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The News & Advance Lynchburg Va. February 16, 2008 Pulling the Plug on Public Access By Darrell Laurant When it comes to the issue of whether or not the Lynchburg city government should continue to fund public access television, I no longer have a dog in that fight. I did once, but it was a very small dog (a public access show called "Cable Column"), and it died years ago. Nor do I recall hearing any howls of protest at its demise. Still, that was the closest I've ever come to being Edward R. Murrow or Dan Rather, and it was quite invigorating. Even better, there was no censorship involved, and I was pretty much free to say what I wanted (minus anything defamatory or R-rated). Now, as you may know, the colorful and eclectic garden of local public access programming may be allowed to wither on the vine. Until last year, the city's cable provider was required to fund public access as a sort of tradeoff for enjoying a monopoly. Apparently, competition has since been opened up (or that's what I think happened — understanding communications legislation gives me a headache), and it is now up to local government to fund "free" TV. But only if it wants to. Lynchburg apparently doesn't, new franchise holder Comcast doesn't have to, and that's the bottom line. It would be unfair to compare Lynchburg's city fathers (and mothers) to repressive regimes in other countries who shut down the opposition media so they can replace it with government-run programming ("Welcome to another edition of 'Your Government Loves You.'") The people who direct our city are, by and large, nice folks who are concerned about not burdening the taxpayers. And they aren't shutting anyone down, per se — the local policy makers are just turning off the money tap that keeps the public access shows alive. It's the difference between unplugging a terminally ill patient or shooting him in the head. "I'd rather put that money into schools, police and parks," said City Council member Mike Gillette. The thing is, all cities have schools, police and parks. Not all have public access TV, and the ones that do project a personality that sets them apart. It would be hard to replicate Wally Roach, a Christian conservative who owned a guitar store and looks a bit like Ozzie Osbourne. Or Keith Lee of the Dance Theater of Central Virginia, who hosts "Dance Journey." Or Dina Wiggins, who dispenses the gospel with an attitude. On the other hand, of course, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has just had the sort of chat with Virginians that your spouse has with you after doing the bills. According to city officials, it would cost $86,000 to bankroll another year of "The Wally Show," "The Simple Truth," "The True Vine," and the rest. The city has already set aside $166,000 to staff and run the TV studio and another $100,000 for the purchase of new equipment, plus hiring Steve Smallshaw away from WDBJ to run things. This, to me, somewhat undermines Mike Gillette's "schools, police and parks" argument. Couldn't the money for these "public information" shows have been used to buy a swing set or a cruiser or two? Moreover, a lot of what was paid to the city by Adelphia under the previous agreement was deposited into the general fund. The public access channel hasn't gone away. It's just that the 40 or so producers of local shows now have to pay to use it, and most of them apparently can't. So why not have a fundraiser of some kind? If money is the sticking point with the city, let's see how much local people really love public access. Figuring a Lynchburg population of roughly 60,000, raising $86,000 would take around $1.30 for every citizen. I realize that City Council is faced with a financial crunch and under pressure from a wide spectrum of constituents gesturing at them with open palms. Yet it seemed to me that the attitude of local government toward public access TV was rather dismissive. Just because council members may not watch those shows doesn't mean that nobody does. Sure, many of them are unpolished, brash and opinionated. The majority are also religious programs, and I don't know how that plays within the laws of church and state separation. At the same time, they represent, in many cases, the voice of the people. Wally, the ball is in your court. How about a hair sale, $10 a lock? Darrell Laurant ~ February 16, 2008 reprinted with permission from Darrell Laurant & The News & Daily Advance |