Save Access - INDIANA

IN: Public access TV suffering from telecom ‘reform' bill

Thu, 15 May 2008 06:47:47 -0400

Published: May 15, 2008 6:00 a.m.
Public access TV suffering from telecom ‘reform' bill
By Erik S. Möllberg

Those of us in the Public, Educational and Government Access TV community believed that House Bill 1279 (transferring cable franchising from municipalities to state control) would not only fail to address concerns we had prior to its passage, but also would cause irreparable harm to every PEG access center in Indiana. State legislators assured us this would not happen. Now, two years after the bill’s passage, those trepidations have materialized.

Union Made - CWA, Ball State and Indiana

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 11:48:58 -0400

from: Ridel Communications

Thursday, March 13, 2008
Union Made

There once was a union maid, she never was afraid
Of goons and ginks and company finks and the deputy sheriffs who made the raid.
She went to the union hall when a meeting it was called,
And when the Legion boys come 'round
She always stood her ground.

IN: Indiana’s TV Law Lauded

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:37:31 -0500

from: Multichannel News

Indiana’s TV Law Lauded
by Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 3/3/2008

Ball State University researchers said Indiana’s 2006 telecommunications-reform bill has advanced the deployment of video and broadband services in the state, a finding disputed by incumbent cable operators.

IN: Blind Alleys

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:58:18 -0500

from: Riedel Communications

Friday, February 29, 2008
Blind Alleys

There are people who have contributed greatly to your personal welfare that you will never hear about. One of those is Marston Bates. He studied mosquitoes in South America and his work improved the understanding of yellow fever. You gotta like a guy like that, somebody who does original and actual research. Bates didn’t take himself too seriously either. He is attributed with saying “Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind.”

IN: Losing public access TV harmed right to free speech

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:30:46 -0500

from: The Times

Losing public access TV harmed right to free speech

Tuesday, February 26, 2008 | No comments posted.

One by one, the Comcast public access TV studios in Mishawaka, Portage, Merrillville and Hammond were shut down. The significance about the Hammond studio was that live, call-in, powerful programming took place on a weekly basis.

IN: Ball State Study Sees Positive Effects From Telecom Bill

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:22:14 -0500

from: MultiChannel News

Ball State Study Sees Positive Effects From Indiana Telecom Bill
Finding Disputed by Cable Incumbents

By Linda Haugsted -- Multichannel News, 2/25/2008 1:20:00 PM

Ball State University has released a white paper stating that Indiana’s 2006 telecommunications reform bill has advanced the deployment of video and broadband services in the state, a finding disputed by cable incumbents in the state.

IN: Cable Choice and Competition, but only if you’re Rich

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:23:49 -0500

from: Bitch Slappin

Cable Choice and Competition, but only if you’re Rich

Nwitimes.com is reporting that in Indiana, after passage of one of the ubiquitous ‘Cable Choice and Competition‘ state level bills written by the phone companies, and pushed into passage by the phone companies deploying a swarm of lobbyists and handing out lots of chunky campaign contributions at the local level, the only neighborhoods that have been wired for UVerse service are affluent city and suburban neighborhoods. “More than a year ago, Indiana lawmakers supported video franchise reform legislation promoted by AT&T on the grounds that lower cable prices and widespread deployment would occur. So we exempted AT&T from the historic anti-discrimination rules that required cable operators to serve everyone in their footprint. . . . User-generated information on http://UverseUsers.com (probably the best and only public information available) conspicuously shows a dense concentration of U-Verse service in high-income areas and little coverage in low-income and rural neighborhoods. Indeed, it almost depicts a bright line separating wealthy suburbs of Indianapolis and the minority inner city areas.”

IN: Is AT$T avoiding poor, minority neighborhoods?

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:22:12 -0500

from: The Times

Is AT&T avoiding poor, minority neighborhoods?

by Charles Emory | Wednesday, February 20, 2008

With the 2008 presidential primaries well under way, we know this election season will be remembered in large part for its innovative use of the Internet. Fred Thompson and Barack Obama announced their candidacies via Web videos, and when Hillary Clinton unveiled her health care plan to cover the millions of uninsured she claims are "invisible" to the current administration, she did so via Webcast.

IN: Comcast Closes Public Access TV Studios Across Northern Indiana

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 08:11:12 -0500

from: Our Channels Indiana

Comcast Closes Public Access TV Studios Across Northern Indiana
Written by Andrea Price, on Sunday, 18 November 2007

A year and a half after the enactment of the Indiana Telecommunications Reform Act of 2006, Comcast notified producers in South Bend, Hammond, Merrillville, Mishawaka, Plymouth, Goshen, and Portage -- and Edwardsburg, Michigan - that it would be closing production studios and playback facilities for public access TV.

IN: Comcast Closing Public Access in Indiana Cities

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:47:11 -0400

from: South Bend Tribune

Comcast Closing Public Access in Indiana Cities

October 18, 2007
By Tom Brown

By December, possibly sooner, public access television will go dark in Michiana. Comcast has quietly begun closing public access studios in Indiana.

IN: Public access unplugged

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 10:53:47 -0400

from: Post Tribune

Public access unplugged
September 22, 2007

By Andy Grimm Post-Tribune staff writer
Public access channels across Northwest Indiana may go dark later this month as local leaders look for a way to extend the 20-plus season run of local, low production-value programming.

For more than two decades, cable TV subscribers have had a slate of locally-produced shows that spanned the gamut from high-minded (town council meetings and local political commentary) to lowbrow (pop culture phenomena such as "Jackass").

IN: Comcast Pulling Plug on Public Access TV in Northwest Indiana

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 09:55:54 -0400

from: Chicago Public Radio

Comcast Pulling Plug on Public Access TV in Northwest Indiana

Comcast customers in Northwest Indiana have only a couple more weeks to enjoy their favorite locally produced shows.

Producer: Michael Puente

Date: Thursday, September 13, 2007

Listen: http://audio.wbez.org/cityroom/2007/09/cityroom_20070913_mpuente_Comc.m3u

IN: Comcast facing protests for Closing Access Studios

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 12:22:44 -0400

from: Post Tribune

Comcast facing protests

September 8, 2007
By Carrie Napoleon Post-Tribune correspondent

Seven producers from Comcast's public access Channel 21 have formed the United Producers for Public Access to speak out against the telecom giant's decision to close its public-access studios in Hammond and Portage, as well as some of its bill payment centers.

IN: Deregulated AT$T rolls in Hoosier land

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 11:09:24 -0400

from: NWI.com

Deregulated AT&T rolls in Hoosier land
Tuesday, July 10, 2007 12:14 AM CDT

BY KEITH BENMAN
kbenman@nwitimes.com

AT&T Indiana President George Fleetwood is touting the benefits of last year's sweeping telecom deregulation, saying it has resulted in more than 1,000 new jobs in Indiana and a $250 million investment in new technology.

IN: AT$T Is Holding Up Road Projects, Municipalities Claim

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 23:38:01 -0400

from: Indianapolis Business Journal

AT&T Is Holding Up Road Projects, Municipalities Claim
June 19, 2007
By Chris O’Malley

Weeks after Indianapolis sued AT&T Indiana for costly delays in relocating phones wire for a road project, Hendricks County officials say the phone company has put them behind schedule and thousands of dollars over budget.