Public Access Channels Important

Albany Times-Union
By MARK McGUIRE, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, June 10, 2003 Page D1

More bad news for television viewers. And, no, I'm not referring to the fall TV season.

The Federal Communications Commission last week relaxed regulations on television ownership that will lead to more consolidation, and perhaps fewer viewing options.

The other shoe has been waiting to drop for months, if not years: The state Department of Public Service -- the agency that in part regulates cable television in New York -- has proposed new regulations that could cut the number of public, educational and governmental access channels (PEGs) on TV, and push others into a higher tier of service.

If these new regs, which are currently in preliminary discussion, are implemented by the Public Service Commission, a cable company and a municipality could agree to a single shared access channel, rather than the current minimum of two.

Other proposed changes include lengthening the time span of cable agreements from 10 years to 15 years; giving cable companies the opportunity to negotiate moving a PEG channel to a higher tier of service; and reducing automatic credits for cable outages. (For a full examination of the 125-page proposal, go to http://www.askpsc.com).

Sure, you can go ahead and make fun of public-access cable channels -- with their often cheesy programming and $1.99 talk shows in front of gold-lame curtains. But these outlets also present intensely local news or focused information not available elsewhere, and provide a needed soapbox for the citizenry.

They also open up a window on local government. Under the proposed regulations, a government that doesn't want its citizenry to see how the sausage is made can negotiate away a channel showing, say, City Council meetings.

Looking at the proposal in light of the FCC decision should give anyone pause. Slowly but surely, there are fewer and fewer pipelines for information, even as we move through the early stages of the Information Age.

If these changes went through, "There would be limited opportunity for public discourse," said Steve Mendelsohn, executive director for the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, which administers public-access cable television services in the borough. "It's a larger trend that would mean further deregulation and consolidation, and limiting opportunity for the public to exercise its First Amendment rights."

He's right. The argument that the Internet limits the First Amendment burden of broadcasters and public access television is specious. The gulf between a www.joehassomethingtosay.com and television -- even public access -- is massive.

And when you take into account the cuts taking place across public broadcasting -- another place where issues and ideas not "worthy" of commercial TV are broached -- you realize public access becomes that much more important.

Thomas J. Hillgardner, general counsel for the Association of Cable Access Producers, which represents independent television producers, has become extremely cynical about the PSC and the amendment process. "They don't even enforce the damn rules they've got," he said.

PSC spokesman Ed Collins stressed the proposal comes from the Department of Public Service staff after years of meeting with different parties, not the commission that would eventually have to sign off on any changes. An original April comment deadline has been extended indefinitely; no closure or vote date has been set.

Comments can still be sent to the Department Public Service via phone (800) 335-2120; via e-mail at http://www.askpsc.com; or snail mail via state Department of Public Service, Office of the Secretary, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany 12223.

Collins said municipalities and cable companies can agree to do more than what is outlined.

"All of these are minimum-standard proposals," he said. "In the end it's up to the municipalities to grant the franchises."

The problem is the regulations would change the starting point of any talks between a cable company and a municipality, said Ann Parillo, chairman of the municipal Schenectady Cable Commission and host of the Wednesday edition of the SACC Ch. 16 show "Schenectady Today."

"Well, it is negotiated, yeah, but in negotiations, (talks) start with what's allowed," she said. "It's tough to get more."

Time Warner Cable Vice President Peter Taubkin, who takes part in these municipal negotiations, said the "proposed changes are geared toward providing local governments with more authority in regard to local television franchise matters ... it's designed to provide additional flexibility."

For cable companies, public access takes up valuable real estate that could be used for more lucrative network programming. And while some communities utilize public access well -- Guilderland, Bethlehem and Schenectady (which is slated to add an educational channel next week) are three examples -- some just waste the space. Albany, for one, has done a horrific job with PEGs; there is no government access programming, and the little public access programming it has is administered by Time Warner Cable.

So here's the message: If your town stinks at providing public access, governmental or education television services, or if the pols don't want voters to see how they do their job, they can just negotiate your rights away.

"As the FCC has moved to allow ... the bigger media companies get bigger, the public access outlets become more important," Mendelsohn said.

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