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Now that you have a group ready, what do you work for? What should you demand? What are your rights? These models and guides can help you develop a campaign and provide examples of the demands and actions your group might want to use.
Get more from the cable company: demand better from your local monopoly
In most communities, cable is a local monopoly and the company must negotiate a franchise contract with the local government, with renewal negotiations every 5 years or more. This is the opportunity for advocates to work with local officials to get public-access noncommercial community TV stations, broadband Internet for community uses, and other services from the company that profits off of every cable subscriber in your town. These resources can help you use the franchise agreement process to get services your community wants and needs.
- Leveling the playing field for cable TV franchise negotiations: An article by Jonathan Kramer with many specific tips.
- Learn from other community negotiations: Examples of good cable TV franchise agreements, sample contracts and more from the consultants at the Buske Group.
- How to get a public access TV station: If your community doesn't have media access, read the Alliance for Community Media's advice and tips.
- How to support community technology programs: Your cable company can help your community get wired. The Children's Partnership has information to help during cable franchise negotiations. For more on this see Internet and Broadband: Get Involved
- Demand full C-SPAN- the electronic Town Hall — in your community: C-SPAN is free, noncommercial, nonpartisan public-affairs programming and direct government coverage over cable and satellite TV. Citizens for C-SPAN offers a comprehensive toolkit to help you organize, advocate and lobby to make sure your community has full-time access to all of C-SPAN's 3 public-affairs channels (Be sure to click on the "act now" and "toolkit" sections).
Improve local TV and radio stations
- Hold local media accountable: challenge broadcast licenses: Companies get licenses to broadcast in your community because they promise to serve the public interest. To challenge local stations and demand better service, see the guides, tools and resources on our Media Ownership: Get Involved page.
- How to fight a local radio station sale: If your local community radio is at risk of being bought out by a media giant, the Fight Guide from Americans for Radio Diversity can help you try to stop the takeover.
- How to build a community radio station: Is your community missing vibrant, locally centered radio? Legal low-power community stations require a complex of applications, organizing, engineering and more. The Prometheus Radio Project is the gateway to making it happen.
- How to make public broadcasting accountable to your community: a manual for activists. Want better public affairs and educational programming that reflects the interests of your community? Want locally relevant, culturally diverse TV and radio dedicated to building an active citizenry? Citizens for Independent Public Broadcasting has a guide (PDF) to help you get what your community needs.
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