Needs a 'program guide' 12. People TV: Assessment. Publi

1
Reinventing PEG Access in Atlanta

• TelePAC Subcommittee
• on
• Public, Educational, and Governmental Television

2
Subcommittee Members

• Beverly Molander
• Earl Johannaber
• Hans Klein (Chair)

3
Report 3 Parts

• Recommendations
• PEG in general
• the PEG model
• PEG in Atlanta

4
Some Caveats

• A surprisingly complex system
• Many organizations
• Long history
• Complex interactions (conflict)
• Federal and local regulation
• New technology
• Study had limited resources
• Time
• Thinking has evolved
• Research continued past June
• Our recommendations
• Suggestive, not definitive

5
Our Focus

• Most focus
• People TV (24)
• City Channel (26)
• Some focus
• Clark-Atlanta TV (23)
• APS (22)
• Fire Channel (25)
• Also
• Atlanta Community Technology Centers (ACTI/Cyber
  Centers)
• People TV is the most complex entity

6
For Each Entity

• Assessment
• How is it doing
• Improvement?
• What can it do better
• Technology?
• Opportunities in the digital revolution

7
City Channel

• Assessment
• Performing its mission well
• Improvements?
• Needs a program guide
• Technology?
• City Channel is at the cutting edge of
  innovation.
• It is pioneering the use of digital technology
• web archives of City Council meetings
• On the web, it has a programming guide
• List of archives
• Atlanta is a national leader
• Quiet innovation

8
Clark-Atlanta Television

• Assessment
• Seems to be performing its mission well
• Improvements?
• Needs a program guide
• Has an on-line program guide, but
• Out of date (lists college lectures)
• Actual programming is quite different
• e.g. NAACP leadership conference, not earth
  sciences
• (actual programming seems more relevant to
  community)
• Technology?
• No assessment

9
APS

• Assessment
• Improvement?
• Needs a program guide
• Technology?

10
Fire Channel

• In flux
• Channel to be reassigned?
• Do not know current plans
• (Plans are not known)
• This resource is currently in play
• Opportunity for innovation?

11
ACTI

• Impressive program
• Ambitious
• Reported many achievements
• Now ended
• Lacked sustainable model
• One-time infusion of funds
• Regrettable loss of momentum
• Continuity?
• Atlanta Workforce Development program
• Little information on the WWW
• Needs a program guide

12
People TV Assessment

• Public access television model is aging
• Goals still relevant
• Local democracy
• But other community media work better
• WWW
• Email
• Local examples
• Beltline debate
• Recycling news and education
• Panhandling debate
• Parking deck debate

13
Assessment Who Benefits from People TV?

• Producers
• The public?
• Community groups?
• Or a few individuals?
• A video club?
• Using non-digital technology
• Viewers
• Needs a program guide

14
People TV Improvement?

• Implement existing commitments
• Newsletter, program guide, advertisements
• But
• Better implementation of aging model is not the
  solution
• Fundamentally, the model needs to be updated
• Shift to the new community media
• From analog video
• To the Internet

15
People TV Technology?

• What role for public access television?
• The Internet-based community media is already
  thriving
• What role for publicly-funded entity?
• Reinvent People TV
• Huge need for training
• Digital video
• Web page
• Email
• Access to equipment
• People can buy their own, but some need access
• Free bandwidth
• Equivalent of a cable TV channel

16
Recommendations for Policy Players
17
City Council

• Enforce existing obligations (PTV)
• Program guide, newsletter
• Diffuse best practice
• City Channel helps other stations
• When renewing cable franchise
• Obtain bandwidth
• Open up system governance (PTV)
• Viewers and producers on board

18
All PEG Stations

• Coordinating Committee
• Promote new ideas
• Innovation-supportive environment
• Develop expertise in new media
• human capital
• Use the new media
• On-line program guide, newsletter

19
People TV

• People TVs biggest asset
• Its public funding
• Challenge
• Reinvent itself for todays world
• A thriving community media exists
• But not based on cable television
• Seek a way to contribute
• Creative thinking needed

20
Process, Not Product

• There is no easy solution
• But there is tremendous opportunity
• Promote a process for
• Learning
• Encouraging innovation
• Mutual assistance
• Risk taking