LETTERS: LOCAL ACCESS ON CABLE

To the editor:

I noted with interest your brief Oct. 10 editorial concerning local access (on cable television). I do want to correct one part of your editorial concerning the combination of C-SPAN and local access.

Over a year ago, the local cable franchise, TCI Cablevision of Missouri, requested the city to allow them to move C-SPAN to the local-access channel temporarily, and I recall it being for a year, until the cable company could expand its channel capacity. The need for an additional channel was because TCI determined it had to carry TCT Channel 27 from Marion, Ill., under the local must-carry rules.

It is always up to the franchisee as to what programming it carries on the other channels, but it would be a real loss for the citizens of Cape Girardeau if this shared channel continued for any length of time. In order to utilize and develop our local resources, we need to make use of our resource. Under the various cable acts, the one thing that clearly can be controlled and run by a city is its local-access channel. We provided assistance to TCI. It is time for us to now make use of our resource and hope that TCI will consider what the consumers want and provide same.

MICHAEL H. MAGUIRE

Cape Girardeau