Received DOCKET FILE Copy Oricinal FEB 2·1197
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REceiVED DOCKET FILE COpy ORiCINAL FEB 2·1197. Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) Closed Captioning and Video ) Description of Programming ) MM Docket No. 95-176 ) Implementation of Section 305 of the ) Telecommunications Act of 1996 ) ) Video Programming Accessibility ) COMMENTS OF THE ALLIANCE FOR COMMUNITY MEDIA IN THE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING The Alliance for Community Media (the "Alliance") respectfully submits the following comments in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the above-captioned proceeding, released January 17, 1997 ("Notice"). The Commission seeks comments on its proposed closed-captioning requirements, including alternative proposals that will fulfill the congressional mandate to ensure video accessibility to individuals with hearing disabilities. I. INTRODUCTION The Alliance for Community Media (" Alliance") is a national membership organization dedicated to ensuring everyone's access to electronic media, including cable television. The Alliance represents the interests of an estimated 1.5 million individuals involved with community, religious and charitable groups who use public, educational and governmental ("PEG") access channels on cable television systems and other telecommunications networks and facilities to speak to their communities. Members include access producers, access center managers and staff members, local cable advisory board members, city cable officials, cable company staff working in community 1 No. of Copiea recld~~ ListABCOE programming, and others involved in or supportive of PEG access programming around the country. The Alliance provides technical assistance to its members, represents its members' interests by advancing a positive legislative and regulatory environment, and supports local organizing. PEG access centers facilitate, produce and transmit local non-commercial, non-profit educational and public affairs television programming on local cable systems, pursuant to local franchise agreements authorized by Section 611 of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, Pub.L. No. 98-549,98 Stat. 2779 (hereinafter, "1984 Cable Act"). As such, the Alliance represents the interests of local religious, community, educational, charitable, and other non- commercial, non-profit institutions who use PEG access centers and facilities to speak to their communities and participate in an ever-growing "electronic town hall." Finally, the Alliance represents the concerns of all persons who believe that the abundant resources of the Information Age should be made available to organizations and individuals that otherwise would have insufficient means to use such resources. The Alliance is dedicated to protecting, defending and expanding the goals of the First Amendment as expressed by the Supreme Court in Red Lion Broadcasting: "[I]t is the purpose of the First Amendment to preserve an uninhibited marketplace of ideas in which truth will ultimately prevail, rather than to countenance monopolization of that market... [I]t is the right of the viewers and listeners, not the right of the broadcasters, which is paramount... It is the right of the public to receive suitable access to social, political, esthetic, moral and other ideas and experiences which is crucial here."l 1 Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC, 395 U.S. 367, 390 (1969); see also Time Warner Entertainment Co.! L.P. v FCC, 93 F.3d 957, 973 (D.C. Cir. 1996) (citing Red Lion and Columbia Broadcasting Sys.! Inc. v. Democratic National Committee, 412 U.S. 94, 102( 1973). 2 I!tel In many smaller and rural towns and villages, PEG access is the only means by which residents receive truly local programming. In suburban jurisdictions which may be served by one or more broadcast stations, PEG access programming allows cable subscribers to participate in events and activities of importance to the suburban community, from local school board meetings and town council elections to televised plays and concerts. PEG access also provides a forum for local religious education programming, community college courses, and high school football games. In large urban areas, PEG access provides a variety and diversity of communication which is unavailable on commercial local stations. PEG access is provided on cable systems pursuant to a franchise agreement between a cable operator and a franchising authority (typically, a municipal government).2 Cable operators may also be required to provide services, facilities and equipment to make such access possible.3 Franchise authorities, which are entitled to collect franchise fees of up to five percent of gross revenue from cable operators,4 will often provide a portion of these fees for PEG access. PEG centers throughout the nation produce more than 20,000 hours of original programming per week; this is more than CBS, NBC, ABC, and PBS combined.5 2Id. 3Id. 41984 Cable Act, Sec. 622 (47 U.S.c. Sec. 542) 5S.Rep. 103-367 (accompanying S. 1822), 103rd Cong., 2d. Sess. (1994) at15. 3 II. CLOSED-CAPTIONING ON PEG CHANNELS WOULD PROVIDE ACCESS TO liTHE ELECTRONIC TOWN HALLU TO THOSE PREVIOUSLY EXCLUDED. The Alliance is dedicated to providing meaningful access to telecommunications services to all individuals, regardless of disability, race, religion, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, immigration status, etc. We enthusiastically support the policies behind closed captioning, which would allow significantly underserved populations to share in those parts of a national and international dialogue that take place via video programming services. The Alliance's interest in closed-captioning is twofold. First, the Alliance1s organizational members can and have presented programming produced by organizations serving the deaf and blind. For example, the Boston Community Network has shown programming for the deaf via television-TTY simulcast. By transmitting captioning, TTY and description through the PEG channel's vertical blanking interval and Second Audio Program, PEG access centers are technically capable of presenting captioned or described programming to all of their blind and deaf PEG access viewers. This captioning and description will allow members of blind and deaf organizations to present local programming to members of their particular community. Moreover, by providing access to deaf and blind cable subscribers, PEG access will allow for a richer dialogue among community residents. III. MANDATING CLOSED-CAPTIONING WITHOUT PROVIDING FUNDING PRESENTS SEVER ECONOMIC BURDENS FOR PEG CENTERS AND PRODUCERS. While the Alliance supports the concept of providing closed captioning for PEG access viewers, both cost and the unique nature of public access programming prevent PEG access centers from regularly providing closed captioning services. Most PEG presentations are 4 presented in unscripted interview, discussion, magazine, live or lecture formats. Consequently, the majority of PEG access programming would require a significant volume of captioning. The Notice states that costs for closed-captioning in most situations relevant to PEG access producers range from $120-$1,200 per hour for live programming, and $800-$2,500 for pre-recorded programming.6 The Alliance cross-references and asks the Commission to take notice of filings submitted by its members which detail each filer's annual total operating budget. Based on information available to the Alliance, the average yearly budget for a full-service PEG access center is $227,147 per year.7 The largest such center, in the Borough of Manhattan in New York, has a yearly budget of approximately $5,561,000 per year.s However, many PEG access centers have budgets of less than $50,000 per year; some have budgets as small as $2,000-3,000 per year.9 For instance, the PEG access center for the city of Riverside, California, with a resident population of more than 350,000, operates on a budget of $50,000 per year.l° The municipal access channel for Lansing, Michigan, operates on a yearly budget of $49,000.11 Blacksburg, Virginia's PEG access center operates on a budget of $47,000 per year.12 The PEG access center 6 Notice at ~~ 18-20. 7See Alliance for Community Media, 1994 Community Media Resource Directory, Appendix A. SId. at 186. 9llt, passim. lOId. at 30. l1Id. at 141. l2Id. at 220. 5 for Moorhead, Minnesota operates on a yearly budget of $38,000,l3 Appendix A (attached) is a list of yearly PEG access center budgets for which the Alliance has information. If closed-captioning were required of all PEG access programming, the Riverside center, for example, could show only 20 hours of programming per year, with no resources left over for salaries, equipment, and expenses. The Manhattan center could present six hours of closed-captioned programming a day (2,190 hours), but would only have $86,000 left over to pay rent, its 16 full-time and five part-time staff, its utility bills, and other associated expenses. Even without factoring in the costs of purchasing the equipment necessary to make closed captioning possible, a mandatory closed-caption requirement would put insuperable burdens on PEG access centers. Needless to say, PEG access centers associated with the Alliance would welcome the opportunity to show closed-captioned programming. The Alliance hopes that cable operators, local franchise authorities, and school boards will provide resources and equipment for closed captioning. We hope that cable operators will provide services, facilities and equipment to PEG access centers pursuant to their