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Bonnie Goldstein
Rabbi Shaul Praver
Public Access Television
in a Nutshell
There are three branches of Public Access Television
which are represented by the acrostic P.E.G. which stands for Public,
Educational and Government. I have seen a lot of quality classical
music and dance programs aired on the Educational channel and I think we
have all seen televised sessions of our state governments. As for the
Public Access channel itself, many have seen a lot of junk. However,
there are excellent shows found on public access TV that report on
issues aired nowhere else. Producers, who realize the opportunity, go
out and train a crew to create industry standard productions with an
important message that have a great impact on the community. Rabbi
Rock TV is one of them! We are airing in major population centers
throughout the US because we have many fans who want our shows to air in
their respective towns. We work with them and we make it happen. We
report and speak about things that you will not find on any other TV
program-- not even the Jewish ones.
Why is it free? It isn't. Then
who is paying for it? Everyone who has cable TV. How so? At the bottom
of your bill you will see a tax. That tax pays for the ongoing expenses
of running your local cable Television studio where people like me
produce their work. I believe there is additional state funding as well.
It is important to note that often states try to cut funding and shut
down public access TV all together. I have been watching this trend for
several years and I notice that when people fight back, the state backs
down; after all, they do want to get re-elected. Tampa Public Access
TV recently sued the state for cutting funds. They have the right idea.
We have to send a strong and resolute message to our government that
public access is here to stay! The best argument may be that public
access TV is constitutionally protected free speech.
Who can use the
public access television studio and/or request programs to be broadcast
on its cable network? Every resident of a particular cable region
which often include a large cluster of towns. If you want a program to
air in your town and you know somebody that produces such programs, you
can request them to broadcast in your cable region and chances are, you
will get your wish. As such, if your wish is to have Rabbi Rock air in
your town, please know that I provide the programs in the form of DVD or
VHS free of charge and I cover the postage.
If your local public
access studio works with these formats, and you’re a Rabbi Rock fan,
then you’re in luck. If you have guests to suggest or a story you would
like to see covered, please be in touch with me, I might like your
ideas and produce them. I would credit you as co-producer for coming up
with the idea. If you need a little bit of technical assistance in
launching Rabbi Rock in your town, be in touch and I can help you with
that as well. Also be in touch if you personally would like to be a
guest on Rabbi Rock. Likewise, if you want to produce your own program
and need some assistance getting started, you may call on me; if I like
your ideas, I will help you get started. Believe it or not,
notwithstanding the fact that I am the host of Rabbi Rock and am
actually a Rabbi, I am really not an ego maniac and I really do attach
myself to the larger mission of bringing Jewish culture and spirituality
to the world so that we may reverse our trend toward assimilation; and
so that we may enjoy a richer life. As such, I am able to get over
myself and help others. I am equally as passionate about Music, energy,
traffic, environment and Israel.
Why do we have public access TV?
My understanding of it is: As TV became more and more privatized in the
hands of few, citizens saw the danger of the general populous not having
a sufficient voice to communicate, educate and at times protest in the
public square, matters of public concern. In addition, public access
is important for the voice of minority residents. To cite a few examples
that fit into these categories: One of my friends started his show in
New London, CT after a neighboring city proposed building a gigantic
mall which he felt would greatly damaged New London’s local economy; it
would move the business hub away from the city center. In the end, the
mall was built and my friend was right. Today New London is a shadow of
what it once was. Urban sprawl killed New London. My friend blew the
whistle but it was too late. Another example: A small number of
Buddhists living in a predominately Christian Bible belt part of the
country could feel they have no voice or means to keep their community
together. Through Public Access TV they can make their voice heard
throughout the community. On a practical level they can air their public
announcements so people know about events; when and where they are
taking place. In one case, a Buddhist community was prohibited from
building their proposed Temple by the towns planning and zoning board.
Had they utilized public access TV and stated their claim to the general
public in advance, they may have been successful in town hall.
Many
people share the opinion that the national network news and even the
statewide news are too negative and shallow. Many citizens feel that the
large network and cable news stations including CNN, MSNBC and FOX, do
not report enough on important world News. I couldn't agree more. When
did you last hear a report on the Cedar revolution? Or how about the
Genocide happening in Darfur.....isn't this newsworthy? Or what are
those super High-Tec space technology items China is developing—you know
the ones that can shoot all of our satellites out of the sky and return
us to the stone ages---what do you call those again? Not only do we
rarely hear about it, but when we hear about it we never really gain any
substantial insight as to why it is happening. Nobody ever dares
address the question as to why not one world power sends in troops to
stop the Janjuweed “Devils on Horseback” from chopping people to bits
with machetes in Darfur.
Moreover, Nobody dares characterize this
genocide as motivated by Militant Islamic Jihad aspirations---- it’s too
politically incorrect. Apparently major networks don't find it
"sells." Personally I find it outrageous! Many world events so important
for people to know about are not reported on the news or even
newspapers! What business do the major networks have reporting long
hours on Brittney Spears shaven head and so forth, when so many crucial
world events are occurring? Or the story about a dog being rescued from a
tree on National news. It's all part of the dumbing down of America
that I vociferously do battle with. Sure it gets viewers, so does Crack
Cocaine gets addicts and destroys souls. A stupid general public is a
general public that is easy to control. Folks, let’s stay smart and
control our own destiny through the power we gain by learning what is
really happening in the world. If some media powers are trying to dumb
down the American public, it means that somebody, whom they answer to,
wants to have more control of the American Public. Public access
television, if utilized correctly, can be an important balance built
into the Media system.
Unfortunately however, a lot of Public access
TV is poor quality, and a lot of Holy Roller and generic lunatics make
use of it. However, the opportunity is there and is protected by state
and federal law. Every once in a while a new proposal comes along to
curtail the P.E.G. system. It is very important that we strike down
such efforts. A world that has just a few people controlling what we
view on television is a very scary world indeed. Let’s not allow this
to ever happen. We as residents have power... let’s use it!
What if
you don't have cable TV, can you still be a sponsor or producer of a
show that will air in your cable region? Yes! As long as you are a
resident you have a right to sponsor and/or produce shows in your cable
region. While public access studios are free for use by residents, the
main task for a producer is to find a devoted crew who are willing to
learn and volunteer their time and skill. I have been blessed with a
very devoted crew for many years and I am very thankful.
Every cable
region has a slightly different form and flavor. Some favor truly
local programming to shows that have a broader message. Some say public
access should favor news events such as Betty's recipes, or who grew the
largest tomato in the county this year and so forth. I understand this
completely. In a globalized world, there is something to be said for
bolstering the entity we call “our town.” We may interact with a Global
world when we go out to our place of employment, but at the end of the
day we live in a county, a city, a town, a village and a neighborhood.
There are newsworthy events that take place here and we want to
broadcast them on our public access channel. Nonetheless, another
powerful criterion for acceptance of productions by the public access
studios is quality. Quality is almost always welcomed because the
studios get a lot of garbage and they want to boost the standing of
their network and win awards. There is a fair amount of truly local
stuff, but there are also many programs of wider appeal. There are:
funny programs, musical programs, political programs, religious
programs, health programs, gardening programs; all sorts of programs on
public access TV and the quality is getting better and better. Folks
are waking up to the tremendous opportunity the P.E.G. network offers
them. This was my personalized over view, here are two links which will
provide you a more in-depth formal understanding of the P.E.G. network.
http://www.hpat.org/AboutUs.htm
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