ACM

If our leaders really sincerely care or believe that citizen voices are important, or understood the value of public access as strategic resources to empower citizens and encourage civic participation through participation in an open electronic forum, or really mean it when they say that they are dedicated to support true media democracy, then they would work urgently to ensure Public Access is fully protected. Better still, not just work urgently, we should have it today.

Public Access is an electronic public square, an open forum. When corporations such as Verizon or AT&T or even government does anything to hinder, Public Access, diminish it's funding, or make it challenging for people to access public access resources, public censorship becomes obvious. People are speaking out and working hard to undo deregulation that has allowed corporate giants to restrict public voices, essentially an equivalent to shutting down a public square or forum.

This most recent edition of the NATO Journal publishes a great article written by Barbara Popovic, which updates us on the latest legislative activity concerning PEG channels. The article would make for good reading by our own Massachusetts Senators, as well as local authorities. More here

This is related to yesterday's blog
Public Access and PEG channels have been around for over three decades. Watching the way phone company lobbiest influence legislators you might think these people have been living in a dictatorship in a far off place on the globe. They seem to have no idea on the true value and benefits public access can provide to a community.

The writer of the article below ends with "A people without access to their airwaves is one without access to their government. " I am compelled to point out, for the sake of of own city leadership and for others , the point of the quote is not simply that we are able to simply "see" government in the act of doing it's business, but that the people will also have an opportunity to discuss, critique, and offer opinions in an open forum on those very airwaves or cable ways. In other words, to have a government access channel is not enough. Ideally, Public Access television is the venue that allows everyone an opportunity to participate without fear of retribution from government itself. Even dictators allow those they rule over watch what they are doing, if and when they choose. De-regulation of cable and phone industries or the move to state authorized franchises are paving a road full of disasters for democracy, free speech, and citizen participation. In a California loop hole, Time Warner has found a way to close fourteen public access stations in Los Angeles alone. The public outcry against such an act is rarely mentioned, if mentioned at all, in the mainstream media. Wonder why? The media is controlled by a select few and because profits matter more than citizen participation and democracy to those who control air, phone and cable ways. Our government leadership has not stopped this trend that threatens everyone in this country today. Why is it that it seems that cities, everywhere, are failing to understand the importance and value of public access television or that Public Access centers can offer a strategic priority to stimulate and encourage economic, cultural, and civic growth through it's unique mission of inclusiveness in electronic media platform?

The Hoffington Post, Dec 29th, Jayne Stahl writes:

On December 31st, Time Warner Cable plans to pull fourteen public access channels and studios in Los Angeles a city whose name has, for generations, been synonymous with media and broadcasting. This move will act to solidify recent gains in media consolidation, as well as set a dangerous precedent for television programming nationally.

Those of us born on the cusp of the McCarthy era, who are old enough to remember both McCarthys, also recall a time when another administration whose high crimes and misdemeanors would have gone undetected were it not for the free flow of information, and the ability of newspapers to pursue diverse paths in investigative journalism, a prospect which would be nearly impossible today.

Active dissent is greatly diminished in a climate in which independent programming is not enabled to survive. Allowing a cable behemoth, Time Warner, to eliminate more than a dozen public access channels means, in effect, green lighting standardized programming that exists solely to feed the corporate coffer at the expense of creative, community participation.

Bottom line, Mr. Attorney General: there needs to be diversity for the First Amendment to thrive. There needs to be citizen participation in a democracy, and no monopoly can be allowed to defeat that which is intrinsic to individual growth.

The Caucus for TV Producers, Writers, and Directors, Ed Asner, and all of us who are concerned about the life expectancy of an intellectual environment that embraces independence of thought, and diversity, call upon you, as chief law enforcement officer in your state, for injunctive relief, and a temporary restraining order against Time Warner to prevent them from pulling the plug on public access channels in Los Angeles this New Year's Eve.

A people without access to their airwaves is one without access to their government. On this, I know we agree.

****
Many agree with the fact that Public Access is to important to loose.
Share on the Alliance list serve, thanks to Rob McCausland is the following list of Hollywood celebs that agree and join the fight to stop Time Warner for shutting down public access stations in Los Angeles:

What do these Hollywood heavy weights have in common?
By David Hernandez
Save LA Public Access: Los Angeles Public Access Coalition
12/25/08

Rene Balcer, Emmy and Peabody Award winning writer
and producer of landmark television series “Law and Order”; co-creator, writer,
and producer of “Law and Order: Criminal Intent.”

Hinton Battle,
dancer, dramatic actor, singer, choreographer, writer, director, and producer
as well as America’s
only living three-time Tony Award winner.

Warren Beatty, Oscar-winning writer, producer,
director, and actor, winner of the Academy’s 2000 Irving G. Thalberg Memorial
Award.

Stefan Bechtel, non-fiction author.

Steven Bochco, Multiple Emmy, Peabody, and Humanitas
Award-winning writer, producer, and creator of landmark television series,
including “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law,” “Doogie Howser,” and “N.Y.P.D.
Blue.”

Peggy Charren, founder of Action for Children’s
Television, winner of the Peabody Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Vin Di Bona, Chairman of the prestigious Caucus for
Television Producers, Writers, and Directors, winner Emmy and Peabody Awards,
creator and producer of “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”

John Connolly, actor, President of the American
Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).

Blake Edwards, award-winning director, writer,
producer, one of only three recipients of the prestigious Preston Sturges Award
given jointly by the DGA and WGA, awarded the French Legion of Honor, winner of
the French Cesar.

Diane English, multiple Emmy-winning writer and
producer, creator of “Murphy Brown.”

Jonathan Estrin , Executive V.P., American Film
Institute, Writer/ producer/director of film and television, winner of WGA
awards, nominated for Emmys and Golden Globes.

Tom Fontana, Emmy, Peabody, and Humanitas
Award-winning writer and producer of “Oz,” “Homicide: Life on the Street,” and
“St. Elsewhere.”

Marshall Goldberg, award winning writer, (”Life Goes
On,” “LA Law,”
“The Paper Chase,” “Newhart,” attorney, Chairman of
the Writer’s Guild Industry-Health Fund and Producer - Writers Guild Pension
Plan.

Roger Gimbel , Emmy award-winning independent
producer.

Craig Haffner, President & CEO Greystone
Television , Emmy Award winning Producer.

Leonard Hill, prolific producer and leading member
of the prestigious Caucus for Television Producers, Writers, and Directors.

Gregory Allen Howard, screenwriter, “Ali,” and
“Remember the Titans,”
winner of Christopher Award and NAACP Image Award.
Winner, Howard University’s Paul Robeson Award.

Gerald Isenberg, Professor, USC School of Cinema -
Television, award- winning producer of over one hundred feature and television
films, former President of Hearst Entertainment, former Chairman, The Caucus
for Television Producers, Writers, and Directors.

Martin Kaplan, Associate Dean, USC Annenberg School
For Communication and Director, The Norman Lear Center (as well as a
screenwriter).

Richard Masur, actor, director, former President,
Screen Actors Guild.

Mary McCormack, star of “K Street” on HBO, critically acclaimed
stage, screen, and television actor.

Dorothea G. Petrie, Emmy award winning producer.

Frank Pierson, Oscar-winning writer, director,
President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the “Oscars”).

Sarah Pillsbury, Oscar and Emmy winning producer.

Marian Rees, renowned independent producer of “Miss
Rose White,”
“Love is Never Silent,” “Decoration Day,” “A Son’s
Promise,” and other films that have garnered eleven Emmy Awards and thirty-six
Emmy Nominations, two Golden Globe Awards, six Christopher Awards, the
Humanitas Prize, and a Peabody.

David W. Rintels, multiple Emmy and Peabody-winning
writer-producer, “Darrow,” “Sakharov,” “Andersonville,”
“World War II: When Lions Roared.”

Victoria Riskin, Past President of the Writers Guild
of America, west, and award winning writer-producer.

Allen Sabinson, Dean of Drexel University’s Westphal
College of Media Arts and Design, former President of Production at Miramax
Film and senior executive at A&E, TNT, ABC, ICM, NBC and Showtime.

James Sadwith, Emmy-award winning director for
“Sinatra,” writer, producer.

Sissy Spacek, Oscar-winning actress.

Sander Vanocur, a forty-year veteran of print and
broadcast journalism, including work for The New York Times and Washington
Post, NBC and ABC News.

Paul Wagner, Oscar-winning writer-producer-director
of documentary and dramatic independent films.

Their Organization has just announced support of our
efforts to stop Time Warner Cable from closing down the Public Access Studios
in Los Angeles!

From the Alliance for Community Media List serve:

Reno, Nev.

Charter Agrees to Hold Off on Moving Public, Education and Government Channels

Reno, NV Charter agreed today it would not move Public, Education and Government
(PEG) channels over the next 90 days to allow the City of Reno and Charter
Communications to continue discussing the issues.

The City of Reno has agreed to hold off on filing for a temporary restraining order
against Charter Communications for the next 90 days.

On August 20, 2008 the City Council directed the City Attorneys Office to take legal
action to stop Charter from moving PEG channels from their current locations to
higher channel numbers on the digital tier. The channels were scheduled to move on
August 26, 2008.

Just moments ago, by a near-unanimous vote, the Senate stood up to Big
Media. They voted to throw out the FCC decision to let the largest
media companies swallow up even more local media.

This is simply an astounding victory, and it would not have happened
without the massive grassroots effort by you and thousands of others who called their senators, sent more than a quarter million letters,
posted thousands of pictures and stories on StopBigMedia.com, and testified at public hearings held by the FCC.

It was your dedication that made today's Senate win possible.

Today was a huge step forward, but there is still much to do. The fight against the FCC now moves to the House, where our elected representatives need to hear from us.

President Bush has promised that he will try to veto this bill. But tonight the Senate and the American people have spoken with one voice.
This historic vote sends a clear message that the only people who support more media consolidation are Big Media lobbyists and the White House.

We are in this struggle to bring more minority ownership, diverse perspectives and independent voices to the media. We need to make media consolidation an election-year issue. And we need to start talking about how to break up the giant conglomerates.

Corporate news today -- with its propaganda pundits, horse-race election coverage, and celebrity gossip -- undermines our democracy. We must continue to speak out and demand that the public airwaves be used to actually serve the public.

In just three weeks, thousands of people will be gathering together in Minnesota to build the movement for better media. You can join them at the National Conference for Media Reform, just visit www.freepress.net/conference.
FreePress

For today, know that you played a key role in the fight for better
media for all.

Thank you,

Josh Silver
Executive Director
Free Press Action Fund

Thanks to the Rob McCausland of the ACM for forwarding this to us.
SUBCOMMITTEE ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND THE INTERNET HEARING ENTITLED, "PUBLIC EDUCATION, AND GOVERNMENTAL (PEG) SERVICES IN THE DIGITAL TV AGE"

link

Note: Congressmen/women discuss how PEG access is now providing important local coverage that NO ONE else is providing.

C-SPAN COPYRIGHT POLICY

C-SPAN holds the exclusive copyright in the video of all the public affairs programming it produces.

Although C-SPAN is the only news media organization that regularly televises the legislative proceedings of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, it does not hold a copyright in that video coverage. That government-produced video is in the public domain which means that it belongs to the American people and may be used without restrictions of any kind.

As part of its mission to make the activities of the federal government more broadly available, C-SPAN has established a copyright policy that allows the public to use C-SPAN's video coverage of federal government events for their own purposes. Those who want to use C-SPAN copyrighted video will be able to do so without concern about further copyright restrictions as long as they adhere to the following policy:

# C-SPAN permits non-commercial use of its video coverage of federal government-sponsored events so long as C-SPAN is identified during the use as the source of the video.

# Keeping a "C-SPAN" logo on the screen during the use is sufficient to identify C-SPAN as the source.

# This generally unrestrictive policy regarding non-commercial use does not apply to (i) original programs created by C-SPAN, (ii) video coverage of privately sponsored events, and (iii) video coverage of other events not sponsored by the federal government.

# C-SPAN does not permit unlicensed commercial use of any of its video programming regardless of whether the use cites C-SPAN as the source of the video. Commercial uses of C-SPAN video may be permitted under an individually negotiated license for which a license fee may be due. [See Licensing and Permissions Requests]

# Nothing in this copyright policy is intended to affect any person's right to make a "fair use" of C-SPAN video programming.

To me, the following article is a warning that the city of Worcester should be paying attention and solidify a franchise before things shift against municipal and the PEG channel use of broadband. I have read that already Charter and Comcast have suggested they will follow suit. Net Neutrality must exist in order for PEG to remain on the Internet.
If we loose this, depending upon the use of the Internet to reach out and connect could be more costly than ever.

I am sharing this, with thanks, as it appears to be posted by Kim Peterson (Moneyblog Topstocks) and later presented on the ACM's list serve by Ron Beacom.
Time Warner trial ends flat-rate Internet fees

MD