public access commun TV
<div>=</div><div><div class="m-186557014564175171ydp33f36154yahoo-style-wrap" dir="ltr" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">wikipedia</div><div class="m-186557014564175171ydp33f36154yahoo-style-wrap" dir="ltr" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">
</div><div class="m-186557014564175171ydp33f36154yahoo-style-wrap" dir="ltr" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In 1979 the U.S. Supreme Court sided against the FCC in the case </span><i style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">FCC v. Midwest Video Corp.</i><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, 440 U.S. 689 (1979), determining that the FCC's new requirements exceeded the agency's statutory powers as granted to them by Congress. The Supreme Court explicitly rejected the notion that cable companies were "common carriers", meaning that all persons must be provided carriage. Instead, the Supreme Court took the stance that cable companies were </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_personhood" title="Corporate personhood" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_personhood&source=gmail&ust=1564670899920000&usg=AFQjCNEeZ2WW9XR6gtIDtGxNNS7ikqpL6A" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">private persons</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> under the law with </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution" title="First Amendment to the United States Constitution" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution&source=gmail&ust=1564670899920000&usg=AFQjCNHlPS13EoigMzcfV2qE_x5DDHCQsw" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background-image: none; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">First Amendment to the United States Constitution</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> rights, and that the requirement for public-access television was in fact a burden on these free speech rights.</span>
</div><div class="m-186557014564175171ydp33f36154yahoo-style-wrap" dir="ltr" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Congress acted to save Public Educational & Government TV from the result of the Supreme Court <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_Communications_Act_of_1984#History" class="m-186557014564175171ydp7098e65bmw-redirect" title="Cable Communications Act of 1984" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_Communications_Act_of_1984%23History&source=gmail&ust=1564670899920000&usg=AFQjCNGCwieXWdIDQ8c6C0k-V1XmiOH_zg" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Midwest Video decision</a></i>. However, the legislative imperatives of compromise between the demands of the people and the demands of the cable industry yielded a law with only small benefits for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer" title="Consumer" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer&source=gmail&ust=1564670899920000&usg=AFQjCNE9412khTkc3TZBVcV4o6we8GeH8A" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">consumers</a> and public-access television advocates.</p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Cable_Franchise_Policy_and_Communications_Act" class="m-186557014564175171ydp7098e65bmw-redirect" title="1984 Cable Franchise Policy and Communications Act" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1984_Cable_Franchise_Policy_and_Communications_Act&source=gmail&ust=1564670899920000&usg=AFQjCNE-imknQZo-cExZf8fVMNoPAJ884w" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">1984 Cable Franchise Policy and Communications Act</a> written by Senator <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Goldwater" title="Barry Goldwater" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Goldwater&source=gmail&ust=1564670899920000&usg=AFQjCNEn0JuVxbTqIZmH9qetNGLkiq7QSg" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Barry Goldwater</a>, said,</p><blockquote style="margin: 1em 0px; padding: 0px 40px; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit;">"A franchising authority ... <i>may require</i> as part of a cable operator's proposal for a franchise renewal ... that channel capacity be designated for public, educational, or governmental use." -- 47 USC § 531(a)<sup id="m-186557014564175171ydp7098e65bcite_ref-12" class="m-186557014564175171ydp7098e65breference" style="line-height: 1; white-space: nowrap; font-size: 11.2px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-access_television#cite_note-12" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-access_television%23cite_note-12&source=gmail&ust=1564670899920000&usg=AFQjCNGDSD1cV0b879mTcMzmIRDhL85hYg" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[12]</a></sup><sup id="m-186557014564175171ydp7098e65bcite_ref-13" class="m-186557014564175171ydp7098e65breference" style="line-height: 1; white-space: nowrap; font-size: 11.2px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-access_television#cite_note-13" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-access_television%23cite_note-13&source=gmail&ust=1564670899920000&usg=AFQjCNGCF82I_vGmHxphC-EMU8j2LvLdlw" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">[13]</a></sup>(emph. added)</p></blockquote><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This appeared to be a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_law" title="Positive law" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_law&source=gmail&ust=1564670899920000&usg=AFQjCNEwdpdfCVDhfy0QDKg7MRB_RoHC9A" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">law which creates new rights</a>, allowing local communities to require PEG channels, however, it in fact had the opposite effect. Since the franchise agreement is a license between the cable operator and the municipality, the municipality could always stipulate a PEG channel requirement, and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contracts_clause" class="m-186557014564175171ydp7098e65bmw-redirect" title="Contracts clause" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contracts_clause&source=gmail&ust=1564670899920000&usg=AFQjCNGC_t1zX2XJGQsNL-lRRd4aNcyvcg" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">contracts clause</a> of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution" class="m-186557014564175171ydp7098e65bmw-redirect" title="United States Constitution" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution&source=gmail&ust=1564670899920000&usg=AFQjCNEjhnPScm5kjqQccqKHmJ-oLBk07w" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">United States Constitution</a> prevents Congress from interfering. So while the intent may have been to correct the omission which led to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_Communications_Act_of_1984#History" class="m-186557014564175171ydp7098e65bmw-redirect" title="Cable Communications Act of 1984" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_Communications_Act_of_1984%23History&source=gmail&ust=1564670899920000&usg=AFQjCNGCwieXWdIDQ8c6C0k-V1XmiOH_zg" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Midwest Video decision</a>, and make PEG mandatory, the result was a law which allowed the municipality to opt out of PEG requirements, and keep 100% of the cable television franchise fees for their general fund, while providing no PEG facilities or television <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_capacity" title="Channel capacity" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_capacity&source=gmail&ust=1564670899920000&usg=AFQjCNEtQ8WTSZHLa0SqR9WxfFviJ1thgw" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">channel capacity</a>. Since 1984, many public-access television centers have closed around the country as more municipalities take the opt-out provision.</p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">However, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_Communications_Act_of_1984" class="m-186557014564175171ydp7098e65bmw-redirect" title="Cable Communications Act of 1984" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_Communications_Act_of_1984&source=gmail&ust=1564670899921000&usg=AFQjCNFXVQbn8GsBADI2CiufVJzDYzq-LQ" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Cable Communications Act of 1984</a> did contain some benefits for PEG, as it barred cable operators from exercising editorial control over content of programs carried on PEG channels, and absolved them from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_liability" title="Legal liability" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_liability&source=gmail&ust=1564670899921000&usg=AFQjCNHYOh9jSDnXS-mtUvjUnEMZOgM0xA" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">liability</a> for that content.</p><p style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Congress passed the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_Television_Protection_and_Competition_Act" class="m-186557014564175171ydp7098e65bmw-redirect" title="Cable Television Protection and Competition Act" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_Television_Protection_and_Competition_Act&source=gmail&ust=1564670899921000&usg=AFQjCNFci_D1ZPUC0TLTnl9gfY5Ln69rLg" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Cable Television Protection and Competition Act</a> of 1992, which gave the FCC authority to create rules requiring cable operators to prohibit certain shows. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_for_Community_Media" title="Alliance for Community Media" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_for_Community_Media&source=gmail&ust=1564670899921000&usg=AFQjCNESPCmw06g1GjN7sVWZJi-bUY-c9A" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">Alliance for Community Media</a> (ACM) and others brought suit. The U.S. Supreme Court, in <i>Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium v. FCC</i>, 95-124 (1996) held the law <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconstitutional" class="m-186557014564175171ydp7098e65bmw-redirect" title="Unconstitutional" rel="nofollow" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconstitutional&source=gmail&ust=1564670899921000&usg=AFQjCNGVRQ_YSJbTdJG3LFoYQulC-8WqVg" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">unconstitutional</a>, in part because it required cable operators to act on behalf of the federal government to control expression based on content.</p><div style="margin: 0.5em 0px; line-height: inherit; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Currently the ACM and others are focusing on operational challenges after new <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deregulation" title="Deregulation" rel="nofollow" class="m-186557014564175171enhancr_card_5043729712" target="blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deregulation&source=gmail&ust=1564670899921000&usg=AFQjCNF3-jdWYhy5WHPnzFax4oNeSqiT5w" style="color: rgb(11, 0, 128); background: none;">deregulation</a> rules in various states are directly threatening PEG access.</div></div></div><div>===</div>