CITY MOVES TO PRESERVE PROGRAMMING ON PUBLIC ACCESS CHANNEL

for more information:
Ernie Slottag 789-2235

The City of Springfield is preparing to preserve the services of Access 4 by assuming the management of the television outlet which is viewed on Comcast channel 4. Public Access is one of three PEG channels that are required to be carried by Comcast under the city’s franchise agreement. PEG stands for public, education and government access.

“The airing of locally produced public access and entertainment programming is essential to the maintenance of freedom of speech,” Mayor Tim Davlin said. “This electronic digital soapbox is a microcosm of our community and needs to be preserved. I am pleased that we have been able to offer to manage Access 4 so that these expressions of citizen journalism can continue to be viewed by the citizens of Springfield.”

The City proposes to manage the scheduling of programs under guidelines very much like those that are now in place. An appropriate location will be established where producers can deposit their programs so that they can be made ready to be played on Access 4. Since the City does not have the capacity to provide production capabilities, it will instead only receive programs in selected formats and put them on the channel.

The agreement by the City to manage the Public Access channel was reached after Comcast decided to exit the television production field. This is being done on a system-wide basis and is not only happening in Springfield.

In exchange for City management of Access 4, Comcast will provide funding which will be used to maintain, repair and replace professional television equipment. Management of the channel will not result in any increased cost to City taxpayers. The agreement must still receive approval from the City Council.

The Federal Communication Commission has established the standards and has given local governments the option to require cable operators to set aside channels for PEG use. The City of Springfield has always included the requirement that an access channel be made available for use by the general public. This agreement by the City to manage the Public Access channel will allow the City to continue to provide a access opportunity to those who might not otherwise have it.