CHRISTIAN STATION SEEKS CHANNEL ON CABLE; CABLE COMMITTEE, CITY UNABLE TO HELP GET REQUEST GRANTED

Representatives of the New Life World Outreach Center's ACT-45 television station last week petitioned the Citizens Cable TV Committee to add the Christian station to Cape Girardeau's cable programming.

Jack Cathcart, pastor of the church, and several other citizens presented the committee with a petition that included the signatures of 3,000 Cape Girardeau and Jackson residents who want ACT-45 on cable.

But Roger Harms, manager of TCI-Cablevision of Missouri the Cape Girardeau and Jackson cable system operator has said there are no broadcast slots available for the Christian station.

And city officials said Tuesday there's little the committee or city can do to regulate TCI's programming.

Michael Maquire, chairman of the committee and a local attorney, said the 1984 Cable TV Act prohibits cities from regulating cable TV programming.

"What goes on in the cable system as far as programming and making more channels available is beyond our control," Maquire said. "We can gather public comment, and that would fall within those responsibilities.

"But we have to sort out that which can be used for negotiation of the franchise and those issues that can only be passed on to TCI as the concerns of individuals or a particular group."

Cape Girardeau City Attorney Warren Wells echoed Maquire's comments.

"The city has no authority to require changes in cable TV programming," Wells said. "That's per the federal law.

"But at the same time, the committee is anxious to solicit comment from any citizens who have concerns, questions or complaints of any type about the current franchise holder."

Dan Niswonger, general manager of ACT-45, said that although the committee was unable to help the situation, he appreciated its receptiveness.

"I appreciate the commission taking time to listen to us," Niswonger said. "We did request that they put us on cable, and we just presented the fact that we got a petition with about 3,000 names on it who are in favor of getting us on cable."

Niswonger said it's inconvenient for cable subscribers to switch their televisions from cable to broadcast. He also said the station has many benefits for residents of the area.

"We're the only broadcast TV station in Cape that's on 24 hours a day, seven days a week," he said. "We do carry most all denominations and have a wide variety of family programming.

"We've got excellent children's programming, youth night programming on Saturday, programming for the elderly, and music. It's really a wide variety."

The station's broadcast studio is situated in the New Life World Outreach Center on Bertling Street, just east of Sprigg.

"We can do basically anything we want here as far as production and we've got as much equipment as many of the other stations around," Niswonger said.

He said about 50 percent of the station's programming is retrieved off satellite feed, in addition to production tapes replayed from the studio.

Although Niswonger said the proposal's benefits for the community are "endless," the station also would benefit.

"There are very few benefits for us because we don't sell commercial time," he said. "But our benefit would be in getting the word of God to the community."

Niswonger said he and other spokesmen for the station plan to again discuss the petition and proposal at a public cable committee meeting planned for January.

"The committee was very cooperative and very understanding," Niswonger said. "They seemed to understand that there is a need.

"I feel like we've done all that we can. We've presented the views to the commission and to TCI cable. I don't know where to go from here."