Save Access

from: St Petersburg Times

Shoving Democracy Farther from View

September 15, 2007
By Howard Troxler

A bit of ancient history, please.

Our society didn’t always have cable television.

I remember my family getting it for the first time. There were 13 channels. One of them showed nothing but a clock, thermometer and wind meter. It was fascinating.

Part of the promises made as cable TV spread across America in the ’60s to the ’80s was that it would serve us in a brand new way. Not only would we get a great picture, but we could use cable to improve society.

That’s how we got what came to be known as “PEG” channels — public, governmental, educational.

These channels have been a staple of our culture since. Heck, we wouldn’t have had Wayne’s World without public access. We couldn’t watch our government in action.

A fine example was the recent dramatic meeting of the Pinellas County Commission. Everyone could watch as the commission debated the fate of the county attorney and the county administrator.

For the rest of the week, I heard from viewers of the meeting. They dissected the meeting point by point, quoted the commissioners’ exact words, critiqued their attitudes and their tones and even their facial expressions.

I don’t like some of the stuff on government channels. These days, they go far beyond showing meetings. They produce their own propaganda shows. But they also carry a lot of worthwhile information.

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Bright House Networks, the biggest cable company in the area, is moving access channels out of its basic tier.

Our democracy will be stuck up somewhere on the high end of the digital channels. Customers will have to pay extra to find it.

It’s not the end of the world. Some folks already have digital service. Some will take the extra step. But some won’t.

Shouldn’t a private company be able to do as it pleases? Shouldn’t the free market decide these things?

Sure — if you’re talking about Publix or Wal-Mart deciding which brands of cereal to carry.

But Publix didn’t build its industry on the public’s right of way, or by extracting long-term contracts from the public, or by making all kinds of promises about serving that public in return.

Channel 999? Nuts to that. Let’s put it right where folks have to click past it to see Entertainment Tonight.

But, the worm always turns. One day, Bright House will again need public goodwill or local approval for some purpose. That will be a good day to remember this.

- — -

Did I just say, the worm always turns? I confess to getting a little pleasure from the squawks of local governments as their own TV channels get booted up the dial.

After all, the governments of Hillsborough and Pinellas are trying to do even worse to the citizens, by cutting out public access altogether.

Sure, there’s some wacky stuff on public access, but there’s good stuff, too. Public access was part of the promise of cable. Every citizen would have a voice.

Hillsborough and Pinellas should cut out the propaganda part of their channels and save public access. Bright House should keep our local government where the most people can see it.

In return, I promise to keep my HBO subscription, and not to switch to a rival company, or satellite TV.