FCC Rules in favor of Phone Companies

Last week the FCC offered a ruling that changes the way cable franchises are offered to new entrants and throws the ball into the court of the States.

Currently if a cable company desires to offer services in a particular city, said cable company has to agree to serve the entire city. Phone companies have said that this rule limits the ability for competition to come in to a city. The FCC apparently narrowly agrees with phone companies. The new ruling would allow new entrants to service certain areas within a city, without servicing the entire city. This could lead to disparity of resources within a city.

Previously cities also regularly were able to negotiate for public access channels (like SPNN) and services for schools. Under the new ruling cities would be limited to the 5% franchise fee from new entrants into the cable TV market. Currently cities can use the 5% franchise fee to offset the general budget or put it directly into access centers. Some cities not only receive the 5% franchise fee, but also an additional PEG fee that goes directly to support public, education, and government access centers. Withholding this funding would be a determinant to access centers.

The ball moves to the state’s court. The FCC has stated that states creating their own cable TV franchising agencies to take over the work from cities or counties will be exempt from the rule changes.

I talked with State Rep. Sheldon Johnson (St. Paul) for January’s All Things Access episode about the upcoming legislative session. Rep. Johnson is the chair of the House Telecom Regulation/Infrastructure Division committee. Johnson has already been approached both by telecom companies and cable companies to discuss the impacts of a state bill on telecom and franchising. It appears that this year the fight will not only be in congress, but at the state level as well.

It appears the FCC rulings may be challenged in court and it appears Congress my also revive legislation stalled this past year. Between court challenges, Congress, and the state legislature it seems we will have a busy year.

To read the entire article from the Star and Tribune go to http://www.startribune.com/535/story/889084.html

To read the article from the New York Times go to http://www.nytimes.com/cnet/CNET_2100-1036_3-6145184.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Final Cut Express Workshop

Have you out grown iMovie? Would you like to have more control over the audio and graphics? Final Cut Express is your answer. Sherine Crooms will be teaching the class on January 10 and 11. This is a two day workshop that meets 6:30-8:30 both nights. You must have experience with iMovie or another non linear edit system before taking the class. The class size is limited so be sure to pre-register. Cost for the class is $40. Call the access desk at 651-298-8908 for more information or to register or email schumacher@spnn.org.

All Things Access

Watch for our next All Things Access show. We will be talking with Representative Sheldon Johnson. The legislature will be starting back up in January and the balance of power has shifted slightly. We will explore what a DFL held house and senate in the MN legislature means to St. Paul. We will also visit with Representative Johnson to see what his priorities are for this session. The program will air through the month of January on Wednesday nights at 7pm on Channel 15. The tech tip will be on utilizing the internet to gain a wider audience for your show by putting your program on You Tube. We will also have our member of the month and an update from the Youth Department. Tune in to see it who we will profile this month!

member of the month October.

Each month on our All Things Access show we try to highlight a member. This gives insight as to why people work on productins, their passions and what there next projects are. In October we highlighted Bettie Foster-Crowe, Find out what makes her tick.

December Member of the Month

Great things can happen when people work together. This is the story of three Hmong members who work together to tape the multi day Hmong New Year event. Hear their story.

Public Action Needed

PUBLIC ACTION NEEDED!


EMAIL/CALL CONGRESS TO STOP FCC!

(FCC DN MB 05-311)
The Alliance for Community Media has set up a site to make it easy for you, your friends, relatives and supporters to write your Congressional delegation. Congress needs to know that the FCC is on the verge of taking Congressional power as they rewrite cable law. It is important for Congress to know that their constituents are active in community media and that you are ready to fight.

The rules of this process are written against your interests. You are not allowed to call or write the FCC right now, but your Congress-members can.

Being written out of the law by the FCC:


* Support for Public, Education and Government Access Channels: GONE!
* Channel capacity for Public, Education and Government Access Channels from new providers. GONE!
* Your city's right to reasonable payment by the telephone and cable companies who make billions of dollars using public land. GONE!
* Your city's public safety and educational communication systems. GONE!

The rules will be rewritten Wednesday. Only your Congress-members can stop the FCC now. Tell them to support your community. Tell them to forward your concerns to the FCC NOW!

For easy email message, paste into your browser:
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/ACM/campaign/?campaign_KEY=6326&t

-or-

Link from www.alliancecm.org

Please circulate this call to action far and wide.




Anthony T. Riddle
Alliance for Community Media
666 11th Street NW, Suite 740
Washington, DC 20001
202.393.2650 p, 202.393.2653 f

All Things Access

For our January episode we will be talking with one of St. Paul's State Representatives. Rep Sheldon Johnson will be joining us in studio to talk about the upcoming MN legislative session. The balance of power has shifted from a Republican controlled House to Democrats. This shift in power has led to Rep Johnson being placed as chair of the telecom reform committee. We will talk with Representative Johnson about what he views the important issues are this session as well as the priorities of the DFL. Watch the month of January Wednesdays at 7p.m.

SPNN will be closed the following dates:

We will be closed on December 24 and 25th for the Christmas Holiday and December 31st and January 1st for the New Year’s Holiday. Please plan accordingly.

How to get better looking video

Sherine Crooms, SPNN Access Assistant, walks us through a couple of steps that can turn your ordianry looking video into something that has dimension and catches the eye. The following tech tip is from our December show. It is currently airing on Channel 15 at 7pm.

Take a peak, at the light side.

Tech tip: Studio audio

Are you new to using the studio, or maybe just not sure on using the audio board? Take a peek at the tech tip below. David Zierott, one of SPNN's professional producers, walks us though setting levels, what a compressor is and WHY you would want to use on in the studio. This is helpful for everyone. This segment is a part of the November All Things Access show. The show airs every Wednesday at 7pm. There is a new tech tip each month, as well as a member update, interview with some in the St. Paul community and lots of other wonderful tips. Check us out at 7pm on channel 15 in St. Paul.

Now learn more about how to get good sounding audio in the studio.

Workshops that shall soon be here

I know I have been delinquent in posting on my blog. It is my pre-New Year's resolution to post at least once per week. To be fair I was on vacation for two weeks in November, although that doesn't explain the lack of posts before or after.

But onto the promised upcoming workshops. We will be holding a Final Cut Express Workshop on both December 18 and 20. Both classes start at 6:30 and you MUST attend both nights. Cost of the class is $40. Please RSVP to the access desk at 651-298-8908 or email me at schumacher@spnn.org if you would like to sign up for the class. Seating is limited so make sure to plan ahead.

Get away from the hustle and bustle that becomes this time of year with the Producer Night on December 21st at 6:30p.m. Relax and enjoy networking with fellow producers (or editors, etc.). Bring a five minute sample of your work and see what others are working on. We'll have festive holiday cookies, drinks, and fun. Even if you don't have anything to show this is a fabulous (my new word) way to meet people who might be willing to help on your shoots, or to meet people you can volunteer for. I hope to see you on the 21st!

We will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, December 24 and 25. Please plan accordingly.

Final Cut Express

We will be offering a Final Cut express class on November 6. You must sign up at the access desk to come. We will be also teaching Live Type on the 18th of Nov. If you are interested in either of these classes please call the SPNN Access Desk at 651-298-8908.

Producer's Night

If you have been wanting to strut your stuff and tell people how you do your show, or maybe you want visit with other producers to find out how they do theirs, then Monday night is your night. We are holding a producer's night at 6:30. Bring 5-7 minutes of your footage or just come and watch what other's bring. We'll have munchies and beverages. If your not the producer, but still want to show some footage, bring it down. If you are a member of the St. Paul communtiy and wanted to meet some of the producers you watch on TV, you too are invited. It is Monday, Oct. 9th starting at 6:30pm. Hope to see you then.

What is a waveform and vectorscope

Do you use the studio, but not know how to make sure you get a good picture? Wanted to know how to get rid of that 'washed out" look for your guests and host. You have comet to the right place. The waveform and vectorscope are the two pieces of equipment that can help you, but they are very underutilized. People think they are hard to use. This step by step process shows you how easy it can be and shows how good the results can be. David Zierott, a member of our production team, gives a step by step.

Meet the New Access Assistant

Sherine Crooms has been hired to be the new Access Assistant. Her first day will be Oct. 2. She is coming to us from IFP MN. She worked in their access department. She will be a good assest to SPNN. Crooms is currently producing a documentary about the impact of fatherlessness within the lives of girls. She has worked with Soultouch Productions as well as been a film critic and columnist. Please welcome her aboard.

E-Democracy at the Library

This fall St. Paul E-Democracy will hold a series of free workshops
at the new Rondo Community Outreach Library. These free sessions will teach library patrons about existing tools for public participation.

Sessions will cover email; video; blogging; use of search engines to find things on the Internet; how to access St. Paul officials and media; and, digital tools available to participants. These tools can help participants become more engaged in their community. The workshops, led by volunteers and SPNN staff, will provide hands-on experience and simple users' guides are suitable for entry level into the digital world.

I have attached a flier that we hope you can circulate in your organization or post it in your bulletin board. Feel free to print it and distribute it.While this round of mini-workshops will all be in English, we welcome volunteers to teach these workshops in other languages. Please let me know if you are interested in and able to teach classes in another language.

Classes are held at the new Rondo Community Outreach Library at 461 North Dale Street, Saint Paul, MN 55103. Call the library at 651-266-7400 to register.

All classes will have a relaxed atmosphere. Any level of computer knowledge is welcome.

Producer's Night

We will be holding a Producer's Night on October 9 at 6:30 in Studio One at SPNN. If you have a show you want to showcase bring in 5 minutes of footage to share. If you have always wanted to meet some of the producers behind the show this is also a good time to come. This is a great place to network, meet other producers, find out how they manage to put their show together, and enjoy great food.

We will be providing food and beverages. Please join us. You don't have to be a producer or member. Just an interested community member.

Classes/Workshops

We have a studio production class coming up on Sept. 25 at 6:30. This is a two part class with the second part on October 2nd. If you have always wanted to tape a program in the studio this is the class for you. If you have an organization or group of people to help you bring them along. Cost for the 2 night class is $30.

We are holding a Live Type workshop on Oct. 4 at 6:30. This class will explore how to get the most out of the program that comes as a part of the Final Cut Pro and Express package. The workshop is $10 for members of SPNN. $30 for non memmbers.

Outreach

We just finished 12 days at the State Fair. Fun was had by all and everything went very smoothly. We gave out 500 DVD's of fair goers interviewing each other or being interviewed. We will be doing this again next year, so keep us in mind come fair time.

A group called e-democracy is holding classes at the new Rondo library. There are classes on internet use, blogging, and the like I believe. We are particpating by holding a class on SPNN. We will be taking a look at our small PD 170 and editing on iMovie. If you have always wanted to find out more about SPNN, but couldn't make it to our intro class this might be a nice opportunity. It is Tuesday Sept. 19th at 6pm.

If you would like us to come speak at a group or organization to talk about the benefits of SPNN and community television just let me know. My number is 651-298-8904 or schumacher@spnn.org

It's been so long

Wow, has it been a while. Just a bunch of things have been happening in my personal life and at work that have made it impossible to update my blog. My husband's father passed away and we spent a week in Chicago taking care of things. We then became Power of Attorney for my husbands uncle who my father-in-law had been taking care of. So forgive my absense.

Lots to say though so I will make some separte posts about upcoming events.