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Eric Mollberg, Ft. Wayne, challenges Indianapolis for bargaining away its public access TV channel.
"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?" Erik S. Mollberg |
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FRIDAY FORUM Indianapolis Star November 14, 1997 Starting the march for community television In Bloomington, children have been producing and directing Kids Alive since 1974. It is the oldest running children's programming on cable TV. In Fort Wayne, the genealogy department of the library is doing a live call-in show called Branching Out to assist people researching their roots. Michigan City has Health Equals Wealth, produced by the Minority Health Coalition, a panel of minority women. They have guests talking about safety in the water, lead screening for children and feature other health organizations. In Union City, high school students are producing sports programming and public interest stories about their community. In Richmond, a local animal shelter is producing a program called Help the Animals, profiling animals available for adoption and care tips for animals. They attribute 60 percent or more of their adoptions to their TV show on public access television. This is only a sample of the type of unique programming that can be seen only on public access TV stations all around the state - except for Indianapolis. Indiana has over 43 public, educational and government (PEG) access facilities. These are currently being used 5,037 hours per month by community people, producing 1,358 new programs per month, generating 1,255 weekly programming hours and involving over 600 volunteers. Many community groups and individuals use PEG channels each week to produce over 20,000 hours of new programs nationally, more than the output of all broadcasters combined. 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? How is it possible the the city of Indianapolis and the Cable Advisory Board came to the conclusion that their citizens' First Amendment channel was not necessary when so many cities around the state consider public access TV a vital part of their community? Andrew J. Young, at the Alliance for Community Media National Conference in Atlanta, said that "we see the public access movement as a continuation of the dream and the vision of the civil rights movement and the human rights movement generally. What we were marching for was to get a hearing. " Perhaps Marion County should start marching. Eric S. Mollberg Ft. Wayne Chair of the Central States Region Alliance for Community Media |
