VAN Members

Martha Schmidt

As some of you know, the Alliance for Community Media (I hope you're all members) is holding it's national conference in Washington, D.C. this year. I'm trying to get a sense of how many of us will be attending and possibly set up some Vermont specific events. One thing the ACM is encouraging are meetings with our representatives, which I'm currently trying to coordinate. So if you are planning on attending the conference or want more information please get in touch with me, either by posting a comment to this blog entry or contacting me directly.

You can get more information about the Alliance and the conference by visiting their web site here.

First of all I want to thank Emily F. and Matt G. for creating the Adobe CS forum. I'm looking forward to geeking it up with anyone out there using Adobe Creative Suite and hope to drum up some good conversation by posting a very general first post...

If anyone is interested in learning more about Adobe CS3 I've located tons of online resources including, free video tutorials, creative online communities, design portals, and links to interesting conferences and events.

I'd also be very interested in seeing or just hearing about what folks are working on, particularly if you're using After Effects (Shake or Maya too for that matter). Here at VCAM, producers are just starting to tackle the AE learning curve and they're starting to design impressive multi-layered high-quality motion graphics for their shows. It's really a treat to watch them embrace a software that can appear quite daunting at first glance.

Any folks out there dabbling in motion graphics?

Looking forward to hearing from any and all...

Seth

My thanks to all the Vermonters who attended the Alliance for Community Media's Northeast Region Spring Conference in Providence this past weekend. The big news was the ACM's file sharing initiative with our own Scott Campitelli and Emily Frazer taking the lead.

Here is Scott explaining all about "metadata" at the session last Friday.

Here is some information on the Snelling Center's symposium that John mentioned at the Annual Meeting last week.

Fulfilling our e-State Potential: Building Community in a "Connected Age."

The Snelling Center for Government and Champlain College invite you to
participate in a lively, interactive public symposium on the
intersection of community, civic life, and technology in Vermont.
Widespread broadband and cell phone service will change our lives in
ways no less significant than the advent of telephones and rural
electrification. Join us in this opportunity to influence the future of
Vermont!

Lewis Feldstein, co-author (with Robert Putnam) of "Better Together"
will speak, we will hear from a panel of innovative Vermonters who are

It doesn’t seem possible that another year has passed. My oldest daughter just turned seven years old, and she was born just a few days from the incorporation of VCAM. So VCAM is now seven. It really does -- pardon the cliché -- seem like only yesterday. But there’s no denying it. It really is 2008, and it’s a different world from the one VCAM was born into. Nobody in 2001 had heard of YouTube. If you said “TiVo” to someone back then they might look at you strangely. “Viral” video was maybe discussed in small circles, but certainly not in mainstream media as it is today. Political candidates ignore the web at their peril. So what does this “new media” landscape mean for access centers in 2008, and more importantly, what does it mean for 2013?

That’s the big question, isn’t it? As president of VAN, I get to work with access centers across the state, the Public Service Board, the Department of Public Service and the cable companies. From my view, it is evident that Vermont will soon be engaged in a vigorous dialogue about what community media will look like in the coming years. Cable access stations began proliferating widely in the U.S. over 20 years ago and the regulatory structure and legislative language governing PEG access reflects the time it was written. But it’s a whole new world now and we have to look at community media from today’s point of view.

The cable companies are also trying to figure out what the years ahead mean for them. 2007 was the year that Digital Video Recorders and “On-Demand” became a part of my own family’s media consumption – actually more than just a part – digital media has become the primary mode of TV watching in our household. I know that one day in the not too distant future, I will have a conversation with one of my daughters about how we used to have to be in front of our TV at a certain time to catch our favorite program. And I know that on that day my daughter will look at me in disbelief and wonder how we ever tolerated such a thing. My kids will grow up watching their programs whenever and wherever they want. It is imperative that we strive – and even fight, if necessary – to ensure that community media is alive and kicking in this new media paradigm.

Just one example of this shifting television paradigm is the interactive program guide that has become a ubiquitous part of digital TV services. For 20 years the cable companies in Vermont have been paying for PEG access channels to have their programming listed on the "electronic programming guide". This meant that cable subscribers could tune in to channel 2, the TV Guide channel (formally the Prevue Guide channel), and wait for their local access channel to scroll up on the listings that Adelphia paid for the channels to have. But technology has shifted and most cable subscribers now use interactive program guides that they can access with the touch of a button. These program guides allow subscribers to scroll through the schedule and select programming from a menu rather than having to wait for a scrolling list to get to the channel the subscriber is interested in. Cable companies know this is how most people get their listings and Comcast, in the Burlington area, has buried the all-but-obsolete TV Guide channel up at channel 182, no longer part of the basic analog tier. This means that fewer people are able to find out what’s on their local access channels. It would seem the answer would be to just have local programming listed on the digital interactive guide along side all of the other channels’ programming. However, Comcast has told us that they are unable to add PEG channels to the interactive program guide for technical reasons. So what happens is that all those cable subscribers who want to TiVo their local select board meeting, or want to find out when there favorite public access show is on, are out of luck. Because PEG listings are not available in the interactive program guide, they are virtually invisible to most cable subscribers. In this way, PEG access channels are being left behind the in the shift to digital media consumption.

That can’t happen. We have to partner with the cable companies and the regulatory entities to ensure that the last 20-30 years of developing a vibrant and engaged community media environment continues – not for the benefit of the few who have the control of the digital media but for the broader public. Whether that means PEG access listings on the interactive guides, access programs on-demand (either cable or internet-based), access channels in HD or simply a digital camera in the hands of some engaged citizen, it is something that we will have to make happen. We play too important of a role in our communities for us to just allow access to die with analog. We must grow into the new media landscape and embrace these digital technologies as opportunities to further democratize media and amplify the voices of the local community. I hope that you will join with us in this endeavor. Together we can ensure that the voice that community media gave to my peers and me will be there for my daughters when they need it.

VAN Annual Meeting - May 2, 2008
CAT-TV
625 Main St, Bennington, VT
802 442-8848

Eric Nelson from Access A/V will be with us all day showing off some equipment.
Access A/V web site

9:30am - Arrival/Coffee
10:00am-Noon - VAN Business

• Welcome/Introductions
• Election of VAN Board Members
• Election of VMX Governing Committee
• Membership
• Comcast Contracts/Renegotiation
• PSB Rulemaking
• New Business

Noon-1:00pm - Lunch

1-2:00pm - Keynote Speaker
Tim Nulty
East Central Vermont Community Fiber Network

2-4:00pm Work Sessions - break into three different groups

1. Your Access Center and VMX - Preparing for the Digital Transition
2. Preparing for Renewal of Contracts - The Proverbial Ducks in a Row
3. The Annual Report - Understanding What Works and What Doesn't

4-4:30pm Final Thoughts

5-7:00pm Join us for Food and Drinks at JC's Pub
135 Depot St in Bennington.

Lisa of CAT-TV has lined up a local motel in Bennington that will extend a rate of $65/night to VAN members. The web site is knottypinemotel.com.

We are also planning a social event for Friday evening at a local restaurant, so you may want to consider staying Thursday and/or Friday. I believe that rate is good for either of those nights.

Look forward to seeing you in Bennington!!

Just wanted to get it into everyone's calendar. This year's Annual Meeting of the Vermont Access Network will be May 2nd in Bennington, Vermont. We will have information coming soon about places to stay and agenda.

So get it in your schedule.

Rob

This year's Northeast Region of the Alliance for Community Media's Annual Conference will be held on May 9-10 in Providence, Rhode Island. You can find more information here. Of course I would love to see as many Vermonters there as possible. I am also available if you'd like more info.

Also, put July 9-12 in your calendars for the Alliance's national conference which is Washington, DC this year. You can get more information at ourchannels.org.

You've read the articles. You've seen the netroots campaigns (and the astroturf ones too). You've heard Ask a Ninja on the subject. You've rubbed your worry stone over the recent FTC decision. Now check out what Fletcher, Vermont-based blogger and IP guru N. Todd Pritsky has to say about net neutrality. Todd is a bona fide IP expert. He's not a shill for big telecom, nor is he some dyed-in-the-wool corporate libertarian. He's a Vermont lefty pacifist who just happens to know an awful lot about networks, security and the telecom industry, and his opinions may surprise (and inform) you...

http://www.ntoddblog.org/connected/2007/07/my-epic-post--1.html

This post is from his telecom blog, "Connected." His more popular political blog, "Dohiyi Mir," can be found here:
http://www.dohiyimir.org/

By Nolan Bowie | June 25, 2007

OVER THE air broadcast regulation now violates the spirit of the First Amendment's defense of freedom of the press.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/06/25/rewriting_the_broadcast_regulation_rules/

Broadcast regulation is still rationalized under an outdated assumption that the radio spectrum and channels are scarce resources, but new communications technologies -- cable TV, VCRs, DVD-ROMs, digital recorders, direct satellite broadcasting, PCs and the Internet, cellular phones, multicasting via digital compression of channels, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, HD radio, and using white space and spectrum hopping technology, smart antennas that electronically focus radio toward their intended targets for high speed broadband connectivity -- have successfully undermined all the old assumptions about scarcity.

If broadcasting is to continue to be regulated, a common carrier model like the one used for the Postal Service or transportation would allow the radio frequencies or airwaves to be made available to anyone on a first-come, first-serve basis and without censorship of content.

The scarcity rationale is a relic of the early 20th century that allows government to censor broadcasting by grants of exclusive licenses to some, but not to all. We now live in a world of channel or portal abundance, if not super-abundance. This is why it is increasingly difficult for traditional media to aggregate a huge mass audience.

There is actually no more or less spectrum now than ever before or will be in the future. Since the beginnings of the 20th century, no new spectrum has been added or subtracted from the universe. What has occurred since that time is that human beings have invented better communication technology, resulting in the more efficient and effective use of available spectrum to transmit interactive sound, data, text, and full-motion video.

Particularly during the past 20 years, the convergence or blending of traditionally different media, such as print, telephony (telephones regulated as common carriers) and broadcasting, has broken the boundaries and regulatory regimes that developed before the digital revolution arrived.

Common carrier regulation is generally associated with the Postal Service, public transportation, and such public utilities as water and electricity. Historically, this type of regulation has been applied to local monopolies in order to protect consumers from arbitrary pricing and substandard service. Government utility commissions would allow a fixed rate of return for the guarantee of universal service on a nondiscriminatory basis.

The Postal Service, for example charges everyone the same rate for a first-class mailing. Moreover, it does not censor the content of mail, except in extreme cases based on just cause.

Cable access TV services operate as common carriers. They provide access to community members on a first-come, first-serve basis and do not censor content. Moreover, different classes of users are expected to provide different types of programming content, e.g., public, educational and government programming.

In a like manner, all over-the-air broadcasting could legally be regulated as common carriers, sharing their facilities with others. The 1969 decision by the Supreme Court in Red Lion v. FCC made clear that no one has a First Amendment right to be a broadcaster and that the First Amendment rights of the viewers and listeners are paramount over broadcasters. Moreover, there is no property right in the broadcast license. Therefore, common carriage regulation of television could be phased in when current license terms expire after eight years.

On the other hand, Congress could amend the Communications Act to require the FCC to allocate spectrum now used by TV stations to "unlicensed broadband," thus creating the opportunity for the rapid deployment of ubiquitous wireless, high-speed broadband. This approach is more attuned to First Amendment principles, and, it would go a long way in spurring the economy, closing the digital divide, delivering better e-government and e-citizen services, better healthcare and emergency services, lifelong learning opportunities, and promoting national security.

Public policy and communication law simply have not kept up with rapidly changing and evolving technology. This has led to a situation where the old rationales for broadcasting regulation fail to pass muster on First Amendment grounds. If Congress does not see this First Amendment elephant in the room now, then when will it, if ever?

Nolan Bowie, a guest columnist, is an adjunct lecturer in public policy and a senior fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.

by Colin Rhinesmith - Community Media in Transition
06/13/07 - Just a quick word on why RSS (Really Simple Syndication) really matters for PEG access TV centers that are posting (or thinking about posting) their video online. RSS feeds allow Internet video players (like Democracy) to subscribe to and deliver an access centers’ video to viewers on-demand. This is important because it provides a fairly easy distribution platform (and free as in Democracy: Internet TV) for PEG access TV centers looking to reach an audience on the web. This is also important for people like me who would like to have an easy way to find more access centers’ videos on the web.

I like Democracy because it provides a great way to search, find, and watch PEG access TV videos from centers like WCCA TV and CCTV right alongside other popular programs like NBC Meet the Press with Tim Russert. This is all made possible because these shows have made their RSS feeds available for subscribing to and watching via Internet video platforms like Democracy.

So if you’re at a PEG access TV center that is posting video on the web, please be sure to create an RSS feed for your online video so people (like me) can subscribe to them. If you don’t know how to create an RSS feed for your online video there are plenty of options. I would recommend visiting the “Publish Video” page on the Make Internet TV website. That’s a great place to start.
http://cmediachange.net/blog/2007/06/13/why-rss-matters-for-peg-access-tv/

I wanted to thank everyone that attended the Annual Meeting on Friday.  Thanks also to our host, Bob Franzoni and his staff at CATV.  I hope it was an enjoyable and informative day.  Of course one of the things I stressed was the new VAN website and using it as a place to continue the dialogue.  I hope you will post your thoughts and comments on the things discussed on Friday and on anything else you want to discuss.  A couple of notes - some of the groups have been set up for a specific group of people, i.e. the VAN Board of Directors.  If you try to sign up for that group and you are not a member of the Board, your request will be denied.  Please don't take offense, it's just a place for the Board to discuss business.  The same is true for the Statewide committee.  Other groups are set up for a more public space.  If you have any questions about the web site, please feel free to contact me.  Also keep a look out for more training as Emily and I get stuff finished.  I'll even try to set a group specific to web site discussion

Thanks, and it was good to see everybody on Friday.