The Biggest Free-Speech Soap Box This Community Has Ever Seen:
Bringing PEG Access to the Fresno Area
By Mike Rhodes
The effort to bring public, education, and government (PEG)
channels, a community media center (CMC), and an institutional network
(I-Net) to the Fresno/Clovis area took a step forward recently with the
renewal of a contract between the City of Fresno and the Buske Group. The
Buske Group is a consultant for the City of Fresno and Clovis in cable
franchise agreement negotiations with Comcast, the area’s cable provider.
Having the Buske Group as a consultant levels the playing field between
Comcast and the local government entities that are working in the public
interest to bring PEG access, CMC, and I-Net to this region. Renewal of the
Buske Group contract was unanimously supported in a 6-0 vote before the
Fresno City Council on Tuesday, September 27, 2005.
In an interview on listener-sponsored, free-speech radio station KFCF 88.1
FM, Sue Buske, president of the Buske Group, explained that the local
franchise agreement between Comcast cable and the Cities of Clovis and
Fresno and Fresno County are up for renewal. The original agreement is
decades old and it expired in December 2004, but it was initially extended
for a year and will be extended again to accommodate negotiations.
Buske said, “This renewal process presents certain opportunities to the
community...to negotiate for channels and bandwidth for community use and
also the opportunity to negotiate for and receive funding to support the
community’s use of that bandwidth in the form of resources that can help
fund a community media center.”
In addition, Buske said, “Along with the community media center and
bandwidth dedicated for video programming on the PEG side there is also the
opportunity to make sure public buildings, schools, libraries, and community
centers are connected together with fiber for video voice and data and that
is what is called an institutional network (I-Net).”
Locals governments have the ability to to negotiate a franchise agreement
that can provide these services to the community because the cable company
uses public property to deliver their services. Cable companies lay fiber
optic cable under streets, use easements underground, and are using
above-ground poles they do not own—all to deliver their signal to homes in
this area.
Many communities have a franchise agreement that includes PEG access, a CMC,
and I-Net. Buske said in the KFCF interview that she believes Comcast may be
out of compliance with the existing franchise agreement because they are not
providing PEG access. According to Buske, the city can remedy that problem
and receive appropriate support for PEG access through a settlement
associated with the franchise renewal process.
What Is PEG Access, a Community Media Center, and the I-Net?
The public channels typically provide programming produced by community
groups and individuals. A program on the public channel could be about
tenant rights and produced by Central California Legal Services, or it could
be a cultural presentation of Hmong dancers. An individual could produce a
show about local politics, a local church could cablecast a worship service,
or Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now! could be broadcast on public-access TV. In
short, locally produced, independent, and alternative video will have a home
on the cable network.
The education channels would be used primarily by the schools for education
and distance-learning purposes. If you tune in to channel 96 you will see
the beginning of the local education/government channel. Channel 96 is the
forerunner to PEG. In an agreement reached last year between Comcast, the
schools, and the City of Fresno, it was agreed to set up this channel. Right
now, you can see coverage of Fresno Unified School Board meetings,
electronic field trips, Dr. Mehas’s Speaking of Education program,
University of California programming (UCTV), the NASA Channel, the Annenberg
channel, and the entire Fresno City Council session each Tuesday. It is
expected that more local education and government programming will be on
this channel soon.
The government channels will have the capacity to broadcast the complete
city council meetings, board of supervisors meetings, planning commission
meetings, and more. The government channels will be the community’s window
into what is happening in government. There will likely be permanent video
cameras in government spaces, which will be turned on when public meetings
are taking place. Interviews with elected officials and city-sponsored
events will be available on this channel.
A community media center is where much of the programming for PEG channels
is produced. Funding to operate such a community media center will come from
the cable company as a part of the franchise agreement. Included will be
video cameras, editing equipment, studios, and training. All of this will be
provided to the community at no cost as a part of the franchise agreement.
The institutional network or I-Net is a part of many franchise renewal
agreements. An I-Net provides a high-speed connection between government,
educational, and community entities. This connection can be used for
accessing the Internet, providing two-way video, and producing
point-of-origin TV content. The I-Net can establish locations throughout the
community where live TV production can take place. Some examples would be to
have an I-Net site at City Hall so we can see what is going on in local
government; at a school so we can see musical or theatrical productions; or
at a community center where a live cultural event could be shown throughout
the community.
 This community needs assessment meeting was held in Fresno to determine what residents would like to see in the new cable franchise agreement. High on the list was Public, Education, Government channels and a Community Media Center. |
Negotiating a New Franchise Agreement
A 2002 franchise agreement between Comcast and the cities of Lompoc/Santa
Maria resulted in PEG access channels, a CMC, and I-Net. The agreement gives
an initial grant of $828,000 and ongoing support of $355,000 a year during
the life of the 12-year contract. Lompoc/Santa Maria had about 25,000 cable
subscribers when the franchise agreement was signed. You can read about this
and the results of other franchise agreements at the Buske Group’s Web site:
<www.buskegroup.com/>.
There is a big difference between the number of cable subscribers in
Lompoc/Santa Maria and Fresno/Clovis, which has about 84,000 cable
subscribers. Many observers close to the negotiations expect Fresno/Clovis
to negotiate a much better contract than the Lompoc/Santa Maria agreement.
While the cities of Fresno and Clovis expect a franchise agreement that
includes many benefits for area residents, the County of Fresno, which has
more than 12,000 cable subscribers, is on the verge of settling an agreement
with Comcast that does not include a public channel or a community media
center. John Navarrette, director of general services for Fresno County,
says the agreement will be presented to the Board of Supervisors in the next
month or two.
Navarette says that the County wants a government channel that will show the
entire Board of Supervisors meeting every Tuesday. The Fresno County
franchise agreement might also include an education channel, but Navarette
says they do not plan to include funding for a public channel or a community
media center in the agreement: “The cable company would pass on the cost of
these services to subscribers and that would be an unfair burden on county
residents,” who Navarette says have lower incomes than city residents. Sue
Buske, city of Fresno and Clovis consultant, says this is not true. “There
are cities and counties that have an agreement which includes PEG access, a
CMC, and I-Net where cable subscribers actually pay less than communities
without these services.” Buske says that the prices charged by cable
companies are market driven. “Cable rates are determined more by what the
competition—like the satellite networks—are charging, than by a franchise
agreement,” Buske added.
ALERT!As this issue of the
Community Alliance newspaper goes to press, the County of Fresno
is finalizing an agreement with Comcast cable that does NOT
include a public access channel or funding for a Community
Center. If you believe that free speech is important, now is the
time to call your representative on the Fresno County Board of
Supervisors. Contact your representative: |
With the renewal of the Buske Group contract, Fresno and
Clovis are anticipating face-to-face meetings with Comcast to start around
the first of the year. Buske said it will soon become apparent how serious
Comcast is in negotiating an agreement that would be acceptable to the
community. She added that this is a difficult time to get cable companies to
settle these franchise agreements. There is new legislation in Washington,
DC (HR 3146 and S 1349) that would take the franchise process out of local
control and into the hands of the federal government. This legislation could
be the ruin of PEG access, and funding for CMCs, and I-Nets throughout the
country. Backers of HR 3146 are claiming that it will increase competition
and give consumers more choice. Buske said none of the cable companies are
rushing into franchise agreements right now because they are waiting to see
what happens with this legislation.
Representative George Radanovich (R-Mariposa), who is a member of the
Telecommunications Subcommittee, has not signed on as a co-sponsor of HR
3146. When contacted about the legislation, Radanovich responded, “While I
support the removal of unnecessary regulatory barriers, I believe there may
be a different way to go about insuring consumers a choice.”
A broad coalition of community members, the Buske Group, and the cities of
Fresno and Clovis have been working hard to lay the foundation for a
successful contract with Comcast. The current process started about 28
months ago and has included a review of the current contract, community
needs assessment meetings, and the establishment of a Citizens Franchise
Renewal Task Force that includes prominent community members.
Recently, a board of directors and nonprofit organization has been
established that will oversee the PEG channels and the community media
center once they are up and running.
A good franchise agreement between local government entities and Comcast
will provide this area with the biggest free-speech soap box that has ever
existed. Everyone who has an opinion or something to say will have the tools
needed to get his or her message out to a large audience. Ethnic groups can
tell their stories without the message being filtered by Comcast. Residents
can hear news and other information in a language they understand. Community
groups can speak directly to their constituents and the broader community
about the issues that they are interested in. Churches, artists, musicians,
schools, and individuals will all have a voice on the cable system if a fair
franchise agreement is reached. If you are interested in this issue, you
might want to contact your elected representatives. Contact information for
local elected officials is available here:
<www.co.fresno.ca.us/0110a/default.asp>
<www.fresno.gov/city_officials/districts/>
<www.ci.clovis.ca.us/>
