CompuServe Messages

Hi Barb Thanks for the welcome, I'll try to give ashort reply to you questionon access in thie area, but unfortunately it is a very long story. As far as I can tell we don't have leased access (i.e. reasonable rates for channel usage), rather the state legislature (or was it an act of god <G> ) requires the cable comp. as part of the franchise agreement to provide public access programming. Since this is still in it's infancy there are several interpretations as to what this means. For the most part the cable companies would rather use this channel for another home shopping network. In our case the cable provider turned control of access over to a private non-profit corp to run..In some areas the cable co. manages it themselves, I'm not familiar with these stations, so I can't comment about them other then the grapevine says they are significantly behind the independent ststions. Our station is funded by a 35 cent / month surcharge on the cable bill, with 45,000 subscribers it makes for a reasonable budget. The problem with the private non-profit setup is that one person attempts to shape the format as they see fit. Such is the case here. Most of the producers and volunteers have formed various groups to take over the station and run it as a community entity. It is a lengthy process involving the state Dept of Public Utility Control, but it has been done in other areas. I must be rambling at this point as I have just returned from shooting the state scholastic basketball championships and it talkes a few hours for my mind to return to me, so if I there is anything else I can contribute, please ask. arnie