Center for Media and Democracy News Archives | Center for Media and Democracy

Local coverage of meetings is crucial

January 20, 2020

An editorial in the Time Argus newspaper explains why the local meeting coverage provided by public access television stations is "crucial for keeping our elected and appointed officials on task."

Celebrate with us on 12/12!

November 21, 2019

Join us in celebrating free speech, local media, and the holiday season on Thursday, December 12th, from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 21st: Share your thoughts on the value of PEG access channels and services to Vermont communities, the costs of such programming and services, and funding options to support programming and services at a PEG TV Public Hearing on October 21st.

Comcast Settlement Protects and Expands PEG Access Television in Vermont

October 03, 2019

New Certificate of Public Good settlement will benefit cable subscribers and community members in Comcast service areas.

CCTV and Channel 17 Internships

September 19, 2019

CCTV and Channel 17/Town Meeting Television’s internship opportunities are designed to teach participants how to use multimedia platforms for civic engagement, local news/information, and community development.

Letter to the Editor: Next-Generation Media?

September 17, 2019

Vermont Access Network's Kevin Christopher shares how Vermont's Public Access TV channels are a valuable community resource.

Alliance for Community Media says FCC Cable Vote Will Harm Local Media

August 02, 2019

The proposed rules would allow cable companies to assign market values to these benefits and then charge the amount back to local communities in most cases. Benefits include items like free cable subscriptions to schools, discounts for the elderly, and fiber connectivity to local government buildings like police departments, fire stations, and libraries.

More Senators Issue Letters of Opposition on Proposed FCC Rules of Cable Franchising

July 30, 2019

The FCC meeting will be streamed live on Thursday, August 1st, starting at 10:30 am ET. You can watch the stream at www.fcc.gov/live. We will be coordinating a roundtable discussion about the rule and other efforts to overturn local authority and silence community voices at DCTV in Washington on Thursday from 3:00 - 5:00 pm ET. We will be recording the discussion for your use and will update you as soon as the URL is available for a livestream.

FCC Updates on Draft Rules for Cable Access TV

July 22, 2019

Perhaps the biggest loss for communities in the Order is the preemption of local governments from being able to tax telecommunications services provided by the cable industry even though the right of way is being used. This specifically seeks to defund local communities who have the ability under their state law to tax all telecom providers equally and now creates a disparity between cable and non-cable providers.

PEG TV Summer Study Committee Meets to Discuss Potential Funding Sources

July 12, 2019

On June 20th, Governor Phil Scott signed the Broadband Bill - now Act 79 of 2019 - in Dover, Vermont. This new law aims to expand access to broadband services and also includes a Study Committee that will consider issues related to the future availability and funding of Public, Educational, and Government (PEG) access television.

Featured Story

CCTV Receives NEH Grant to Support Community Archives

CCTV Center for Media & Democracy is pleased to announce receipt of a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Humanities Collections and Reference Resources grant alongside 32 peer archival institutions across the country. This $49,927 grant award will support efforts to preserve and expand access to audio/visual community history materials in the CCTV Archives. Read more about this opportunity here!