Tonight thousands of public access stations around the United States will stop airing programming and broadcast a one-minute dead-air “snowstorm” at 8:59pm EST. The snowstorm is an attempt to highlight what the public will lose if news bills threatening public access pass in this Congress. The federal bills in question, “the Broadband Investment and Consumer Choice Act” (S.1504), the “Video Choice Act of 2005” (S.1349), and HR3146, are designed to ease the entry of the telephone companies into the cable television industry without any accountability to local communities. Currently, companies providing video service to consumers such as Time Warner must first secure a local franchise with the city to rent the public rights of way to deliver their signal to consumer’s homes. These franchises secure channel capacity and funding for PEG Access TV. The bills being considered would end local franchises and create a federal or a statewide franchise in its place. In addition, these bills will cost municipalities millions of dollars in lost franchise fees.

Locally, the Grand Rapids Community Media Center (GRCMC) has put together an online action alert to encourage citizens to act to protect GRCMC’s public access channels 24 and 25. GRCMC’s television channels carry a variety of important programming consisting of more 138 series programs each week.