Title | Date | Source | Summary |
"Activists seeking expanded TV access: Group wants more government meetings broadcast locally; city blames logistics." | 9/02/02 | Indianapolis Star | PAI covers the Capital Improvement Board (CIB) meetings and streams them from their web site since Channel 16 does not. "Although anyone can attend, the proceedings are not broadcast on local government television like other city and county public meetings." PAI Board President, Andrea Price is quoted, "There's a lot of money that passes through that (board)....We should really know what's going on." |
"Rich media, poor democracy What's democratic about media? Not much" | 01/30/02 | Nuvo Newsweekly | Progressive TV Coalition Founder and PAI Board Member, Tracy Carson, is interviewed by Mary Lee Pappas on the upcoming Alternative Media Festival featuring Robert W. McChesney. |
New Progressive TV Coalition Forms | 11/05/01 | Progressive TV Coalition | Goals: Progressive TV programming and reestablishment of public access TV. |
Letter to the Editor: "Public-access TV should be reinstated" | 10/01/01 | Indianapolis Star | Diverse TV programming supports community understanding of different faiths. Written by PAI Board Member, Carl Kakasuleff. |
"Public broadcasting must return to its roots" | 05/03/01 | Nuvo Newsweekly | Joe Farah advocates a new funding model for public broadcasting to break "its incestuous affair with corporate America" and fulfill its orginall mission; "there are still vast segments of the population that are grossly underrepresented in the commercial media and, unfortunately, in public broadcasting as well." |
"Webcasting the Statehouse" | 10/26/00 | Nuvo Newsweekly | State Rep. Dave Crooks wants to put the Indiana General Assemply on the Web. Common Cause and PAI Board Member, Nick Hess, testified at the hearing, "…webstreaming can provide an enhanced understanding and public participation in the state's legislative process." By Fran Quigley. |
"Victory Achieved in Palestine, Texas First Amendment Case" | 09/26/00 | Alliance for Community Media | In this First Amendment case, public access television producer, Joe Ed Bunton, sued the city of Palestine, Texas for removing public access television in a new franchise agreement. The City of Palestine decided to settle the suit before going to trial by amending the franchise agreement to include a full time public access channel. |
PAI submits application for low-power FM radio station | 06/08/00 | FCC | PAI filed application for a community radio station at frequency 105.1 FM. (Facility ID 124485) |
"Cable Deal Should Not Have Effect on Rate" | 02/11/00 | Indianapolis Star | Writer John Strauss quotes PAI President, Andrea Price, on the proposed Comcast takeover of Time-Warner's system, who said the City-County-Council, in exchange for agreeing to the transfer, should insist that Comcast maintain Time Warner's local employees and provide a community access channel and center. |
City County Council Candidate Public Access TV Survey | 11/01/99 | Public Access of Indianapolis, Inc. | PAI releases the results of a City-Council and Mayoral candidate survey on public access TV, state government access TV. Of the winning City-County candidates who responded, 87.5% supported full or partial use of an access channel for public access TV, and 100% supported full or partial use of an access channel for state government access TV. (Complete survey results.) |
"On the Road to Bloomington" | 08/19/99 | Nuvo Newsweekly | Tamara O'Hearn's roadtrip story might have been the start of an urban legend -- had the City followed through. Cable Board Chairman, Carlton Curry, and PAI Board Members, Nick Hess and Andrea Price, visit Bloomington's public access center. |
"Paying for Cable, Getting the Pacers" | 07/15/99 | Nuvo Newsweekly | Harrison Ullman writes, "You won't find this item on your itemized cable bills from Time Warner or Comcast, but every time you pay the cable companies, you also pay 50 cents to the Indiana Pacers." |
"Remote Controlled: The fight for public access in Indianapolis" cover story | 07/15/99 | Nuvo Newsweekly | Anyone remember promises of 6 public access channels in 1980? Tamara O'Hearn has written an excellent, full-length article that covers how the City eliminated public access TV, Public Access of Indianapolis' battle to reinstate it, and Time Warner and Comcast's current opposition to even one channel -- a channel that wouldn't bring them revenue and over which they have no editorial control. |
"Time Warner, Comcast talk franchise swap" | 07/13/99 | Indianapolis Star and News | "If Comcast agreed to acquire Time Warner's Indianapolis system, a contract would have to be negotiated with city-county officials to transfer the Time Warner customers to Comcast. 'I don't think there's a deal killer' here, [Carlton] Curry said, but 'we could see some spirited discussions.'" |
Call it "community access TV": How Indianapolis CAN have a public access TV channel -- now. | 06/21/99 | Public Access of Indianapolis, Inc. | PAI outlines how the Cable Franchise Board can simply use one of the access channels for "community access TV" -- aka public access TV -- because it "serves the public interest." (It's odd PAI had to write this since the Board has voted to use access TV channels for Fox Sports Midwest and the Recovery Network!) |
Cable Communications Agency Director, Rick Maultra, explains how and why public access TV was eliminated in Indianapolis to NATOA members | 03/26/99 | The National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) list-serve | Rick Maultra says cable corporate lobbying and "inappropriate programming" were the "dynamics" that played into eliminating public access TV in Indianapolis. "Public access groups can make all of First Amendment/Free Speech arguments they want to about keeping A-Z programming on access but in the final analogy they don't negotiate the franchise agreements." |
Indianapolis-Marion County Library Board votes to support designation of a public access TV channel | 03/15/99 | Indianapolis-Marion County Library Board | PAI presents proposal for public access TV, and the Indianapolis-Marion County Library Board votes to support a public access TV channel and communicate their support to the Cable Franchise Board. |
Proposal for Indianapolis Public Access TV | 02/16/99 | Public Access of Indianapolis, Inc. | PAI presented this proposal to the Cable Franchise Board for using the newly available access channel for public access TV and establishing a community media access center. |
"Recovery Network Launches in Indianapolis; Company Expands Reach Into 226,000 Additional Cable Households" | 01/27/99 | Business Wire | Cable Franchise Board agrees to let the Recovery Network launch by using the public access channel. |
"Recovery Network Signs Indianapolis Programming Pact" | 01/27/99 | Dow Jones News Service | "Recovery Network Inc. (RNET) said it reached agreement with the Marion County (Ind.) Franchise Board to have Recovery Network programming carried on Indianapolis public access channels. In a press release Wednesday, the company said the agreement was effective Jan. 1." |
"Community television may return to cable" | 12/26/98 | Indianapolis Star and News | 1998 Quality and Value survey of 600 cable subscribers shows most still want community television. The survey showed that 69 percent of Time Warner subscribers and 74 percent of Comcast subscribers felt it was important to have "a local cable channel freely available for sharing programs, ideas and creative pursuits." By John Strauss. |
Africa: Through the Lens | 10/28/98 | Public Access of Indianapolis, Inc. | PAI produced this video as part of Indianapolis' Africa Celebration '98 with support from an Indianapolis Arts Council Grant |
"Cable A Mixed Bag in TV Sports" | 05/01/98 | Cable Avails | Trend: Reduced viewership of broadcast sports and increased viewship of cablecast sports; rights costs and advertising increase. Regional cable sports networks, such as Fox Sports Midwest, see advertising grow from $3m to $140 million between 1982 and 1992. |
Friday Forum: "Starting the march for community television" | 11/14/97 | Indianapolis Star and News | Eric Mollburg, Alliance for Community Media Central States Regional Chair, asks, "Why is it, then, that public access survives and thrives throughout the state, yet in the capital of the state public access has been bargained away? What other channel offers the community a true diversity of voices in cable programming? Where is the opportunity for people in Marion County to express their talents, ideas and opinions?" |
"Access Denied" | 09/97 | Indianapolis Monthly | Eric Pfeffinger writes about the ending of public access television in Indianapolis and talks to several former producers. PAI Board Member, Nick Hess, is quoted: "We are not going to have live sex shows." PAI founder, Kevin Earles, speaks on efforts to get public access TV reinstated: "I get 15 days of vacation each year. So far I have used 5 of them to attend Cable Franchise Board meetings." Blair Karsch says, "If they get rid of public access, we're controlled by the Rupert Murdochs." |
PAI's Opposition to Fox Sports Midwest's Use of Access TV Channel | 10/24/97 | Public Access of Indianapolis, Inc. | PAI's letter to the Cable Franchise Board on the successful proposal to allow Fox Sports Midwest to use part of the Education Public Safety (EPS) access channel on Time Warner in Indianapolis. |
"Fox Sports Midwest digs into deep pockets to battle ESPN.Plans strategy to compete with ESPN, a major sports cable TV network" | 07/07/97 | St. Louis Business Journal | Fox Sports Midwest opens Indianapolis office for sales advertising and cable affiliate relations. |
"Indianapolis, IN, has voted to renew cable TV franchise agreements with Comcast Cablevision of Indianapolis and American Cablevision for 12 years" | 09/30/96 | Multichannel News | On increase in franchise fees: "Some of that money is earmarked for the Capital Improvement Board, which oversees the city's sports arenas, in hopes that it will benefit the National Basketball Association's Indiana Pacers. Most, if not all, of the Pacers' games will now be televised." |
"Public access channels will get change of face; Do-it-yourselfers lose access to facilities." | 08/29/96 | Indianapolis Star and News | Article on elimination of public access TV:"'It's too bad American is abandoning public access just because they're no longer required to carry it," said [Bart] Broadhead. "This makes them look bad, greedy.' Under its old agreement, American was required to designate a channel for public access. Under the new, it will emphasize governmental and educational access - a shift based on city officials' interests, according to Shary Hoffman-Meadows, vice president of public affairs and programming. " |
"Cable TV agreements will mean higher prices; Part of the 2% boost in franchise fees will go to the city's sporting venues" | 08/06/96 | Indianapolis Star and News | The Indianapolis City-County Council votes "overwhelmingly" for new franchise agreements with 67% increase in franchise fees. Cable Franchise Board President Carlton Curry said Mayor Stephen Goldsmith's administration sought the $.50 per subscriber per month designation to the Capital Improvement Board (CIB). "'Hopefully, it will benefit the Pacers,' Goldsmith said." According to Curry, "most, if not all, Pacers home games will be televised under the agreement." |
1996 Cable Franchise Agreements | 08/05/96 | Indianapolis Cable Communications Agency | 1996 Agreements with Comcast and American Cablevision (now Time Warner) |
City-County Council votes to revise Chapter 851 of the City-code on to elimiate public access TV requirements | 08/05/96 | City-Code | See Section 851-403. "Public, educational, and or governmental access channels, facilities and equipment" for revisions related to minimum channels." Also note Sec. Sec. 851-101 (b)"It is intended that the provisions of this chapter should facilitate and encourage orderly and responsible development of systems which will provide the people of the city with cable programming services which are versatile, reliable and efficient, which are responsive to the needs and interests of the community; and which provide the widest possible diversity of information sources and services to the public. The provisions of this chapter shall be construed liberally to further these purposes and to promote competition in the provision of such services. " |
"Pacers' deal with Comcast, Jones won't score a profit for team " | 01/12/96 | Indianapolis Star and News | "Larry Mago, director of broadcasting for the Pacers, would not say how much money the team is making on the cable deals. He did say it will receive some advertising revenue from commercials shown during the game, but also refused to be specific. City officials say it won't be enough to make the team profitable." When the Pacers don't turn a profit, the city's Capital Improvement Board kicks in about $ 2 million [more] in taxpayer dollars. |
"Group W in deal with Pacers (Group W Sports Marketing has reached a multiyear deal with the Indiana Pacers basketball team to handle its cable television distribution)" | 12/11/95 | Electronic Media | Group W Sports Marketing and team "will jointly handle local and national ad sales for broadcast and cable TV. Time Warner has an agreement in principle to carry 28 games on its American Cablevision system in Indianapolis, with other cable system deals to be announced later." |
"Pacers getting wired for cable Looking to get their games on cable TV" | 09/26/95 | Indianapolis Star | ABSTRACT: "The Indiana Pacers are looking to get their games on cable TV. Team officials say they are already in talks with Comcast Cablevision and American Cablevision; if the team gets to broadcast its games over all cable networks in the Indianapolis-area, it stands to gain over $1 million in revenues monthly. The additional revenues, however, are not expected to get the team's finances out of the red as yet, according to city officials. The team posted $3.1 million in losses in the 1993-94 season." |
"Assaulting religious broadcasts" | 07/15/95 | Indianapolis Star | Writer James Patterson, in an editorial, arugues that profit motives are preventing WKOG (Channel 31), a low-power Christian TV station, from getting on cable -- unless they pay -- despite the agreement in the 1981 franchise agreements. "It's especially not fair because cable companies pay some network affiliates just to carry their programs. What's more, American Cablevision which is owned by Time-Warner, just agreed to give cable time to another Indianapolis low-power TV station, WAV (Channel 53), after WAV threatened to sue." |
"Channel 53 takes its case to the cable board" | 02/23/95 | Indianapolis Star | Low-power, (then) minority-owned WAV (Channel 53) urges the Cable Franchise Board to enforce American Cablevision's 1981 franchise agreement to distribute "in their entirety the signals of any television stations located in Marion County. " Amos Brown said American's owner, Time Warner, is "snubbing the noses" of the city's African-Americans by denying cable access to the only minority-owned local television station." |
Cable Television Franchise Renewal "Utilization Review and Future Uses Study" on Indianapolis PEG channels | 06/27/94 | Municipal Services Associates, Inc. | Study finds several problems with American Cablevision's (now Time Warner's) management of public access TV and makes recommendations for it. Study finds government access TV is the only one that is well managed and supported. |
