Cable Public Access Victory in Fresno

By Mike Rhodes

Advocates for media democracy achieved an important victory in Fresno today (Tuesday, December 6, 2005). The Board of Supervisors held a public hearing to discuss the Fresno County Contract with Comcast cable and when it was over, they agreed that the franchise agreement will include Public, Education, and Government (PEG) channels. The supervisors are also interested in including a Community Media Center (CMC) in the agreement.

A broad coalition of activists, community groups and educational organizations attended and participated in the meeting. There had been concern that the county contract would not include a public channel. In a board briefing report posted on the board of supervisors website, it appeared that one outcome of today’s meeting could be an agreement that did not include a public access channel or community media center. The report was written by John Navarrette, Fresno County director of General Services and lead negotiator for the contract.

Fresno County, which has about 13,000 cable subscribers, did not hire a consultant to help them negotiate the franchise agreement and did not hold community needs assessment meetings to determine public interest in PEG or the CMC. Instead, county staff entered into informal negotiations with Comcast and came to today’s meeting with a proposal, which according to community media activists, fell far short of what a good franchise agreement should contain.

The City of Fresno (76,000 cable subscribers) and Clovis (13,000 cable subscribers) have hired The Buske Group as consultants, to help level the playing field and negotiate the best deal possible with Comcast. While, the formal process being used by Clovis and the City of Fresno has taken longer than many expected, Bob Hendricks, Chief Information Officer for the City of Fresno said at today’s hearing that "negotiations will start in January of 2006."

The big outcome at today’s meeting was that it was unanimously agreed to extend the current contract for 90 days and staff was directed to include a public access channel in the contract. This was exactly the outcome Fresno media democracy advocates wanted.

Board members, at times in the discussion, did not seem clear about who would run a CMC or decide what programming would go on the PEG channels. Supervisor Bob Waterston repeatedly expressed concerns about the content on the public access channel. Waterston said "What if the board of supervisors voted against the use of medical marijuana or the needle exchange program and we had other groups out there that disagreed with us...does that mean they could go on one of these channels we gave them and talk about anything they want?" Media democracy activists, in the standing room only board chambers, whispered that perhaps Supervisor Waterston was a little unclear on the concept of free speech, the First Amendment, and the purpose of a public access channel.

Numerous speakers came before the board to advocate for PEG access channels and a CMC. These speakers included Sara Hedgepeth Harris from the League of Women Voters, Richard Stone from the Fresno Center of Nonviolence, Silas Cha from the Center for New Americans, Woody Miller from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Jose Luis Baraza from the Center for Independent Living, John Welty president of CSUF, Cynthia Cooper from the Fresno Coalition for Art, Science and History, Larry Mullen from the Green Party, Pat Wolk from the Fresno Folklore Society, Cesar Culqui from Club Latinoamericano Del Valle Central, and Camile Russell from Peace Fresno.

After Mr. Navarrette gave his presentation to the board, Randy Reed, with the Fresno County Office of Education, gave a Power Point presentation which detailed community concerns and called for PEG access and a Community Media Center. The Power Point illustrated how other county’s had negotiated much better franchise agreements than the one being proposed to Fresno County.

Supervisor Susan Anderson moved that the board extend the current franchise agreement for 90 days. Supervisor Henry Perea added to Ms. Anderson’s proposal that one of the 5 proposed channels be designated as a public channel. The vote was unanimous in favor of the motion.

The coalition of groups working on this issue will be meeting in the coming weeks to follow through on the Fresno County franchise agreement and to discuss the next steps in the cities of Fresno and Clovis agreements.

Summary: The struggle for Public access TV continues in Fresno. Today, a small but significant victory was achieved.
John Navarrette

John Navarrette (on the right), director of the Fresno County General Services Department, wanted a franchise agreement that would have included 5 channels, all of them under the control of county government.
Randy Reed and John Welty

Randy Reed and John Welty helped set up the Power Point presentation that influenced the Board of Supervisors to support PEG access and a Community Media Center.
Sara Hedgepeth Harris

Sara Hedgepeth Harris spoke, representing the League of Women Voters, in favor of PEG access and a Community Media Center.

Waterston said "What if the board of supervisors voted against the use of medical marijuana or the needle exchange program and we had other groups out there that disagreed with us...does that mean they could go on one of these channels we gave them and talk about anything they want?"

Cynthia Cooper from the Fresno Coalition for Art, Science and History spoke in favor of PEG access and a Community Media Center.

Residents lobby Fresno Co. for public access TV

By Kerri Ginis / The Fresno Bee

(Updated Wednesday, December 7, 2005, 7:09 AM)

Fresno County supervisors on Tuesday delayed renewing the franchise contract with its cable company for 90 days so they can work with other jurisdictions
to create plans for a public access channel.

Dozens of residents packed the board chambers and pleaded with the supervisors to consider including a public access channel in its contract
with Comcast Cable Communications Inc. They said they want the county and Comcast establish a community media center - a separate building with
studios, cameras and other equipment the public can use to broadcast programs on a designated cable channel.

The county is negotiating with Comcast to renew its franchise agreement, which provides the company with exclusive rights to provide cable service to
more than 13,000 residents in the unincorporated areas. The current contract expires at the end of this month.

In its negotiations, Comcast offered the county five channels to program - four more than it currently has. Three of the channels would be activated
immediately and would carry programming related to county government and education. The other two channels wouldn't start running until the county
determines a use for them. The agreement also would allow the county to conduct live broadcasts of its board meetings.

But some people have criticized the proposed agreement because it doesn't designate a public access channel.

Jurisdictions elsewhere in California and in other states have required cable television franchisees to provide channels, studios, equipment and
training for people interested in public access programming.

The cities of Fresno and Clovis also are negotiating with Comcast to renew franchise agreements. They and other cities, along with the Fresno County
Office of Education and California State University, Fresno, also want a community media center.

Residents stressed to county supervisors at Tuesday's meeting that having a channel designated for the public's use will allow them to reach out to the
community.

"The way the access is now it makes it very difficult for us to get our message out," said Richard Stone, a member of the Fresno Center for
Nonviolence. "The only way we can have a good chance, a fair chance, of having our perspective included is through a public access channel."

Others said it is important to have a place where people can discuss their viewpoints - even those that are controversial.

"You're going to have ideas on there that you don't agree with, but that's part of the democratic process," said Mike Rhodes, editor of the Community
Alliance Newspaper. "We need public access because there are so many people who don't have a voice in our community."

Supervisors agreed it is important to have one channel designated for the public's use. But they questioned whether they need to pay for a building to
house a Community Media Center when both the county Office of Education and Fresno State already have TV production facilities on their campuses.

They also stressed concerns about the content on the public access channel and who would monitor the programming.

The board agreed a business plan would need to be written, including details about how a public access channel would work.

Over the next 90 days, the county will work with the two cities, the county Office of Education and Fresno State on developing a plan that will incorporate a public access channel and possibly a Community Media Center into its agreement with Comcast.

Said board Chairwoman Judy Case: "There has to be a business plan so the costs are equitably shared and the programming is planned for."

The reporter can be reached at kginis@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6317.