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FCAT:
TV in Trouble Take television, the most powerful medium the world has ever seen, and put it in the hands of local incompetents. What do you get? Foothills Community Access Television (FCAT). If you subscribe to AT&T cable, you can see FCAT on channel 11 (but you probably won't want to watch). This sorry little attempt to create a community oriented television channel hasn't turned out very well. Why? There are two serious issues facing FCAT. First, they have utterly failed to meet their charter of service to the community. Second, the quality is terrible. Some history: As I understand it, years ago the City of Grass Valley wrote a contract with FCAT for FCAT to be the vehicle for delivering community access television. I believe the initial funding was $25,000. These days, the City provides $5000 per year, provided that FCAT meets reasonable goals. The County of Nevada has also been known to contribute. The City of Nevada City does not. This is all considered seed money, since the expectation is that FCAT will someday become a viable non-profit organization. Why is this done? The Telecommunications Act of 1996 permits cities (in their franchise agreements with the CATV operator) to require support for what is commonly called PEG programming. This is "public, educational, and government" locally originated programming. So AT&T Cable provides "bandwidth" (a couple of channels) for FCAT and Sierra College. Not out of the goodness of its heart, but because it's the law. That's the limit of their "support." Like all non-profits, FCAT has always been challenged by lack of money. Unfortunately, the past and present FCAT boards of directors have failed to meet the challenge. Instead, they have chosen to run the station as a private club, neglecting most of the responsibilities of a non-profit. I've been a member of FCAT for several years. Here is my direct personal impression of the FCAT management: - They don't announce meetings. These are all bad mistakes for a non-profit. I'm not just speaking as an FCAT member. I've also held board positions in several non-profits. It's easy to see how a dysfunctional organization will fail to meet its obligations. By now, FCAT should have hundreds of members and dozens of people who want to broadcast their ideas. Unfortunately, FCAT is also mismanaged as a television station. The broadcast quality is terrible. The video goes out with "REC," and "REW" on the screen; the sound is impossible; and the equipment never improves. And the sad thing is that some of the volunteers think this is a pretty good product. Who was watching the store all these years? Recently, the issue of giving FCAT $2500 (half of its yearly welfare check) came before the Grass Valley City Council. It was embarrassing to watch as present and past board members groveled for money. They declined to address the real issues and advanced two wholly irrelevant ones. One issue was whether "we're doing better." The results show that "we" are not. The other was about whether producers of shows should be on the board of directors. Believe me, as a member, I couldn't care less whether the board contains producers. What I want to see is a growing membership list, solid funding, lots of community participants, and good quality broadcasting Councilmember Steve Enos was assigned to investigate the FCAT situation. On August 16th, I shared these sentiments and more with him in a letter. So let's see what the Grass Valley City Council concludes. Do I plan to continue my membership in FCAT? Yes, if they remember to send me a bill for dues. I have every hope that someday this sick little child will be cured and go on to lead a normal life in the community. Barry Schoenborn is a technical writer, and a 13-year resident of Nevada County. His column appears the second Saturday of the month. barry@wvswrite.com is his e-mail address. The opinions of columnists are not necessarily those of The Union. |