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Don't Change The Channel On Pasco County Governments

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 18, 2007

It's a blow to the public's access to government that Pasco County and its municipalities don't have more control over cable television broadcasts of their meetings and announcements to constituents.

Instead, local governments are at the mercy of a for-profit company that has decided to delegate government channels to the stratosphere, and it appears officials can't do much about it because of a change in state law earlier this year.

As the Tribune's Christian Wade has reported, next month Bright House, the major cable TV provider, will move Pasco's local government access channels. Currently, the channels are conveniently numbered 14, 19 and 20 and are within very easy reach of residents. But when the change is made, residents will have to go to a much higher tier - in the 600s.

The likely result will be remote-control shock, and many residents could be deterred from tuning in to learn important government decisions and hear announcements during threats of hurricanes and other emergencies.

Some government officials in other areas where similar channels are being moved say the plans might conflict with federal law, which they say requires cable providers to, "at a minimum," have government access channels on basic service tiers. This is something Pasco municipal and county attorneys should investigate.

More important, and troubling, is that residents who want to continue watching government TV will have to pay more, either to upgrade their service or purchase a digital converter to continue receiving the basic package, if the plans go through.

The fee for the converter is nominal - $1 a month - as Bright House has pointed out, but that's not the point. Bright House shouldn't take any steps to interfere with the public's access to government - access that governments contractually secured through previously adopted franchise agreements.

The company needs to be a good corporate citizen and keep the channels where they are. It should remember that not everyone has the time or means to attend government meetings. And the simpler the location, the better.

Fortunately for Pasco residents who receive Verizon's FiOS TV, their local government channels aren't going anywhere. They're remaining in the lower tier. Bright House should take notice.

It would be ideal if televised government meetings were available to all residents, either through cable, satellite or rooftop antennas. As it stands, only residents with cable can watch. Perhaps county and municipal officials could meet with local Public Broadcasting Service officials to see if some type of arrangement could be made to broadcast some meetings, even if only on a taped-delayed basis.

Another idea that county and municipal officials should pursue is offering video and audio streams on their Web sites. If residents don't have cable TV access to government, they could turn to the Internet.

County and municipal officials have complained about Bright House's intended move, so far to no avail, so members of the county's legislative delegation should step in and try to help. After all, the Legislature's adoption of the Consumer Choice Act of 2007, as ironic as it sounds, is partly to blame here because cable franchise agreements were invalidated.

If Bright House doesn't reconsider, Pasco residents, who already have to deal with three area codes, more than some states, and some of whom don't even have access to cable TV, once again will have received a technologically related stiff-arm.

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