LANCissues.org - Cable Access - Citywide Issues Group

Here's one of our current Citywide issues:

Imminent Negotiations for Cable Access for Neighborhood Councils

Synopsis

Cable operators are expanding their cable modem and broadband services. This makes the Internet through cable a resource for delivering live and stored programming to stakeholders, in addition that of public access cable TV channels.

To see an example of an Internet-based municipal website by which to access meetings, etc., go to:

http://www.sfgov.org/site/sfgtv_index.asp

Note both cablecasting and webcasting of San Francisco Board of Supervisors meetings. Click "Video on Demand" and see archived meetings with indexed agenda, permitting webcasts of selected agenda items.

For a Power Point presentation on cable access resource possibilities, go to:

http://www.democraticmedia.org/ddc/USC/BuskeUSC.html

Note slides 17-19, which identify Video on Demand and Video Streaming projects.

Below is a revised draft of the resolution calling for neighborhood council access cable TV channels, first circulated in June, 2004. The new version simplifies and clarifies the earlier resolution and includes references to webcasting.

The new resolution seeks to obtain resources for a long-term role for the neighborhood councils in electronic media in our city. What is decided in the next few months will have an impact on us for a decade or more. Franchises are typically written to cover a ten to 15-year period. We must act in a timely fashion so that we have our say in the franchise negotiations process.

The stronger the show of neighborhood councils, the more influence we can have on the outcome.

Background

There are 650,000 cable TV subscribers in Los Angeles. That represents a significant percentage of all households in Los Angeles. The city receives at this time about twenty-five million dollars per year from franchise fees through the 14 franchises areas' operating companies, of which there are at the moment four; Comcast, Adelphia, Time-Warner and Cox. Adelphia is in bankruptcy and is up for sale. One of the other companies will very like buy Adelphia's interests in L.A. and maybe throughout Southern California as a package. That should happen by the end of this year.

Public access or cable TV resources assigned to public use, referred to as public, education and government (PEG) access, are a standard component of franchises granted to cable TV operators doing business in the City of Los Angeles. An opportunity exists during new franchise negotiations to redefine, refine and add features to the access resources to be provided for the new period of the franchises.

Franchise negotiations could start as soon as December or very soon after and go on for several months. The City Council committee handling the negotiations is the Information Technology and General Services Committee (IT&GS). It is headed up by Jack Weiss of the 5th Council District. Eric Garcetti of the 13th District and Bernard Parks of the 8th District are the other two members.

Arguments

Opponents to establishing a direct role for neighborhood councils in public, education and government (PEG) access resources in their own council areas argue cable TV access channels have very small to non-existent audiences not worth the amount of work added to their responsibilities and would ultimately be counterproductive and disruptive by siphoning energy from more relevant projects.

Proponents for establishing a direct role for neighborhood councils in public, education and government (PEG) access resources in their own council areas argue that neighborhood council programming will attract new viewers and the benefits gained in reaching a sizable segment of the stakeholder population will facilitate building councils' grassroots voices, fundamental to the survival of the neighborhood councils.

Each neighborhood council must seriously consider the benefits of reaching out to a significant segment of their population, then weigh those benefits against the added workload, such as overseeing staff and/or volunteers, maintaining equipment and administering programming.

Actions

If your neighborhood council is one of the 35 that are in the city council districts of the three councilmen who sit on the City Council committee that will negotiate the new cable TV franchises in the next few months, you have a more influential role to play in effecting the outcome of the negotiations.

For those who have not seen the resolution, below is a copy of the newly revised version.

If you haven't considered the resolution in your council, please do so now. If you can see the benefit of having cable access resources for reaching your stakeholders, please adopt it.

If you are among the neighborhood councils whose city councilman plays such an important role in deciding the future of electronic media in L.A., I further ask that you personally contact your councilman and "lobby" for his support of our resolution.

If I can be of any help to you, please contact me at your convenience. If you are able to attend a meeting in the next few months of the IT&GS committee with a group of us, please let me know.

Ken Marsh
Zone 3 Director
Mar Vista Community Council
310 / 966-9054
ken.marsh@verizon.net

IT&GS committee
Council District	Councilman	Phone
5th	JACK WEISS	213 / 473-7005
8th	BERNARD C. PARKS	213 / 473-7008
13th	ERIC GARCETTI	213 / 473-7013

To see NC assignments by district, click on:

http://parc3.lacity.org/done/nc/index.cfm

Cable Television Access Channels Resolution

Resolution of (your neighborhood council)

City Council of Los Angeles
c/o City Clerk, Rm 395
City Hall, 200 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012-4801

cc:
Councilman Jack Weiss, Chair, Information Technologies and General Services Committee
Councilwoman Janice Hahn, Chair, Education and Neighborhoods Committee
Council person, your district (this should be your Council person)

Re: Neighborhood council access cable TV channels

Whereas neighborhood councils are mandated by the city to develop a community-based, grassroots voice of the people; and

Whereas neighborhood councils need to use every available resource to promote and sustain ongoing stakeholder participation and interaction with the council; and

Whereas cable television networks have the resources to transmit (1) live and taped neighborhood council meetings, candidate forums, etc., to stakeholders with cable TV in their homes, businesses and schools and (2) broadband Internet webcasts; and

Whereas cable TV resources for public access established by past franchises are failing to fulfill certain current requirements to meet the needs and interests of the present day community as regards public, education and government (PEG) access channels;

Therefore, be it resolved that the [name] neighborhood council vigorously recommends to the Los Angeles City Council cable TV franchise renewal negotiating principals that all new cable TV franchise agreements incorporate the following:

Establishment of a single 24/7 public access channel in each neighborhood council area that serves all stakeholders subscribing to cable TV;

Establishment of at least three locations specified by each neighborhood council with each location equipped by the cable TV franchise for cablecasting and webcasting council proceedings using camera operators, tapes and editing supplied by the cable TV franchise;

Establishment of the means by which multiple neighborhood councils may collaborate in real time on cablecasts and webcasts when issues and discussions cross boundaries;

Establishment of an oversight entity made up of neighborhood council representatives, City government representatives and cable TV representatives charged with carrying out the above actions no later than eight months from the date of issuing new cable TV franchise agreements.

So moved and passed on (date) at a public meeting of the [name] Neighborhood Council.

(send to above with signed original plus 10 copies)

signed