Media and Community Building: Community Access Television

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Community Access Television

Abstract

Public Access Television provides an opening and a medium for citizens to express their views and participate in the democratic process. Public Access television operates on a first-come, first-serve basis, and provides education and training to citizens who wish to participate in the process of producing and airing a show. Because Public Access Television is not controlled by mainstream media, it offers alternative television to viewers who are interested in what is going on in their community, and in topics that are relevant to their communities and their lives.
New Bedford’s Public Access Television Station, is in the far south end of the city located at the 918 South Rodney French Boulevard, and has been on the air since 1995. The city of New Bedford runs the stations, but they are funded through an annual grant from Comcast Cable. New Bedford’s Public Access Station won the 2007 Overall Excellence in PEG Access Awarded by The Alliance for Community Media.

I had a chance to briefly interview Tom Sexton, the Public Access Director. Mr. Sexton has been the Public Access Director for New Bedford since 1999 and he works directly with the public and the volunteers at the station. “Our belief is that Public Access Television is a powerful vehicle for promoting greater awareness of the issues of New Bedford and the diversity of its people”. New Bedford has three channels that broadcast from the station, channel 95 is the public access channel, channel 17 is the educational access channel and channel 18 is for government access programming. Channels 17 and 18 have a separate staff and a list of requirements for what is acceptable to be broadcast.

All individuals and groups are able to broadcast on Channel 95. However, you must be a resident of New Bedford take part in an equipment training program and an orientation session to use the station (these are free). Mr. Sexton directed me to the website for a list of what they offer for equipment. This is a list from their web page: “Two (2) fully functional television studios featuring JVC cameras and Panasonic S-VHS recording and switching equipment. Three (3) digital video editing workstations with complete software packages. Three (3) editing suites with A/B roll capability. The edit rooms consist of full audio dubbing equipment and the ability to import different graphic formats. Six (6) portable digital video camera set-ups for use in the field. Five (5) portable VHS Camcorder set-ups for use in the field. A sound booth for audio voice-overs. We also have wired and wireless hand and lavalier microphones, microphone mixers, and portable lighting”.

Mr. Sexton said they have a wide variety of programming on channel 95, and almost a third of them are Portuguese. New Bedford is almost 40% Portuguese and the Public Access Television Station is a great way for them to keep up with each other, and share news, arts, culture and cuisine from Portugal.

Works Cited
Kellner, D. PUBLIC ACCESS TELEVISION AND THE STRUGGLE FOR DEMOCRACY.

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Working Definition of Community

Being a member of a community isn’t always easy. In a world where friends can be a click away but a thousand miles apart, where you can be next to someone but can’t talk except via instant messaging, and where you don’t know your neighbors next door but you do know intimate details about your friends across the country on Myspace, a venture into community requires a trust in an unrelated network of people.

Whether communities are defined by geographical boundaries or by the categorization of who belongs to a community and who does not, both are essentially the same, as Cohen suggests “boundary marking processes and rituals are a vital tool for defining community, identity, belonging and exclusion, and give a sense of reality to specific communities, although in fact they are merely mental or social constructs of insiders and outsiders”.

In addition to the idea of community being a group of people with a common interest, be it geographical location, social clubs, religious beliefs or ethnicity, communities can also be influenced by external events beyond their control. With the current economic situation it seems like there’s more call for help and more people in need of support and assistance. In chapter 1 of Community-ariasm, Smith explains how the term community is both shaping and being shaped by society itself, in an endless loop or re-creation. Economic situations, new technologies, available education, and social opportunities are just some of the factors that can contribute to the way in which communities are shaped, and if they are sustainable or if they will eventually die out.

Even a concept as malleable as community has a common thread, however. In the various readings and articles we have covered so far, the idea of community being a vehicle for self-actualization is touched on repeatedly. One of the key benefits people get from participating in community and their reciprocal relationships is a sense of belonging that is a part of their individual identity. “People construct community symbolically, making it a resource and repository of meaning, and a referent of their identity’ (Cohen 1985: 118).

Another defining aspect, which also contributes to the constant flux of the definition of community, is that even though individuals can experience a sense of self through them, often communities are more than just the people who are in it. A community can continue to exist even as its individual members move through it, and as new members enter into it, the community itself can remain rather unchanged.

Aristotle tells us that community requires different kinds of capacity, interest and character among its members because through the interplay of diversities, people are able to serve as compliments of one another and to attain a higher and better life by the mutual exchange of different services. The phrase “sense of community” begins to get at this meaning. It refers to a sharing of common beliefs that involves a connection at a more personal or emotional level. Words like “passion,” “devotion,” and “commitment” also come to mind when discussing the concept “sense of community.”

It is usually assumed that when people feel that they belong to a community, they have an active interest in ensuring that it functions well and are more likely to contribute to the well-being of the community. The emphasis on a collective well-being over individuals is a large part of Community-ariasm which has a focus of interest toward communities and societies and away from the individual. Smith’s explains in Chapter 3 of Community-ariasm that as long ago as 1955 George Hillery listed some 94 definitions of community he had found in the social science literature, and concluded that the only thing they all held in common was a reference to people.

From our class readings so far, it is evident that the definition of community continues to shift and evolve, and the introduction of modern communication methods, i.e. instant messaging, internet, cell phones, etc. have contributed significantly to the rapidly changing idea of community on a global scale. Even with the constant change and the difficulty in defining exactly what community is, it seems clear that the strength of ties between the groups, no matter what the subject matter is, is truly the essence of definition of community.

Works Cited:
Smith, G "Community - arianism" Chapter One: Community; ideology and utopia
Cohen, A. P. (1985) The Symbolic Construction of Community, London: Tavistock (now Routledge). 128 pages.

Media and Community Building Conclusion

The boundaries of Community can sometimes be drawn on a map, other times it is a category of people or characteristics of members. (Smith) As a communication tool, community media is beginning to adapt to emerging technologies and the ever-sharpening interactive features online. As a result, community boundaries continue to change and realign, creating a new generation of members with a constantly-evolving sense of community.

In this enviornment, the media landscape will be reshaped by the bottom-up energy of media created by amateurs and hobbyists. (Blau) As an empowerment tool, it is among the poor and oppressed especially, that community becomes a means to group solidarity and mutual help. (Smith) Because Community Media is able to operate independent of traditional corporate influences, public access to Community Media is vital to the democratic health of a community.

Community Media is an effective means of citizens interacting with community leaders and politicians, and an invaluable tool for holding them accountable when necessary. Community Media is also a gateway for the enrichment of educational opportunities for community members who do not have private access to new technologies or who need assistance in utilizing them. The future of Community Media is an exciting prospect, as new technology allows for the dissemination of information with an immediacy never seen before, as well as a rapidly evolving web that features more and more interactive features for the consumer.

All of these exciting technologies require us – the consumers- to be well educated and informed as to who the source of the content is, as well as hone our abilities to discern for ourselves which of these technologies adds value to our individual lives and which don’t.

Works Cited:
Smith, G; Community-arainism, Chapter 1
Blau, Andrew; The Future of Independent Media, Sept. 2004

Media and Community Building

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Community Access Television

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New Bedford, Massachusetts

Working Definition of Community

Media and Community Building Conclusion

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