Letter to FCC: Keep viability of public access TV stations

Dear Chairman Pai,

Our organization, the Berkshire Democratic Brigades, is strongly opposed to the rule change under consideration which would, in effect, virtually eliminate the franchise fees to which municipalities are entitled under the provisions of the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984. As you know, the income stream derived from these fees is the very lifeblood of community television. We believe that there is no justification for abandoning a rule that has done so much good for so many people. The only conceivable beneficiary of the proposed rule change would be the cable industry and its bottom line. We believe that the Federal Communications Commission should not be acting as handmaiden to the broadcast and cable industry. Quite the opposite; we would argue that the FCC must rein in the demands of the commercial interests it oversees when those demands conflict with the public good. The FCC has a responsibility, indeed a mandate, to regulate industry in the public interest. The Commission is failing in its duty if it allows the cable companies, through their use of a corporate accounting shell game, to deny community television the funding it depends on for its continued existence and health.

[Sheila Irvin is the chair of the Berkshire (MA) Democratic Brigades]