[Peace-discuss] Re: [Discuss] Springfield IL: Access 4 producers wish to take over station

Mon Nov 23 11:48:52 CST 2009

I wouldn't be surprised if Comcast ends up getting a state franchise which
would eliminate the need to negotiate with individual communities. Many of
the head-ends in Illinois have gone from being located in individual
towns/cities to being consolidated into "Super Head-ends" which serve entire
regions. This trend started around 10 years ago and is part of an effort
being made by cable companies to offer programming at the most cost
effective approach for them. Since Comcast has taken over the market in
Central Illinois they have slashed their production staff and are still
cutting jobs so its no surprise to me to see this happen.

On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 7:29 AM, Danielle Chynoweth <chyn at ojctech.com>wrote:

>
> http://www.sj-r.com/entertainment/x1792907114/Access-4-producers-wish-to-take-over-station
>
> <http://www.sj-r.com/entertainment/x1792907114/Access-4-producers-wish-to-take-over-station>
>
>  *Access 4 producers wish to take over station         *
> *by Brian Mackey*
> *The State Journal Register*
> *11/21/09*
>
>
>  Local public access television producers are hoping to pick up where
> Comcast will leave off next month, when the cable provider ceases operation
> of Access 4.
>
>   Comcast has said it’s in negotiations with a “third party” to take over
> the station, but it declined to say who.
>
> But Access 4 producer and soon-to-be-laid-off employee Darrel Moore said he
> and other producers are the third party.
>
> “What’s happened around the country, according to our research, is it’s
> (public access programming) usually gone to a private civic organization or
> charity,” Moore said. “So I think if the producers band together, they may
> be able to rejuvenate the channel.”
>
> Producers are scheduled to meet at the station Tuesday night to discuss the
> situation.
>
> Rich Ruggiero, a spokesman for Comcast, declined to verify whether the
> producers are the “third party” in question.
>
> “At this point, we don’t want to divulge anything about what we’re planning
> right now, but hopefully we’ll reach a point soon where we can,” Ruggiero
> said Friday.
>
> As word of Comcast’s decision spread, producers and other veterans of
> public access TV in Springfield — some dating back to its local founding in
> the 1980s — have said it’s a worthwhile service that ought to be continued.
>
> Rich Morris, a vice president and senior wealth management consultant at
> U.S. Bank, has been producing “Great Things for Good People” for the better
> part of a decade.
>
> The show profiles charities and non-profits that might otherwise not get a
> lot of time on television, such as the Mini O’Beirne Crisis Nursery, the
> Sojourn Shelter and the Illinois Symphony Orchestra.
>
> “Normally, if you’re running a foundation, you’re on a very limited budget,
> and it’s very difficult to get airtime or advertising,” Morris said
> Thursday.
>
> But gradual staffing cuts leading up to the Dec. 4 layoffs have made it
> harder and harder to tape new episodes, Morris said.
> Comcast took over operation of Access 4 several years ago. Before then, it
> had been operated at the University of Illinois Springfield.
>
> Gerald Burkhart, director of the Office of Electronic Media at UIS, said
> Comcast pulled Access 4 out of the university when UIS decided not to renew
> its contract with Comcast to provide cable to apartments and dorms on
> campus.
>
> Comcast and predecessor cable companies had paid UIS to operate Access 4.
> The station’s budget at the time was about $170,000 per year, Burkhart said,
> and Access 4 had one full-time employee, one part-time worker and numerous
> student workers.
>
> For about a year, Access 4 has been running with just three part-time
> staffers, including Moore, who said he’s paid $11 per hour.
>
> The job consists of working with producers to tape shows, editing the
> programs and feeding them into a computer that connects by fiber-optic cable
> to Comcast’s “head end,” a facility that collects programming and
> distributes it throughout the region.
>
> Moore said there will be little new content in the station’s last two weeks
> — most producers have been calling to cancel scheduled tapings as word of
> Comcast’s decision spreads. Moore said he called 80 producers of Access 4
> programs; most of them are meeting Tuesday night to discuss how they can
> keep the station going.
>
> Asked if UIS has considered trying to get Access 4 back on campus, Burkhart
> said no. Having Access 4 on campus had benefits for UIS, but the university
> now operates its own cable channel and transmits lectures and other events
> on the Web.
>
> Despite the proliferation of online video distribution, Burkhart said
> public access TV is still an important service.
>
> That sentiment was echoed by Dave Antoine, a retired UIS employee who
> worked on Access 4 for many of his 30 years with the school.
>
> “The nice thing about public access (is) it’s almost a reflection of the
> community. It’s a way of finding out who are the various types of members in
> our community, see how our community thinks,” Antoine said. “We don’t always
> get around as much as we’d like. It gives you a broad view.”
>
> Morris said his charity program has generated “well over $1 million” in
> donations to groups featured over the years.
>
> “It’s a social responsibility that a company certainly the size of Comcast
> has. They are in the media business, and they knew that came along with it,”
> he said. “That’s just part of your social cost of doing business.
>
> “I think they need to step up to the plate and continue it, but from what
> I’ve seen of the company, that’s not going to happen.”
>
> Brian Mackey can be reached at 747-9587.
>
> *About Access 4’s programming*
>
> Access 4’s Web site says the station serves the Springfield community “by
> producing and airing local programming that can’t be seen anywhere else.”
>
> Programs on Access 4 change from day to day, with each program typically
> being repeated three times a day.
>
> About half of Access 4 programs are explicitly religious in nature. Others
> cover political topics (“Conservative Roundtable”), advice (“Parent
> Helpline”), discussions (“Springfield Business and Economic Review”) or a
> variety of subjects (“Just Two Guys,” “Talking Toastmasters,” “What’s Up
> Downtown”).
>
> The station’s full schedule is available at www.access4springfield.com.
>
> *Cable provider has closed stations in other states*
>
> Comcast’s decision to cease operating Access 4 in Springfield appears to be
> part of a broader national trend.
>
> The cable provider has made similar moves in Michigan, Massachusetts and
> elsewhere.
>
> And in the Chicago suburb of Mundelein, Comcast has decided to stop
> transmitting video of town government and school meetings.
>
> According to a report in the Mundelein Review, Comcast made its decision
> after AT&T balked at the rates Comcast was seeking to allow AT&T to transmit
> government access programming on its
> U-verse service.
>
> Comcast spokesman Rich Ruggiero said the cable provider is trying to get
> Mundelein to take over management of government access programming.
>
> “In many cases the communities were eager to take on the management of the
> government-access programming because in some cases, they were even able to
> produce more programming and more live programming,” Ruggiero said. “And
> we’re hopeful we’ll ultimately reach a similar agreement with Mundelein, and
> we’re working toward that now.”
>
> Ruggiero emphasized that the Mundelein case is not related to Comcast’s
> move in Springfield.
>
> But he did obliquely refer to AT&T and its U-verse service and satellite TV
> providers.
>
> “When you look at the people that Comcast competes with for someone’s
> entertainment dollar and the obligations that they have or don’t have with
> respect to public access programming, we think it’s important to be on as
> level a playing field as possible so that we can be as competitive as
> possible,” Ruggiero said.
>
> Ruggiero declined to speculate about what might happen to Channel 4 if no
> one steps up to take over operation of the community access station.
>
> Comcast has bumped several channels from its analog service (Channels 2-72)
> to a digital package (usually a three-digit channel number that requires a
> newer TV or converter box), including the National Geographic Channel and
> C-SPAN2.
>
> Comcast says this allows a greater number of channels overall because a
> single analog channel takes as much bandwidth as numerous digital channels
> or up to three high-definition channels.
> Ruggiero said the public access decision has nothing to do with this
> practice.
>
> *Mayor’s office working with Comcast*
>
> Mayor Tim Davlin’s office is working with Comcast to determine the future
> of the public access channel, according to the city’s spokesman.
>
> “Tim Davlin wants to be sure the public continues to have the opportunity
> to present their views via a public access outlet such as Access 4,” said
> Ernie Slottag, the city’s spokesman.
>
> Under an agreement with the city, Comcast must provide three channels for
> public, educational and governmental access programming.
>
> The agreement doesn’t allow any other municipality to use the channels or
> for a charge to be imposed for use of the channel capacity.
>
> However, the 55-page agreement, which expires Jan. 1, 2013, doesn’t require
> Comcast to operate the channels — only provide them.
>
> Slottag said the city is reviewing whether it would be a breach of the
> franchise agreement if Comcast doesn’t find an operator and simply allows
> the access channel to go blank.
>
> — Deana Poole
>   Comments (1)
>   Fighting Ennui
> 9 hours ago
> Report Abuse<http://www.sj-r.com/entertainment/x1792907114/Access-4-producers-wish-to-take-over-station#>
> Heck yes, Comcast would be in breach of their franchise agreement, if they
> can't provide access programming.
>
> It is a part of the deal they signed to serve the city, that they reserve
> those three channels and provide them, in exchange for the right to serve
> our city their commercial and paid programming. A franchise is a
> money-making machine that's exclusive to one provider: Comcast. Comcast is
> trying to play hard ball, hoping nobody cares enough to make them hold to
> their contract. Frankly, Comcast has a well-documented nationwide PR problem
> over poor service and high prices, and is looking at any way to cut costs
> and raise revenue that they can find. They must figure we're too stupefied
> watching their commercial programming to notice if they pull the plug on
> Access. Don't let them get away with it.
>
> Now, I can sympathize to an extent because Comcast no longer holds a
> 'perfect' monopoly on the Springfield market: ATT U-Verse and satellite
> providers like Dish Network both offer similar programming to Comcast, but
> ATT lobbied the state to pass legislation that lets U-verse go anywhere in
> the state without needing the franchise agreement with each city. I think
> the way to level the playing field is to require U-verse to eat the cost and
> to also carry the Comcast access channels, or make every Springfield
> provider chip into a common pooled fund for whomever is going to run the
> channels. It can't really cost much technically for U-verse to offer it: you
> can see Champaign's 2 municipal channels on ATT Uverse Springfield now, but
> not our own. Ironically, if Mayor Davlin holds a town hall meeting or
> special Council session here to discuss U-verse, you won't be able to WATCH
> it on U-verse, only Comcast. That is, until Comcast pulls the plug. ATT
> could put Access on now, but Comcast is being catty about fees. They are
> basically asking ATT to pay them for the programming they contracted to make
> free to everyone. That's maybe smart business, but poor policy.
>
> Access gets a lot of ribbing for not being 'cool' or 'slick' or
> 'commercial', and it has it's share of boring or crazy stuff... but what it
> does is unique and vital: all the other channels are there to make money off
> of you and SELL you something. Only Access and PBS channels are there to
> TELL you things, not sell you. If commerce is behind a channel, then
> commerce decides what that channel will and won't tell you, can and can't
> show you, if its good for you or not... That is an unhealthy thing for a
> democracy, and we knew it when we made up the franchise agreements. Access
> is a public need and a public good, it is part of a trade to use our
> public-owned airwaves, and it doesn't matter if it is not a 'revenue stream'
> for Comcast: they made a deal, signed contracts, and they MUST abide by it.
> If they abrogate it, the city should sue, at least for the money to run it.
>
> Think about major issues facing this city: High school upgrade plans. High
> Speed Rail. Zoning and development. Police and fire issues. There is no
> place on commercial TV where you could watch the whole debate for these
> meetings, beginning to end. Channel 20? You're lucky if they spend ten
> seconds to tell you a headline that there WAS a meeting, after it is over.
> ONLY ACCESS CHANNEL TV would give you the ability to see the whole event,
> uncut and un-edited, without bias, and really know what was said and by
> whom. We should be mad as heck that this service was promised in good faith
> and now, after a rate hike, Comcast wants to get out of their responsibility
> to provide this service, because they are lazy. Fair is fair. They promised.
> They must continue to deliver.
>
> And we really need to re-visit the state communications bill that gave ATT
> the unequal access to the market. Our legislators were more interested in
> telecom lobbyist money than our right to know and express ourselves in local
> access media. Shame on them. This is the result. Raymond, Larry, you've
> dropped the ball on this; make it right again.
>
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