Recent changes in state legislation have opened an opportunity for Durham to have its own Community Media Center and Public Access Television channel. We are the first major city in North Carolina to take advantage of the new legislative promise to invest and support local media and community technology access and training.

For the last decade, Durham Public Access has been managed by Time Warner Cable because previous laws required them to do so. The result was that the channel did not meet the needs of the community or fulfill its potential as a true accountable, community-driven operation. Durham now has an opportunity to change this dynamic and create a public-access television channel and community media center which would be truly reflective of its culture and diversity.

Public-access television was developed to provide local and diverse content to programming on cable systems. Functioning like a soapbox for communities, programming ranges from local news, events and entertainment, to inspirational, youth-oriented, and educational shows. The need today is even greater with the loss of locally owned and operated television, radio and newspapers due to media conglomeration.

Besides offering space (and a voice) on the cable line up, Community Media Centers provide training, access to equipment and facilities, and serves to build community through the production of media. Nationally, Community Media Centers and Public Access programmers produce 20,000 hours of new programs per week – more new programming than all the broadcast networks combined.

There is no one model for a Public-Access Television and Community Media Center; each reflects the needs of that particular community. However, one thing is consistent - they advocate for and maintain tools for creating media, provide media services and create venues for sharing community voices and showcasing creativity. Through technology, they provide a space to communicate in ways that are not available through traditional outlets.