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 It's called Local Community Interest Programming (LCIP) and it was construed as a replacement for public access TV in 1996. On June 16, 2003, the LCIP issue became a rallying point for reestablishing public access TV in Indianapolis during a hearing at the Indianapolis Cable Franchise Board meeting.
Indianapolis' cable operators, Comcast and Bright House Networks, are required to provide 25 hours per week of community programming FROM local religious, charitable, literary, cultural and public health organizations: 15 hours between 9 AM and 4 PM, and 10 hours between 6 PM and 11 PM. They have "outsourced" this responsibility to Indy's Music Channel (IMC), WDNI-65, now owned by Radio One.* Not surprisingly, the lion share of what is now being counted as "local community interest programming" is WDNI music videos shows, while actual programming from the community has dropped dramatically.
Community Testimony | | | | Public Access of Indianapolis President, Andrea Price, presented the results of PAI's analysis which showed only 5.5 hours per week of programming on Indy's Music Channel meets the definition of "Local Community Interest Programming." |  | | Dave Menzer talked about the importance of local community television, especially in light of the recent FCC decision that removes major restrictions on media ownership. Menzer is the vice-president of his neighborhood association. |  | | Mildred Wilkins, of Home Ownership Matters, says public access TV could be a valuable way to reach the public and teach them about consumer issues such as predatory mortgage lending practices. |  | | Ruth Mills, who is on the Board of Directors for the Alliance Community Media, talked about the benefits of public access TV, and answered questions about how it is typically funded. Mills is the General Manager of Whitewater Community TV, WCTV, in Richmond, Indiana. Nonprofit-run WCTV has three access channels for public, education and government (PEG) access TV and is located on the campus of Indiana University East. |  | | Sister Sue Jenkins, of WKOG, has been trying to get her low-power Catholic channel on cable for many years. |  | | Carl Kakasulef talked about the many types of programming that is gone now that Indianapolis no longer has public access TV. |  | | James Price, President of Pyramid Sports, says giving people a voice, a way to be heard, is important. |  | | Jim Smashey, a longtime cable TV consumer advocate and a regular attendee at Indianapolis Cable Franchise Board Meetings, cites his concerns about local community interest programming. |
According to Public Access of Indianapolis' analysis, only 5.5 hours per week of programing -- even including commercials -- meets the contractual definition of "Local Community Interest Programming (LCIP)" as stated in Sections 7.03 of the Cable Franchise agreements. Concerns brought to the Mayor's office about the reduction of community affairs programming on Indy's Music Channel, prompted Cable Franchise Board Chairman Peter Blum to express his desire in April 2003 to convene the first, ever, bi-annual Local Community Interest Programming (LCIP) Advisory Board, mandated in Bright House Networks' 1996 franchise agreement. Comcast agreed to participate, even though the advisory board it is not part of their contract. However, as we reported in our April 21, 2003 Cable Franchise Board summary, "Comcast's Mark Apple quickly interrupted Mr. Blum to say that Comcast 'is not required in the franchise agreement to produce programming for any non-profits.' Ouch. Not to be outdone, Brighhouse/Time Warner's Buz Nesbitt argued that the LCIP Advisory Board would not be a public meeting, nor subject to public notice. Ouch, Ouch." So Chairman Blum convened this public hearing. Public Access of Indianapolis (PAI) believes that the only way to buck this trend is to establish a noncommercial community channel on cable, preferably community-run. PAI believes that market forces make it impossible for commercial entities like the Indy Music Channel or the cable operators to give community interest programming the time, resources and focus necessary for it to thrive and grow. Indy's Music Channel provided an excellent example of the contention between community programming and commercial pressure when it attempted to cu back on the WDNI produced "Amos Brown Show" in favor of music videos. Although Amos' show is still seen five days per week, his show is relegated outside the prime 9AM - 4 PM and 6 PM - 10 PM weekday hours. The Indy Music Channel (IMC), by agreeing to provide LCIP, is now on our local cable television systems unlike almost all other low power TV channels in the area. We believe there is enough channel capacity for IMC, other low-power TV channels, and a public access television channel. While Public Access of Indianapolis presented the data showing that the community is being increasing shut out of cable TV, a cross-section of the Indianapolis community spoke of the ways a public access TV channel could benefit Indianapolis.
*Comcast also counts local purchases of time on its "Comcast Classifieds" commercial leased access channel. Commercial Leased Access channels are the federally mandated commercial equivalent to public access channels, and are designed to assure some degree of unaffiliated commercial access to cable TV. It is mostly used for infomercials. |
