All Things Access-February

Take a look at our full length ATA piece from February.

Wrapping Cables

Wrapping cables. I think it is an art form. An art form that most don't master. But we do ask that you do your best.

Inside the cable are tons of tiny little cables. When you wrap a cable incorrectly, you damage the tiny cables inside. When the tiny cables inside are damaged, the cable no longer works.

The rule of thumb is over and under, but mostly follow the natural curve of the cable, make sure there are no kinks in the cable and that it hangs neatly without being twisted.

If you are unsure of how to wrap the cable, ask at the desk and we will give you a demonstration. If you bring it in wrapped incorrectly, we will make you rewrap the cable.

A Girl Like Me

CELEBRATE!: LOVIN' THE SKIN I'M IN WITH
AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER KIRI DAVIS, A GIRL LIKE ME

SATURDAY, MARCH 10TH, 6:30 P.M.
AT DUNWOODY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY IN MINNEAPOLIS

A Girl Like Me, an 8-minute documentary Kiri Davis produced and directed when she was only 16, explores the standards of beauty imposed on today's black girls and how this affects their self-image. A key element of the film is a recreation of the Dr. Kenneth Clark black doll-white doll experiment made famous during the 1954 landmark desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education. SoulTouch Productions is presenting the event in partnership with African American Family Services, Camphor United Methodist Church, Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter The Links, Inc., Southside Community Health Services and the Walker Arts Center's Women with Vision International Film Fest. The "Celebration" will also feature the voices and talents of young women and men representing the Lovin' the Skin I'm In movement, and surprise guests.

Inspired by award-winning novelist Sharon G. Flake's The Skin I'm In, the goal of the Lovin' the Skin I'm In movement is to address the common yet painful issues of adolescence as experienced by African American youth. That's why Robin Hickman, executive producer of SoulTouch Productions is a part of developing the literary work into a feature film as well as working with young students who have read the book and are contributing their personal reflections of what it means to love the skin they're in. Hickman's work with the Lovin' movement also has an educational component: because Hickman in her own words believes 'it is crucial to teach these young people the historical origins of negative legacies within our community, as well as the impact of images and stereotypes in the media.' According to Black Women's Health, Black people account for approximately 25% of the mental health needs in this country though they only make up 11- 12% of the national population. To make matters worse, only 2% of the nation's psychologists are Black. The rates of mental health problems are higher than average for Black women because of psychological factors that result directly from their experience as Black Americans. These experiences include racism, cultural alienation, and violence and sexual exploitation. The past three years Lovin' has engaged a diverse group of young people in a media arts, social impact and creative expression initiative, which explores societal standards of beauty and media influences on self-esteem and identity. Proactively engaging the communities they serve is a hallmark of the operating philosophies of event partnership and other individuals and organizations in the Lovin' movement.

In addition to the screening of A Girl Like Me at the event, the public can check-out the film as part of the Science Museum's RACE exhibit. During her energetic and inspiring tour of the Twin Cities, on Thursday, March 8th Kiri will spend the day at the Walker Art Center meeting with youth from various Twin Cities media arts programs, A Girl will be showing at the Walker throughout March. Kiri will also be visiting schools and community groups during her time in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Equipment Use

Please remember is you are having issues with the equipment let someone at the access desk know, no matter how big or small. When using the tripod if you notice the legs slipping or not tightening all the way, please let us know. Through ordinary wear and tear the screw that holds the knob needs to be tightened. It just takes an Allen Wrench. So a mention from, you a minute of my time and it saves stress for the next user, and that next user may be YOU!

I know sometimes people are afraid to mention things that might not be working properly because they don't want to be blamed. A lot of things are simple fixes or are through ordinary use, it would be better if you mentioned it so we can fix it. If we catch it early and it doesn't cost us anything, there is no charge to you either!

The equipment you use is in the shape it is because members either choose to take care of it or don't. Don't be a member who adds to the abuse the equipment gets. When you come you want it to be in working order for you, leave it in the same shape for someone else.

Copyright Rules

If you are looking for some helpful hints on copyright, check the following sites out. A member passed them on to me.

http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Podcasting_Legal_Guide

http://www.law.duke.edu/cspd/comics/digital.html


Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke
Univ. has a 78 page comic book presentation available
as PDF or as animated flash video. I've begun to read
the comic book. It's an example of creative info
presentation that certainly took some time for them to
create.

Hometown Awards

IT'S HOMETOWN TIME.


A groovy new Hometown website features ON-LINE ENTRY (yes it's true and
it works great).

Go to www.alliancecm.org and click on the Hometown banner.

Fill out the entry form, download the PDF of the Support Information
Form.

The website will send you an e-mail with a printable version of your
entryform or you can use the print function in your browser to print the
entry form after you submit it. COPIES OF THE ENTRY FORMS AND SUPPORT
INFORMATION MUST BE MAILED WITH YOUR TAPE OR DVD. Please do not send
them separately. No payments are accepted on the website. Checks/
Purchase Order/ or Charge Form must be sent with your entry.


ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY MARCH 28, 2007

Light Meters

Have you always wondered what a light meter does or how to use it? Wonder no more, we have the answers. In this six minute video Steve Brunsberg, a SPNN Producer, tells how when we should use the light meter, how to understand what the light meter is telling us, and how it will improve our picture.

Video is a complicated tool to tell your story. Using certain tools of the trade can drastically improve your picture quality and audio. Both are important for people to want to hear your story. This video will help you increase your picture quality with good lighting.

Action Alert

Send a Message to the House Today: STOP THE FCC!Take Action Today at: http://saveaccess.org/node/726

From the Save Access website:

The new House Commerce & Telecommunications Subcommittee meets on Thursday, Feb. 15th to review the FCC. This annual Q/A of the FCC by the House Subcommittee is yet another important moment for us to respond to the December 20th FCC Ruling on Video Franchising. That FCC ruling went far deeper than the failed Congressional legislation of last year in attacking Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) Access channels and facilities. It also threatens local municipalities ability to exercise control over their 'rights of way" and provides little protection against the red-lining of entire communities. Worse of all, the FCC hearing on the matter was rife with inaccuracies and half-truths that even the phone companies backed away from. Such behavior by a Federal agency is reprehensible and we demand full accountability now! The organizations representing cities, along with the Alliance for Community Media, have promised a lawsuit - but we need for members of the House to hear from the people and respond accordingly. Congressional intervention can stop this mess now!Please take a moment today to send our letter to your elected representatives and key members of the House Subcommittee! We have to ensure that 'local video franchising' is on the top of the House list of problematic issues with the FCC.

And though we are seriously miffed about this mess, we have a proper and polite letter you can send to your Representative and key members of the House Commerce SubcommitteeTake Action Today at: http://saveaccess.org/node/726

Wassenaar testifies for House Committee

Here is video of Mike Wassenaar's testimony before the House Telecom Regulation/ Infrastructure Committee from Feb. 2, 2007.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5308169259017726144&hl=en

PBS stations may be hit by Bush budget

It appears the Bush's budget will have a harmful affect for Public Television Stations. His 2007 fiscal year proposes substantial budget cuts for PBS.

Read the whole story at http://tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11508

Should there be censorship for Access TV

In Lowell, MA late night viewers got more than they bargained for when they tuned into the local access channel. Viewers were outraged and it brings up the question of what is to much for a community. Most access channels have a community standards policy in place. Most stations also follow FCC guidelines on obscenity. SPNN puts the burden on producers. If there is adult content or material not suitable for all audiences, it is up to the producer to notify SPNN so it airs after 10PM. When filling out the Playback Release Form for each episode, producers must also state that no material is obscene, libelous, slanderous, nor an invasion of privacy or public right. If the producer has material that is either adult content or obscene and fails to mention it on the form, it is grounds for suspension of the membership and program.

For the full article on the Lowell situation follow the link.
https://mail.spnn.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.lowellsun.com/front/ci_5168303

The Cold Affects Gear

Just like in the summer when the heat can affect cameras, so can the cold. Cameras should not be left outdoors or in your car at all this time of year. The DSR 250 should not be used or stored below freezing or above 100 degrees, according to the Sony Manual. Similar recommendations are made for the PD 170 as well as the decks.

Cameras aren't the only gear having issues in the cold weather, tripods also suffer from fragility. When metal and plastic get cold they are more likely to snap. We had a tripod come in last week that had a piece of metal snap off the tripod. We believe it was due to being stored in the cold then brought into a building to shoot and when the quick release plate knob was used it just sheared off the metal piece.

Please be aware of safe operating and storage procedure for the gear. For safety purposes you should never leave the camera in the car, but for mechanical reasons you should also never leave the camera or tripods in a car in the winter or summer months. If the gear is damaged due to mishandling, you will be held financially responsible.

When you are traveling with the gear make sure to have it in the passenger compartment of the vehicle, not the trunk. Even a half hour trip with the camera in the trunk in the weather can have disastrous affects.

Reality Series focus on Film makers

You Tube has certainly brought focus to local video producers. First it was the super bowl when Doritoes let a amateur produce their super bowl ad. Now Spielberg and Burnett have joined forces to come up with a reality series that will pit 16 aspiring filmmakers in a contest for a $1-million development deal with DreamWorks.

For the whole story visit http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070207.BURNETT07/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Movies/

FINES

I want to take a moment to remind members that it is your responsibility to return your gear on time. After you have missed your check in time, we call to let you know you are late. We do this to try to get the equipment back before someone else needs it. If you are more than a half an hour late, regardless if it comes in the same day, you have to pay a fine. The first fine is $10, 2nd offense is $20, 3rd offense is $30, the fourth time in the same year it is a $50 fine AND suspension for three months. If the behavior repeats itself after the suspension is over the fees double and the suspension is six months. Continued behavior will result in permanent suspension.

When you bring equipment back late, it affects its use for some one else. Just as you expect the gear to be here when you want it, the gear needs to be returned so it is here when some one else needs it.

It is equally important when scheduling edit room and studio time to also be on time. Frequent failures to show on time or cancellations will result in fines and suspension. We have limited resources and we need to make sure that everyone has the ability to take advantage of them. When you schedule use of the facility you are taking away the ability for some one else to use the same facility. So please use the facility or cancel far enough in advance so others can take advantage of the facility.

Thanks form the Access desk.

Set Pieces

This shot is of the black curtain behind Sherine with the frosted plexi in the frame. We then took a light with a teal gel to shine on the frosted plex from behind. This is the result. We have a bunch of different colored gels to use. You can also use the cyclorama as the back drop with different color on it. There are so many ways to use the new set pieces. In March or April we will have a workshop on set design. It will use the pieces we have and how to create your own unique look.

Feel free to play with things, but make sure to be careful. The pieces are fragile and if you break them you will be held responsible.

The Mary Hanson Show receives an Award

Mary Hanson Receives Award for Making the Community a Better Place


The Metropolitan Community Churches recently awarded Mary Hanson, host and producer of the nation¹s longest-running cable TV show, the first annual Troy D. Perry Living the Vision Award. The award will be given every year to a person who makes the community a better place.

Reverend Paul Eknes-Tucker of All God¹s Children Church in Minneapolis presented the award stating, "Mary brings out the best in her guests ­ eliciting information, knowledge and wisdom."

"The Mary Hanson Show" is celebrating its 27th anniversary on cable and its 14th year on TPT. Among other awards, the show has also won the Minnesota Medical Association¹s Media Award for Excellence in Medical Journalism, the Minnesota Educational Association¹s award for best in-depth TV program, the CARE Award from the Mental Health Association in Hennepin County (given annually to one individual for efforts in promoting mental health), and the Minnesota Psychiatrist¹s Association¹s award for Excellence in the Media.


Watch for these upcoming shows on the Metro Cable Network, Channel 6, on Monday nights at 9 PM: Also watch SPNN channel 15 Wednesdays at 6:30 PM.

The Arctic Expedition
Wolves in Minnesota
An Interview with Amy Klobuchar
Sally & George Pillsbury on Leadership
The Minnesota International Center
Toxins in Our Midst

CTV has a Job Opening

Position Title: Facility Coordinator

Position Purpose: This fulltime position is responsible for the upkeep
of CTV's facility, oversight of the internship program, develop program
and production ideas, the provision of assistance to staff and
volunteers, the development with other staff of CTV productions, and
articles for CTV Publications. Candidate must have ability to operate
and understand equipment for a TV studio and edit suites. Salary
$23,000 to $25,000 and excellent benefit package. Send resume to CTV15,
Attn: HR Department, 950 Woodhill Dr., Roseville, MN. 55113 or call for
application: (651) 792-7515. Deadline 2/9/07

Please contact CTV for more information.

Ramsey Talks

This weeks episode of Ramsey Talks deals with the proposed light rail tracks in St. Paul. This is a good overview of the different proposed routes, how it would affect traffic, commuting, and buisnesses. This is an important issue to St. Paul residents. The program airs at 6pm on Wednesday night and again 11 am Thursday morning.

Youth Video on Racism

This is a video a youth producer did on race. This aired on the affiliate ABC station in Seattle. The filmmaker Kiri Davis (17 from Bkyln) will hopefully be at the Girl in the Director's Chair series and "A Girl Like Me" (her doc) is supposed to screen there in March as part of the series. Her documentary mentor is Shola Lynch ("Shirley Chisolm Unbought, Unbossed") and the documentary is based on a sociological study that was conducted by Dr. Kenneth Clark in the 60's in which he asked a series of Black children to choose between a Black and White doll and to select the one they most preferred, or thought to be the prettiest, smartest etc. The study yielded, shocking (to some) results that degrading media images actually have an effect on the way people perceive themselves and their community and now with the re-emergence of the topic this demonstrates that not so much has changed.
Here is a link to the Seattle video

http://www.komotv.com/home/video/5001856.html?video=YHI&t=a

US Senate Hearing

From the Save Access Site:

4000 individuals sent letters over the last four days to the Senate Commerce Committee. More than 80,000 letters in total were received by committee members. Thanks to everyone who helped out.

There is an archive streaming link of the hearing on the Senate site.

To see related past articles and the blog from Save Access go to http://saveaccess.org/node/688

House Telecom Reform/Regulation Committee

Here is the testimony that Mike Wassenaar gave this morning.

My name is Mike Wassenaar. I am the Executive Director of the Saint Paul Neighborhood Network, the non-profit community access television center for Saint Paul. I also serve as the chair of the Alliance for Community Media, a national organization which has supported the work of Public, Educational, and Government or PEG access television channels and facilities across the United States for the last thirty years. I have been asked to present a brief look at Minnesota’s experience with PEG television, and give some perspective about the state’s role in helping Minnesota communities use television to support community education, better inform our citizens, and strengthen local culture.

Public, Educational and Govenrment channels have a strong history in Minnesota. Since the early 1980s, municipalities and community groups have used the cable television franchising process to help provide local media content to their citizens through cable. In 2007, there are some twenty different PEG operations serving approximately 50 municipalities in the Twin Cities, and there are approximately 60 local channel providers across the State of Minnesota. This compares with approximately 40 operations in Wisconsin, 30 in Iowa, and a handful of operations in the Dakotas. Minnesota is actually a leader among the states in providing PEG services to its citizens.

PEG facilities in Minnesota range from larger, urban and suburban operations, serving tens of thousands of households, to much smaller facilities in communities throughout Greater Minnesota. In some communities, the local government operates one channel carrying government meetings, school content, and publicly produced programs. In other cities with greater communication needs, local communities have negotiated for more channels on the local cable system to carry more content. For example, in Saint Paul, there are six channels carrying PEG content, and a seventh state mandated PEG channel, Metro Channel 6.

One of the unique characteristics of the cable franchising process in Minnesota has been its responsiveness to local need and circumstance. For PEG community television, this has meant the development of many solutions for local communication needs, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. The community television operation in Little Falls can be set up in the area High School, and coordinate its operations with the school’s curriculum; in Saint Peter, in can be in the local recreation center. In some communities, production centers have been located as anchor tenants in once vacant shopping malls, where the PEG facility acts as a center of community development. My favorite example of this comes not from Minnesota, but from our neighboring state Wisconsin, where WalMart left Wisconsin Rapids, and town leaders were faced with what to with the vacant building in their commercial center. They decided to build a Senior Center and Community Television Center as a way to increase the social connectedness of their community.

Another effect of this localized process is that governance of channels varies in each locality. Some PEG operations are run by a government or municipal office; others by a school district; others by a non-profit that contracts for service with a local government; and in smaller communities, operations are run by individual volunteers. As well, some municipalities have chosen to have PEG operations run by the local cable operator. In a similar fashion, funding of operations varies by locality. Funding typically comes from cable subscribers either from the franchise fee cities negotiate with cable companies, or from a separate PEG fee negotiated to support the operations. In Saint Paul’s example, viewers pay $1.50 per month to support PEG operations, separate from the franchise fee our City negotiated with the cable provider. An independent poll of cable subscribers in St Paul conducted by the Wilder Research Center in 2003 found that viewers of the cable system were comfortable with paying that amount for the service they received, and would actually pay a higher amount if necessary.

One characteristic common to all PEG operations is their mission to serve as part of the civic communications backbone in their locale. Government channels public safety and emergency communications to citizens. As well, they carry local meeting coverage and help citizens understand the workings of their government, replay programs at convenient times for viewers who can’t attend meetings, and increasingly they make those meetings available to viewers on the internet in either a streamed or archived fashion. Just as importantly, public access channels give citizens and political candidates the ability to express political views in an open, unbiased and unfiltered format throughout the state. In many Minnesota communities, the only television media that covers local political debates is community access television.

That local presence is important in communities like Willmar, which has approximately 4500 cable subscribers, and has an increasingly diverse community which now demands educational programming in Spanish, English and Somali. Willmar’s PEG center operates three channels, with two and a half staff, and airs approximately 11,000 hours of local content each year. Compare that with an operation like North West Community Television in Brooklyn Park, which serves nine communities in the west Metro, and is probably the largest access and community television operation in Minnesota. NWCT serves 75,000 cable subscribers on the Comcast system and produces daily news programming for its communities. Even though it is located close to the heart of the Twin Cities media markets, residents will tell you that NWCT is the best and most consistent provider of television news and public information that focuses on life in their area.

Another example of local service and local response by PEG happens in Saint Paul each year, when our station works with a local synagogue to provide high holy services to the elderly who are shut in and cannot attend ceremonies. We can’t put a dollar value on the meaning that creates for the elderly, their families and the congregation. As a non-profit that serves all religious denominations in Saint Paul, and supports religious expression, we have the ability to provide this level of service in a way that government
perhaps cannot.

One other unique aspect of community television in Minnesota is the heavy concentration of ethnic and non-English television production that takes place in Minneapolis and Saint Paul. For example, between our center and Minneapolis Telecommunication Network, there are nine regularly produced programs by, for and about the Somali Minnesotan community, ranging from political discussion, to popular entertainment, community health, language instruction and vocational education. Some of the producers of these programs are professional producers trained by the BBC, and Italian and German state television in Somalia who now want to better the refugee community now making its home in Minnesota. Community television played a similar acculturating and educational role with Minnesota’s Hmong community through the 1990s, when SPNN was the home to the first public television program in Hmong in the United States, Kev Koom Siab. PEG channels in the Twin Cities provide an important outlet that diverse communities cannot find in the commercial media market.

One final aspect of PEG community television is the economic benefit that local communities derive from their operation. For many artists, religious organizations, community groups and non-profits, the cost of media technology and training is prohibitive. Production centers make computer and media technology tools and training available to the public much like a public library provides useful community education. We can put a dollar value on this worth. For example, in 2006 in Saint Paul, the public acquired in-kind media technology service and production equipment use at our studios that were worth the equivalent of $1 million. This has a real impact on the non-profit and creative economy in our community. There is a similar effect in cities of all sizes across Minnesota.



I want to leave you with several brief observations about what the state can do in the future to assist these operations as you deliberate this session. One recommendation is to act like a well-trained doctor and first do no harm. Minnesota law has encouraged an important civic sector to flourish in the last 25 years. Many states that have tinkered with their cable franchising laws in the last few years have put forward one-size-all solutions that fit no community well, and the jury is still out as to how well they accelerate infrastructure investment and spur price competition in cable. In one instance, state legislation has severely cut channel capacity and financial support for PEG operations, forcing them out of operation. Many proposed laws in other states say that PEG channels can exist, but the financial mechanisms that allow them to flourish – particularly PEG fees that companies and communities negotiate - should be eliminated. This in effect places an extra burden on municipalities and creates an unfunded mandate. The State has already done this through its mandate of Metro Channel 6, which is a mandated channel in the Twin Cities that has no sustainable funding mechanism. Creating more situations like this will hurt communities in Minnesota.

Second, all of the PEG operations I talk with welcome cable competition and want their services to go to more people in their communities. However, they do not want government to choose winners and losers in the marketplace, and they want their services to reach the entire community. This means that PEG programming should be carried and supported by cable competitors in an equitable fashion, as Minnesota law currently allows, and that governments have equivalent build out requirements for cable competitors. It makes no sense for community service benefits like PEG to only accrue to certain consumers who have been chosen by an industry. If a community wants these services, they should have the ability to allow them to flourish.

Lastly, I would encourage you to consider ways for our industry to grow capacity and expand services to all Minnesotans. One small example is by furthering the financial support or creating incentives for captioned services for the deaf and hard of hearing. Currently, few if any local PEG programmers have staff time or technical capacity to provide this necessary service for a growing sector of Minnesotans. From talking with service providers working with deaf and hard of hearing communities, I can tell you there is a definite need for more public safety, community education, and public information available via video captioning.
With that I conclude my remarks, and thank you for this opportunity.

The House Telecom Reform/Infastructure Committee

The committee met this morning. Among the things discussed, our own Mike Wassenaar gave testimony on what PEG Access stations are and how they are formed. He talked a bit about franchising. I will try to get a copy of his testimony and post it here. It was just a question and answer session for ten minutes.

The committee did take up their first bill today as well. It was a bill on call center performance. The bill is HF116. You can track this bill at http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/. You can sign up for a service to get notices on this bill. You can also find out the schedule of this committee at http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/comm/committee.asp?comm=8002.

Picking up/ submitting Programs

I want to remind everyone that you should pick up your tapes after they have finished airing at SPNN. Because of limited space, we can only keep about eight tapes per member. Please call the access desk at 651-298-8908 24 hours before you want to pick up your tape. We will then have it waiting for you. Also remember to never give us the orginal tape. Sometimes the tapes get eaten in a deck or gets misplaced. When you sign the form you are saying that we are only responsible for replacing the blank tape, not the information on the tape. So please keep this in mind when you are turning in your program. You can make a firewire copy of your show on our dub rack. You will not lose any quality this way.

Member of the Month

Robin Wilcox has been a member of SPNN for the last year. She came to SPNN to produce a short film and is currently writing and appears in an on going sitcom called "Won't You Be My Neighbor". She is taking time off this summer to work on a short film. Watch the video to find out more about Robin.