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from: La Times

The Cancellation of Channel 36

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Los Angeles Times, May 1, 2008
By Patt Morrison

It's the channel you probably channel-surf right past on your way from Discovery to CNN.

from: Palo Alto Online

AT&T’s TV Plans Don’t Click in California

February 13, 2008
By Becky Trout

Within months, AT&T Inc. plans to begin offering television service in Palo Alto over phone lines, introducing a new format for local programming that has the cable experts at the Midpeninsula Community Media Center and City of Palo Alto concerned.

from: Midpeninsula Community Media Center

See source above for video links

Friday, February 8, 2008
ED Annie Folger Preserving Public Access in Washington DC

The Media Center's Executive Director, Annie Folger, recently flew out to Washington DC to speak in front of Congress, representing the Alliance for Community Media. She was fighting for Comcast and AT&T to continue to providing PEG (Public, Educational and Government) services as they currently are (or better) and to abide by local, state, and federal laws.

from: Palo Alto Daily News

Broadcasting a warning for television
Friday Feb 1

Media advocate: Public programming needs to be protected

By Kristina Peterson / Daily News Staff Writer
Congress got a taste of Palo Alto's civic engagement this week when a local media coordinator flew across the country to testify about the importance of preserving public access programming.

Note: Another case of rising 'basic cable' rates a a result of state franchises. Once local oversight is lifted by the FCC, cable and phone companies have raised the 'basic cable' rate by as much as 200%.

from: Moorpark Acorn

Time Warner wants to get off the hook with Moorpark

from: Ojai Valley News

Thursday, January 24, 2008
Ojai's Public Access May Be Closed

If Time Warner inks deal with state, it will likely be curtains for local television shows

By Nao Braverman
Public access television stations, known to feature quirky television shows with all the amateur charm of low-budget production and editing, may be heading for demise in California, and even sooner in Ojai.

Note: The 'attacks' in question were hardly misinformed - only AT&T's response can be considered misinformation. AT&T places regional PEG channels on a Channel 99 submenu on their U-verse system - a submenu list that could grow to over a hundred becoming increasingly unwieldy and useless. This is a side-effect of telco/cable providers moving to a regional head-end, eliminating local head-in systems for cost efficiencies (think Clear Channel and the loss of localism).