It is simply wrong to equate or evaluate Public Access in terms of traditional commercial television values.

To the wisdom of the congressional cable act, Public Access was designed to meet community ( not just government ) needs. As such, a Public Access center, such as WCCA TV, must have the capacity, at any given time, to meet real community media need regardless of metrics that define traditional commercial television, on a non-discriminatory basis. Metrics based on commercial industry standards or even some traditional non-profit business models, seeking benchmarks and surveys is irrelevant and raises the question of posturing to serve some ulterior agenda.

WCCA TV (Public Access TV) is not just "TV", it is also a community media RESOURCE.

Ask the non-profits, the hospitals, the business', the interns, the cultural
institutions, the artist, the neighborhood and ethnic groups, church leaders, the individual users of your facility how valuable Public Access is for them. They will tell you. Look at the robust program line up that includes a full week of programs, training and workshops, public service announcements, that will also tell you.

Viewers are consumers, Public Access television is not consumer driven it is participatory driven founded upon a vision of inclusiveness.

Unfortunately, today it seems that many in government have forgotten that or just do not seem to understand that. Thankfully members of our city council haven't.

Subjecting evaluations that buy into industry standards can be a slippery
slope to Public Access extinction just as, I believe, arbitrary determinations
(that has been found to exist in a few PEG contracts) of what qualifies as
appropriate PEG programming or best public access practice can also lead
to censorship.

WCCA TV hopes to continue to meet community media for the long term.

Thanks to all you have wrote letters of support, editorials, made phone calls on WCCA's behalf. WCCA is your station, "The People's Channel". We want to keep it that way. With your help and support we can.

Mauro