On Ramp: Access Your Community

Videomakers face a number of obstacles in the pursuit of producing the perfect video. Untapped niches are becoming harder to find. Technology is changing overnight. And for those of you hoping to pursue the craft full-time, there's the issue of putting bread on the table.

For many producers, the easiest route to securing equipment access, finding a potential audience and keeping a full stomach is by working for someone else. The tradeoff is that you give up control over content. It's not your vision up there on the monitor. It's someone else's.

There is hope, however. More and more producers are finding public access television an effective and inexpensive way to produce the kinds of shows they want to put on the air. In fact, many public access television centers will allow you to take any idea you like and turn it into video.

They'll loan you the equipment, teach you how to use it and give you air time on a local cable channel. So what do you need to do? Often all you need is the right demographic profile (i.e., you must live in the geographic area served by the access center) and a small investment in training. Best of all, you can produce for public access television and keep your day job, too.

We have the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 to thank for giving us public access television. This act stated that local governments, in their capacities to grant franchises, could make cable operators provide one or more channels for public use as part of their franchise agreements. It does not say, however, that every cable operator has to provide channels for community access. Community access is strictly a function of negotiation between cable operators and the governments in the communities that they serve.

Fortunately, many communities have been prudent enough to ensure access for their citizens. The Alliance for Community Media, a Washington, D.C. based non-profit organization that represents the interests of community programming nationwide, has identified almost 1000 access centers across the country. They acknowledge, however, that the number exceeds that amount.

"We are aware that there are more than 1000 centers," says Barry Forbes, Executive Director of the Alliance. "And although we're a little unsure about South Dakota, and we've had some difficulty locating centers in Wyoming, there should be at least one access center in every state."

The Cable Act of 1984 provides for three different kinds of community access--public, educational and governmental (PEG). You will inevitably find the most opportunities through public access, although I will discuss educational and governmental access later.

Public access is for everyone to use, regardless of your background or your agenda. These channels are at the disposal of any person or organization who has something to say to a local audience.

Because public access exists on a local level, the rules for using access centers vary from community to community.

"Never say things like 'most access centers'," Forbes says, "because there is no such thing. Every community has different rules for use of their facilities." Nonetheless, there is common ground shared among access centers. According to Karen Toering, Operations Manager for the Milwaukee Access Telecommunications Authority (MATA), the first step is to apply for membership with your local access center.

"To become a member of MATA, you must either be a resident of the city of Milwaukee," Toering says, "or you must be a non-profit agency serving Milwaukee. Then you have to pay the annual membership fee." Individual membership in MATA costs either $10 or $25 per year. In either case, you are eligible to produce shows, vote in member elections, and receive the MATA newsletter. The $25 membership, however, gets you discounts off workshop and dubbing fees, and you get equipment insurance coverage. Toering explained that you then must take an orientation course and three training courses before you can start producing shows. The training courses cost $15 each and explain the basics of video production. This includes legal issues, MATA rules and regulations and nuts-and-bolts stuff like portable field production and editing.

"Every member is required to take these courses because they are specific to MATA," Toering says. "We realize that many experienced producers may already know how to operate our equipment. But our facility is open to everyone, and everyone must take the training regardless of experience."

Not every access center charges a fee for these courses. The West Allis Community Communications Corporation (WACCC) is the access center in the suburban Milwaukee neighborhood of West Allis where I live. WACCC charges a $20 annual membership fee, yet charges nothing for the several training programs it requires its members to complete.

Once you successfully complete the training, you'll receive an ID that grants you equipment and facility access. What happens next is up to you.

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