There was a ton of news over the weekend running the full gambit of PEG issues. Proposals up in the air, deals inked with cable providers, demand for more open government and local programing getting the recognition it deserves. I even found a story about public access in Canada getting the run around, which shows that PEG issues are not strictly limited to the US.

YCAT Takes Lead In Channel 12 Debate

Your Community Access Television’s proposal is leading the pack that wants to oversee Benton’s public access television channel, but the race is by no means over.

In a meeting Thursday night of the City Council’s Community Services Committee, five council members voted to recommend the YCAT proposal to the council when it meets Dec. 14. [ link ]

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Editorial: Collier public schools panel should just flip TV camera on

This newspaper is on the record many times as favoring the fullest public access to government meetings, especially those at the grass-roots level.

We continue to encourage the Collier County Public Schools’ academics committee to following the lead of its operations committee and have its meetings televised. [ link ]

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PEG Channels’ New Best Friend

We’ve all had that experience where someone suddenly becomes your “best pal” because they want something from you or can use your friendship in some way. For most of us, that kind of sidling up is excruciatingly transparent and usually disgusting.

In a publicized memo (see “Letter to FCC Outlines Deal Commitments,” Multichannel.com, Dec. 3), Comcast highlighted its commitment to localism, the public interest and PEG channels. [ link ]

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Student’s Films On Air

A Niskayuna High School student is going to Poughkeepsie. No big deal, you say? How about if it involves Niskayuna senior and student computer animator Chris Perrella having two of his short films selected to be on the latest season of the internationally known Poughkeepsie-based program “DROP TV”? [ link ]

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Comcast, city reach agreement on 10-year deal

After years of stop-and-go negotiating, the city recently signed a cable television renewal license contract with Comcast of Southern New England that could be worth more than $9 million over the next decade, Assistant Corporation Counsel John Coughlin said Friday. [ link ]

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City reconsiders contracts with public access TV

City taxpayers could benefit if the Board of Mayor and Aldermen decide to change the contracts with the city’s two public access television stations, MCTV and MCAM. [ link ]

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Shaw Cable Undermines Local TV (Again)

The Georgia Strait is reporting that Metro Vancouver’s public access television station, carried by Calgary-based Shaw Cable, has, without warning or heed for producers, writers, and local talent, re-branded the station as a “Shaw” outlet.
Charlie Smith, writing for The Strait points out that, unfortunately, this is just the latest in a long string of failings by Shaw to support the independence and community function of public access channels. [ link ]