When it comes to telecommunications, we are definitely living in interesting times. Last month, the Indianapolis community rallied to show their continued, and thus far unsatisfied, desire for a public access television channel. Bright House Network’s push for an early renewal of their local cable franchise agreement - before the July 1 statewide video franchising law went into effect -- died on the vine with their desire to reduce the number of access channels they provide to Indianapolis, among other points of disagreement. Although not the outcome we were working toward, it is a victory that keeps the window of opportunity open for other solutions for a public access television channel. 

At the June 6 Rules and Public Policy Committee meeting of the Indianapolis City-County Council, when Cable Franchise Board Chair Peter Blum reported that there was no new agreement with Bright House Networks, he affirmed the need for public access television.  Furthermore, Chairman Blum mentioned his confidence, after discussion with the city legal counsel, that the city had the leeway to use the educational and government access channels at its disposal for public access. (The Cable Franchise Board under former Chair Carlton Curry allowed commercial cable networks, Fox Sports Midwest and the now defunct Recovery Network, to use an activated access channel - the former public access channel -- based on its own majority vote.)

Rules and Public Policy Committee member, Councillor Greg Bowes, said he had hoped that a new franchise agreement with Bright House Networks would include a public access channel.  Councillor Bowes then offered to sponsor a Council resolution to support activation of one of the City’s unused educational or government access channels, and public usage that is fair and free of discrimination. Councillor Bowes agreed to work with Public Access of Indianapolis on drafting the resolution, with the caveat that it would not include the use of cable franchise fees due to the City’s financial challenges.

The dialogue at the meeting touched off a lot of excitement among the supporters of restoring a public access channel.  Former public access producers talked of dusting off favorite ¾” tapes and converting them into newer playback formats. Potential new producers started fleshing out rough ideas for new programs, while others brainstormed on ways to run a public access channel without the normal financial base of franchise fees, at least in the near term.  The Indianapolis Star lent an exclamation to this excitement with its June 14, 2006 editorial supporting the campaign, "Voice of the people deserves air time", that opened with, “The city should seize the opportunity to end the 10-year exile of public-access television.”

But, despite a good and encouraging base of support from the City County Council and the Cable Franchise Board, there are those who are not supportive of a public access channel. Most telling is the contention that there is no additional channel available unless the community works to fill the existing educational access channels with content that is acceptable to the Education Television Cooperative (ETC).  We can find no basis for this contention (see “Activating the Fifth Channel”), and although we see potential synergy in working with ETC and even the government access channels, we remain committed to acquiring a channel for the community that is true to the intent of public access while there is a window of opportunity.

Andrea Price is board president of Public Access of Indianapolis.

This article appeared in the July/August issue of The Right of Way newsletter.