Public-Access TV? We

By Dave Davies, Philadelphia Daily News

Jun. 8–PRODDED BY an intrepid band of activists, the city is getting close to honoring its 23-year obligation to bring public-access cable TV to Philadelphia. Excited?

“Party time!… Excellent!”

Actually, activists would groan at the “Wayne’s World” reference.

But after years of presentations, protests and prayer vigils, struggling against bureaucratic indifference and even an anonymous videotape circulated to sabotage their efforts, public-access advocates now smell victory.

“We’re really hopeful,” said Danielle Redden, of the Philadelphia Community Access Coalition. “The mayor and the city really seem to be on board.”

“We’re closer than we’ve ever been to getting this done,” deputy commerce director Joseph James said this week.

James is one of several high-ranking city officials who have been negotiating with the Philadelphia Community Access Coalition. The coalition even met with Mayor Street in March, who was impressed.

If the details get worked out, Philadelphia could soon have five cable channels available for programming by the general public.

And while some wifty comedy from the Waynes and Garths of Mayfair and Nicetown is welcome, there’s much, much more.

New York has a program called “Taxi Talk,” with the inside scoop from and for the city’s 50,000 cab drivers. Chicago has “Let’s Talk Baby Girl,” with teenage girls talking to role models about successful careers.

And in Philadelphia, producer Lou Massiah has a series of community-produced neighborhood histories, many already made, looking for exposure.

There will be plenty of opportunity for people to find services, express political views and showcase their artistic talent.

At a hearing Monday, coalition activists asked a City Council committee to delay a bill approving Comcast’s acquisition of Time Warner’s cable operation in West Philadelphia until the cable giant committed to a specified level of funding for public access.

The panel voted the bill out of committee, but chairman Darrell Clarke said he wants public access done, and he might seek to postpone Council approval of the bill if a deal isn’t struck next week.

It has been a long time coming.

When the city established cable TV franchises in 1983, it also provided for a public-access system, funded by the franchise fees cable companies paid the city.

There would be five channels, a central studio and eight satellite studios.

Why the delay? The city simply ignored its public-access promise and pocketed the money the cable companies were paying. Protest and anger over the broken promise was lost in the city financial crisis of the late 1980s and early ’90s.

But in the mid-’90s, a cadre of activists formed who wanted the public-access commitment honored.

Redden was drawn to the issue during the 2000 Republican National Convention when she was trying to get media attention for the Kensington Welfare Rights Union.

“There was some newspaper coverage, but TV seemed like an impossibility,” Redden said. “It was so discouraging, since so many people get their information from TV, and it’s like there was a blackout for us.”

When out-of-town protesters suggested she use public-access TV, she told them there was no such thing here.

“They said, ‘What? You’re kidding.’ ” But it was true. Philadelphia was, and is, the only major city without a public-access channel. Redden joined activists who were working on the issue, like film and video producer Gretjen Clausing.

Clausing remembered how much effort the coalition put into the issue in 1999, when the cable franchises were up for renewal and activists had a chance to grab Council’s attention.

Clausing said she was more naïve then, thinking that if they simply explained their case – that the city was obliged to provide public access under the original agreement – Council would be persuaded.

“While we testified, the Council members were walking around, checking their BlackBerries, talking on their phones,” Clausing said, “and I was thinking, ‘Why aren’t they listening?’ “

Around that time, a video began circulating among Council members showing examples of extremist speech from public-access stations in other cities. One source remembered a Ku Klux Klan member spewing venom.

It didn’t help the cause, and Council soon renewed the cable franchises, with no action on public access.

“That was horrible,” Clausing said. “All of a sudden the bottom fell out and we felt we had to start over. But we didn’t stop. It was hard in part because there wasn’t a great public outcry for public access, and we were trying to convince people of the importance of something they’d never seen.”

But the success of the coalition is in some respects a model of civic activism. They got smarter, better organized, and bigger.

They brought established cultural organizations into the coalition – groups with names, reputations and political connections who would use public access if it was there.

They kept up the protests and Council appearances, while adding prayer vigils and town meetings, and plenty of research and lobbying.

And, thanks to the Bread and Roses Community Fund, they got some money.

“We had reached a point where we had to have a central location, a Web site, and somebody to answer the phone,” Clausing said.

The coalition hired Redden as a part-time staffer, and things took off.

“This is a low-budget organization that really gets results,” said Bread and Roses director Christie Balka. “We’re with them for the long haul.”

The coalition did one other thing: It sued the city.

The coalition’s 2002 federal lawsuit demanding public access was initially dismissed, but it got the city’s attention.

When the coalition notified the city it would appeal, city officials suggested instead they start negotiating to build a public-access system.

A key issue now is how much Comcast, which will soon own all the city’s cable franchises, will provide in operating support. The original agreement calls for a minimum of $300,000 a year, and coalition members believe that’s not nearly enough.

Comcast spokesman Jeff Alexander said Comcast is negotiating with the city and is “flexible and ready to provide this funding and honor our franchise agreement.”

Meanwhile, the coalition has developed an extensive plan for managing the public-access network. Five channels are envisioned:

— Philadelphia Affairs: for government and nonprofit groups.

— Arts and Culture: highlighting creative expression.

— Inspirational Channel: featuring religious and spiritual programs.

— Youth Channel: made by and for young people.

— Public Forum: viewpoints on many issues.

Redden said Philadelphia does have one advantage being the last major city to get public-access TV.

“We can look at cities that have been doing public access for 20 years and cull what they’ve learned,” Redden said. “We can create a model public-access system.”

You can learn more about the coalition and view a sampling of the public-access programming at www.phillyaccess.org.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Philadelphia Daily News

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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