Public Access Television -- Who Will Do The Heavy Lifting?

While the Medford Community Access TV Committee did an outstanding job in their findings and recommendations to the City Council and to Mayor McGlynn, there was one question which, perhaps, was outside the scope of their mandate.

Does the city, or any community, for that matter, need public access television?

While local public access television centers provide studio space, equipment, and classes, they are, for the most part, underutilized. Perhaps they are not so much a necessity as a luxury that cash-strapped cities and towns cannot afford.

Three important issues will have to be addressed before we even begin to discuss a new public access television center in Medford. Is the necessary technology already in the hands of the citizens, and is training available elsewhere? Who will be willing to create content, and is the opportunity to distribute content already in place? Finally, with a rapidly shrinking revenue stream, are people willing to do whatever it takes -- fundraising, below-industry-norm salaries, etc. -- to keep the station operational?

Is the necessary technology already in the hands of the citizens, and is training available elsewhere? There are several ways to duplicate what an access station offers. One can take a low-cost computer class at a local library or high school or at one of the many adult education centers in the Boston area (Boston, Cambridge, Brookline). One can learn how to use a video camera and learn how to edit through a myriad of online tutorials. Finally, a few local access stations -- Winchester for one — do not have a residency requirement, and Medford residents may take advantage of their offerings.

Who will be willing to create content, and is the means and opportunity to distribute content already in place? Everyone wants programming, but no one wants to create it. A couple of months ago, Medford readers of an online publication were asked: “Would you create programming for a public access television station?” Not one person answered in the affirmative.

Besides, nothing is stopping anyone from recording an event on their smart phone; inputting it into their computer and editing it with the provided, free software; and, uploading it to YouTube or, even better, to MADE IN MEDFORD. MADE IN MEDFORD is a great community resource, and if anyone wants a contact person, please get in touch with me through my Patch profile.

Finally, with a rapidly shrinking revenue stream, are people willing to do whatever it takes -- fundraising, below-industry-norm salaries, etc. -- to keep the station operational? And this is perhaps the most important point: Cable revenues are not rising. They are falling -- and fast. People everywhere are “cutting the cord.” This is a major paradigm shift. In a recent survey, almost one-third of respondents don’t even have a landline. Fundraising will have to be a major focus of any new public access television station. And if people are not willing to create programming, I find it hard to believe that they would be willing to do fundraising.

It bears repeating: access television centers are a wealth of expertise and facilities, and a well-run station is an asset -- though not a necessity -- to any community.

However, lack of interest, alternative sources for education and programming, and the falling cable fee revenues -- these three realities will have to be placed front-and-center before the citizens even think about creating a new public access television station.