People are saying that with YouTube and other online video services, the need for community television is fading. I disagree. YouTube helps us get a wider audience for our videos, but many of our efforts have a local focus and need a local outlet.
"Hyper-local" is the new goal in newspapers, radio and TV, with many media outlets revamping their coverage to make sure they cover their local communities. Many are asking their audience to contribute to the story, such as Minnesota Public Radio, which calls it Public Insight Journalism.
Well, that's what community access television has been providing to the public for years. We give the community access to the tools so they can tell their own story. And we don't sit and judge whether the result is "newsworthy" or fits somebody else's ideas of what's important. We allow the community to represent itself.
An article in the Pioneer Press Monday talked about the perils facing community access television. I think the article was incomplete. What you didn't read about in the story is the youth programs in many access centers that teach young people media literacy, communications and story-telling skills in addition to production skills. You didn't read about the classes, workshops and other hands-on expertise offered to increase the production value of the programs our members make. Those are things YouTube and other media can't offer.
And as long as the Digital Divide remains and people go without access to high-speed Internet, cable television remains the most economical, widespread and convenient way for people to watch television that informs, empowers and connects them to their communities.
