LETTER: PUBLIC ACCESS ON CABLE

To the editor:

I would like to respond to the Oct. 28 editorial, "Public access on cable TV." First of all, I think you misunderstand what is intended or what will happen as a result of having someone running the local access channel. The problem that has always existed in the past with local access is there has never been someone you could go to who had the authority to say, "Put this program on."

I wouldn't disagree with your assessment of the good job Ron Duff is doing, but he has simply been contracted with TCI to handle its franchise obligations. What we got from a survey that was taken by the cable committee, and what has always been our hope as a committee, is that members of the community would be more interested in putting programming on. That's where the idea came from of having someone available to go to. I don't know what the city will finally decide in terms of this third party, because we will be working with them on that. It may be that the person will simply be the coordinator. It may be the city will commit monies to enable local programming to be produced.

For years the franchise has generated monies for the city. There's certainly nothing wrong in utilizing some of those monies, which may be mandated by the new cable laws anyway, for the local access channel. An ideal situation, and one that was recommended by this committee back when the negotiations were going on, was to have a certain amount of money set aside for programming.

At the present time, there are no plans to make funds available. All that can be done at this time, unless that changes from the city, is to provide suggestions and point people in the right direction to programmers.

The situation that we're trying to facilitate is someone who goes out on his own with a camcorder or with a production company and wants to get a program on.

To the extent that your editorial suggested the city might have to have stricter rules about what shows would be allowed to run, I would simply suggest to you that the First Amendment governs what can or cannot be put on local access. A coordinator will be involved in scheduling of same.

Wouldn't it be nice if the local schools could tape their choir concerts or band concerts and show them at a later date for the public to enjoy? You're correct that only a few requests are received, but that's because there's no one to coordinate it and very little news about the channel. We're hopeful that the one and only thing that the city has control of -- the local franchise -- can be utilized more. I don't think anyone is talking about a big budget, so I think you are misinformed when you talk about that. I do think it's reasonable to suggest that perhaps the franchise fees ought to be used to help support the local-access channel.

Finally, I think something of a misnomer or a misunderstanding needs to be cleared up. The city agreed to allow C-SPAN to be shared on the local-access channel for a temporary period because TCI had to add TCT Channel 27 from Marion, Ill., as a local broadcast station under the must-carry rules of the new cable act. To my knowledge, it was never intended that it would be a permanent situation. Given the fact that the new franchise agreement calls for the franchisee, TCI, to go to a fully optic network, they will have more than enough room to carry C-SPAN or another station. There will not be a vacuum of programming, as we have told you all in the past that we could add Mind Extension University, where people could get college credit for classes at no expense to the city and could also add some other programming that would be at little or no cost.

I would simply suggest that instead of being somewhat pessimistic about the use or the lack of interest in the access channel, the newspaper ought to be one of the main parties pushing for its expansion to inform and to entertain.

MICHAEL H. MAGUIRE

Cape Girardeau

EDITOR'S NOTE: While Mr. Maguire considers the recent editorial "pessimistic," it is realistic to point out that adding programming to the local-access channel and providing coordination for the programming will cost money. Also, the few requests made each year to have programs aired on the channel have all been handled courteously and expeditiously by Ron Duff.