Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

Dear Editor:
re: Dylan as the marker…
Brilliant- He has marked our lives in New York City- a bunch of NYU students living in a brownstone- now separated-sharing the gifts of the current Dylan concerts where we all come together whereever we can around the country.

delores new york city

You can see all comments on this post here:
http://listenandbeheard.net/archives/2006/10/11/dylan-as-a-marker-of-the-life-of-a-generation/#comments

Comment:
re: Dylan as the marker…
Dave, thanks so much…you have a remarkable way with words. My heart is full but I don’t have your gift……Cathy

Comment:
enjoyed the review and the personal connections…and vice versa…younger brothers are also influenced by musical tastes of old brothers and his friend(s)…

Jeff Tilton

Hey Dave

……down the road he goes. “Modern Times” was a blastin’.
Hope the “Fishin Tape” turn up one of these days.
Love, Bette Ray

Dear Editor,

Subject: On local media: upcoming ACM West conference, & FCC hearing in Oakland 10/28

Over a decade ago, I worked for a TV corporation that held the license of the only broadcast television frequency designated for Vallejo, Channel 66. A few years later, after the passage of the 1996 Telecom Act opened the door for media mergers, the FCC approved the transfer of TV-66 at $38 million. Neither the city nor the community would benefit on the deal. The companies that held the Vallejo TV license continued to do little or nothing to feature the community happenings in Vallejo, instead favoring home shopping, nationally syndicated programs and novelas. With no mandate for ascertainments with local communities, most broadcasters are not even in keeping with the FCC’s all-but-forgotten pledge: that broadcasting should serve the ‘Public Interest, Convenience, and Necessity’ of local communities. As broadcast licenses were eventually regarded by their holders as ‘a license to print money’ for commercial offerings, there was less incentive or emphasis to serve community needs.

On the other hand, Cable Television, an inherently local medium with enough electronic spectrum to accommodate additional local channels, at first represented an ‘alternative’ to content delivery not offered by traditional broadcasting technology. (ironic the same claim is now being made with digital video over broadband vs. cable) With the 1984 Cable Act, local communities were empowered to negotiate with local cable companies to provide for Public, Education and Government (PEG) Access channels, and involve a community-wide ascertainment to insure that community needs are met. However, this has been permanently changed in California: AB 2987 – aka “The Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006″ – signed into law by the Governor, finally allows Telco companies to compete with cable companies to provide cable television and ‘advanced’ services in California. It is also a major setback to local control of electronic spectrum and the Public Right-of-Way (see L&BH 09/13/06), whereas as of 2008, control will be taken from the cities and handled by the California Public Utilities Commission.

Fortunately, thanks to the great work of a dedicated team of municipal and PEG advocates from the Alliance for Community Media, two of the ACM’s amendments to AB 2987 with provisions for protecting PEG channels and funding were adopted in the bill, sparing PEG channels like 27 & 28 in Vallejo (for now anyway) with room for a possible third channel . Of course, HR 5252, a pending national telco bill, would be worse not only for franchising and PEG, but also for “Net Neutrality” (see link), where the open nature of the Internet would be replaced by paid ‘slow lanes’ and ‘fast lanes’ run by gatekeepers. This is another issue that needs to be revisited soon.

But with alternate means of content delivery such as broadband over the web, why fuss over cable television? Surly “Interactivity” will mean something more than ‘consumers’ pressing a remote… Still, can the future of the internet truly be an ‘alternative’ to big media ownership of the airwaves and serve the community needs? How can community media remain relevant with of the growing popularity of Video iPods and YouTube.com (now currently being bought by Google)-?

In dealing with such changes, the ACM Western Region has dedicated this year’s conference in San Jose (Oct 27-29; see www.acmwest.org for details) to launching the future of community-based content, as well as dealing with recent and pending legislations. It is a historic ‘must attend’ for all community media managers, producers and advocates, with workshops ranging from AB2987 and HR5252, V-Blogging, and Non-Linear Editing, to Government & Educational Access, Youth Media, and Digital PEG Centers; with roundtables such as Non-Profit Board Development. The Keynote speaker with be celebrated media analyst and writer Norm Solomon, author of such books as “Through the Media Looking Glass: Decoding Bias and Blather in the News”.

Those who want to contribute to the dialogue and learn more about what our neighboring media centers are doing to keep local media access a free and vital service are encouraged to attend. On Friday evening Oct 27, ACM West will also hold its annual WAVE Awards, honoring the best entries of your fellow local videomakers from media centers across the Western States in a number of categories. For those who cannot attend, the WAVE Awards will be carried live on the net through an arrangement with the City of San Jose. This will be the first time in five years since yours truly led a team from the Region to offer the first webcast of the WAVE Awards.

Also on Friday October 27 beginning 5pm, the Federal Communications Commission will hold a Public Hearing on Media Ownership in Oakland for the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Francisco Media Alliance, which petitioned for the meeting and was the first of a strong coalition of organizations to legally challenge the FCC on its 2004 vote to increase media ownership, is encouraging all members of all communities across the Bay Area to speak out to the FCC. More details are available on the Media Alliance website at www.media-alliance.org. For those like myself who plan to make both, the FCC hearing is an important companion to the ACM conference.

See you in Oakland and San Jose!

– Clayton Leander, Board Member
Alliance for Community Media, Western Region.

Artists in the News

Ozcat Radio Presents “A Very Irie Halloween”

Celebrate Halloween with Ozcat Radio 104.9 FM at our first annual “Very Irie Halloween” Party, Tuesday, October 31, 2006 (Halloween Night) at the Vallejo Elks Club, 1020 Alabama Street. Reggae music will be performed by Ras Attitude (of Midnight), Ishi Dube, Jah Sun, and Serious Dewitness. Plus Vallejo’s own David Martin and the Ghetto Celebrities. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. The music starts at 8:00 p.m. and wraps up by 1:00 a.m.

Festivities include a costume contest, no-host bar and Caribbean jerk chicken dinners for sale. “A Very Irie Halloween” is a fundraiser for Ozcat Radio, Vallejo’s non-profit, all-volunteer radio station. Come down and meet your favorite Ozcat deejays and support community radio. Tickets are $10 each and can be purchased at “Listen and Be Heard Poetry Cafe”, 818 Marin Street in downtown Vallejo.

For more information call Ozcat Radio at 707-554-4097 or visit us online. Tune in to the station at 104.9 FM in the greater Vallejo area for further updates.