Public Access, Private Hassles

Illinois Entertainer
Published September 30, 2004
By Cara Jepsen

Chicago Access Network TV was formed in the early 1980s as part of the city's deal with cable TV franchises, which funded the public access endeavor. In the 1990s, the market opened and the providers agreed to a funding system based on competition, in which each cable company would pay a specific dollar amount in each of the city's five cable TV regions. But Comcast dominates most of the market, and RCN, its primary competitor, filed for bankruptcy in August. RCN has repeatedly defaulted on its payments and currently owes CAN $1.25 million. Last year its $3 million budget came up $240,000 short, and this year executive director Barbara Popovic predicts a $350,000 shortfall. Nearly 40 percent of its funding comes from RCN.

RCN has also filed a lawsuit against the city. "Among other things they're trying to get out of their funding obligations to CAN-TV," says Popovic, who last year was forced to cut seven full-time and three part-time positions. Still, the facilities are open for use by the public and nonprofit organizations some 95 hours per week. "We're facing another series of cuts at a point in which we're already pretty lean."

CAN-TV reaches more than one million viewers via Channels 19, 21, 27, 36, and 42, and has trained thousands of residents and nonprofit groups how to use its facilities and equipment -- and then run the programs they've created (see www.cantv.org). Among other things, it carries the Illinois Channel, a state version of C-Span, on Saturdays from 9 to 11 a.m. on CAN TV21 (online at www.illinoischannel.org).

A new ordinance floated before the Chicago City Council would give it a fifth of the city's cable franchise fee (more than $2 million of the $12 million-plus fee, which goes into the municipality's general operating fund). That would be on top of the cable companies' payments to CAN-TV.

In June, the Committee On Finance unanimously passed the ordinance, sponsored by 50th Ward Alderman Bernard L. Stone. But when it came up for a full City Council vote in September, aldermen Ed Burke and William Beavers used a parliamentary maneuver to delay a vote. Despite widespread aldermanic support, Mayor Daley is supposedly against the measure -- which means it has a snowball's chance in hell. The Tribune's Gary Washburn reported that Da Mare suggested its backers take salary cuts to make up for the shortfall. It's expected to come up for another vote September 29th.

"If it doesn't happen it would be a failure for local residents and local nonprofits and a tremendous loss to the community," says Popovic. "In a time when there's less and less local public affairs on television, it would be a tragedy if the third largest city in the country couldn't provide adequate and reasonable amount of support for this community resource. If it doesn't happen, everybody loses."

For updates see www.cantv.org, or write your alderman c/o City Council, 121 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, IL 60602.

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