For my culminating paper, I wrote this paper entitled Cable Access to Community Media: Examining the Changing State of Public Access Media.

This research paper studies how public access television has been impacted by the rise of internet technology, and how it’s place in society is contested. While I heard numerous anecdotal examples through my internship about how these changes have impacted Thurston Community Media, I decided to focus this paper on Public Access as a whole, searching for nationwide trends.

I began by analyzing the foundations of public access in the early ’70s. I looked at who advocated for it and for what reasons. Then I examined what functions and services are offered by public access centers. By comparing the foundational reasoning and services with the possibilities offered online I try to answer the philosophical question of how access’s role in society has changed or been contested.

Next, I studied the material impact of changing technology, looking for station closures, budget cuts, and changes in participation and viewership. I explored the various justifications provided by municiple and state government for sacrificing this public service.

Finally, I turned back to local level and examined how particular access stations are adapting to changing technology. I approached this change through the shift from a “public access cable television station” to a “community media center.” I examined how exactly stations are being “community media centers,” what obstacles are holding others back, and what risks come with the refusal or inability to adapt.

I hope you learn a thing a two, I know I sure did. There’s very little scholarship on community media, and this is the beginning of my contribution to that limited body of work.

Check out the paper here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fBqEt-hx1XMj34YzYo8KV9dbQqDbAGAdHZn8vFXXdzY/edit?usp=sharing

I watched 2 episodes of the series Alternative Views, produced for Austin Community Television. The first was episode 30, “Marx and ‘socialism’ today, the promise betrayed?” Followed by episode 351. “Labor Struggles, Inside Views from the Bottom.” They were produced 10 years apart. Episode 30 is a talk show where the hosts interview a scholar from Yugoslavia who teaches at the University of Texas. They discuss how socialism works in the Eastern Block and how it differs in Yugoslavia, and how that version of socialism strays from the original liberatory ideas behind the movement. The next episode is more of a documentary, consisting of footage assembled from various labor groups around the country (such as interviews, picket lines, and people at work) to create a picture of the problems and success experienced by the labor movement at that time.

This series is often heralded as a success story of public access (see Hand-Held Visions, and Public Radio and Television in America). It is produced by volunteer community members for Austin’s cable access channel, but managed to gain popularity, and was played on access channels across the country. Episode 30 is made with extremely basic production techniques. A simple talk show, shot with only 2 cameras, cut together very awkwardly. It feels choppy, and the cameras are constantly zooming in and out. Episode 351, however, reveals a significant improvement in formal technique. While most of the footage was not shot by the Alternative Views crew, it shows how their popularity among the activist community allowed them to collaborate with producers in far flung regions to produce a compelling television documentary. Additionally the roll-in/theme song got a lot better.

Morrow Frank & Doug Kellner. Alternative Views. Austin Community Television, 1979 & 1988. Online, Archive.org.