Writing

Ground Rush: Surviving to the 21st Century By B. R. Forbes Originally published in the Alliance for Community Media journal Community Media Review, Volume 18, Number 1, 1995. I've climbed mountains. I've canoed whitewater rivers. I've produced public access programming. I've still to engage in what many consider the ultimate in danger and thrills: parachuting. Avid adherents to this putative "sport" extol the ecstasy of free-fall, the sense of flying, and the gut-wrench of "ground rush" -- that moment when you realize that the earth is rushing up to smack you in the face. But wait. The sense of flying and the panic of "ground rush" seem all too familiar... Free-fall Franchise Fees Having spent all of my professional fundraising career in public television and radio, I once envied public, education and government (PEG) access centers for their five- to fifteen-year franchise fee agreements. No on-air pledge drives. No expensive direct mail and telemarkeling campaigns. No intrusive corporate underwriting. PEG access centers were flying high with a steady income -- or so I once thought. Public broadcasting at least has (for now) the safety net of federal funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, various fundraising parachutes, and even some revenue generator engines. By and large, PEG access centers depend heavily on direct government and cable operator franchise fees. As part of the information gathered for the Alliance's Community Media Resource Directory, we asked centers to indicate the sources of their revenues. Of those that reported their income sources, 57% indicated that they received all of their funding from local government and/or cable franchise fees. Another 26% generated under 25% of their revenues from other sources -- for a total of 82% who depend on franchise fees for 75% or more for their funding. Flying -- or free-fall..,? Legislative Ground Rush Perhaps I'm spending too much time looking downward rather than upward at the clouds and stars, but l'm definitely experiencing a little queasiness for several reasons... First, the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOC's) are opposed to supporting PEG access on their new video dial-tone services. They lobbied to remove "public space" from Senate bill S.1822, which would have allowed the telephone companies to provide video services. They succeeded in forcing Senator Hollings (D-SC) to withdraw his Communications Act of 1994 from the Senate's consideration because they felt that the bill passed by the Communications Subcommittee did not sufficiently protect their interests. However, Senator Packwood (R-OR) is already at work drafting new legislation which will be even more supportive of the Bell companies -- and dangerous to access. Second, the Bell companies are confident that their new video services will take paying customers away from local cable operators, who pay the franchise fees to support PEG access. According to a Washington Post article on October 11th, 1994, Bell Atlantic President James Cullen and Chairman Raymond W. Smith "predict that their company will take 50 percent of lhe Mid-Atlantic region's cable television market away from local cable operators within the next five years." Third, I have no doubt that cable operators will protest the "unfair competition" with the RBOC's — and will fight their franchise requirements. With the deregulatory moods of both Congress and the courts, cable companies have a good chance of winning their case of proving that "franchise fees" are unwarranted restrictions of free trade. Fourth, have I mentioned that only 18% of PEG access centers have generated 25% or more of their income from sources otherihan franchise fees...? Surviving the 21st Century If we are to evolve into the kind of "Access Centers of the 21st Century" that are glowingly depicted on these pages of CMR, we must first survive the few remaining years of this century and build a strong foundation for the next. First, we must fight for federal and state legislation that advances the principles and practicalities of PEG access. The Alliance has developed a platform and specific legislative language which we must have enacted in the 104th Congress. Our strategies and priorities will evolve as we learn more about the key players and their issues. But our efforts at the national level must be supported at the local level with grassroots pressure (letters and calls), as well as with financial support. Second, we must aggressively and creatively develop new streams of renewable income. Many forward-looking PEG access centers have already hired professional fund-ralsers and are trying new ways of generating income. The Alliance National Office is committed to publishing more fundraising manuals, covering more revenue approaches in our periodicals, offering more fundraising workshops at the annual and regional conference, and researching and advocating for revenue sources at the national level. Third, and most fundamentally, we must act and manage ourselves as the valued, community-wide institutions that we are. We have earned and we deserve supportive federal and state legislation. We have earned and we deserve funding from individuals, corporations and foundations. Flying High in the 21st Century So let's continue to look upward toward the type of access centers we want to become in the 21st century. But I hope that the gut-wrenching feeling of "ground rush" will motivate us all to ensure that we will survive until then. As for me -- why bother with parachuting...? I can experience all the thrills and chills by just working on your behalf at the Alliance National Office...!

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