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Latest Times article on the Cox lineup changes, which explains what they are calling a government channel. Telecomwatch will follow up on what looks like content control by Cox.

Rural cable customers losing Fayetteville’s public-access channels BY KIRK KRAMER Northwest Arkansas Times

Posted on Wednesday, January 19, 2005

URL: http://www.nwanews.com/story/nwat/24529

Beginning one week from today, Cox Cable subscribers outside the Fayetteville city limits will no longer be able to tune in to the city of Fayetteville’s public, education and government (PEG) public access channels.

Instead, Cox subscribers in rural Washington County and its small towns will receive Springdale-based Jones TV, a service of the Jones Center for Families, and a new government channel that will make live broadcasts of the Quorum Court’s monthly meetings available throughout the county.

Jones TV is a leased access channel, unlike Fayetteville’s PEG channels, which are public access, a distinction explained by Marvin Hilton, cable administrator for the City of Fayetteville. "Whoever’s operating a leased access channel can control the content," Hilton said. "There’s a desire by Cox to determine content.

" With public access, you have to let everybody on. "The city of Fayetteville has been providing public access since 1980. In a university town, people have an appreciation for self-expression. It’s a very important way to exercise your First Amendment rights. Public access TV is an electronic version of the old town square.

" In Springdale, they don’t have public access, just leased access. The Jones Center controls what goes on Jones TV. "

Elkins Alderman Tim Martens said that city contracts with cable providers were a topic of discussion at a meeting of the Arkansas Municipal League last week.

" The Municipal League said this is a very active issue — cable companies trying to push for long-term contracts and automatic renewal. The league recommends a five-year contract, with a window of opportunity every five years to change the terms of the contract. "

Beth Mack, executive director of media services for the Jones Center, thinks Cox’s substitution of Jones TV for the Fayetteville government channel will be an improvement.

" I think this will better serve the county and small towns because it gives the opportunity to get out information about their government. "

Part of the broadcasting on the new government channel will be a message board the county’s small towns can use to transmit notices to residents.

Mack is pleased that Fayetteville residents will now have access to Jones TV.

" We have wanted into the Fayetteville market for a long time. It’s an objective we have met. In return, we’ll be glad to operate the government channel as well. There will be more of a work load on us to operate government programming on another channel. It will separate government programming from educational and community programming. I’m expecting that funding for the government channel should be coming from Cox. "We cover events that have to do with Fayetteville people and events, so we’re delighted to be in that market at long last."

According to James Anderson, Cox Communications ’ director of public relations and government affairs for the Northwest Arkansas region, the Fayetteville PEG channels will continue to be broadcast in the city of Fayetteville on channels 14, 16 and 18. "Fayetteville has total control over the PEG channels," he said. "They can do with those channels as they wish."

Anderson said the new government channel the rest of the county will receive is available if the smaller cities want to broadcast their city council meetings.

According to Anderson, the changes will make the channel lineup more consistent throughout the county, and make good programming from Jones TV more widely available. "We’ve had a good working relationship with Jones TV for a number of years," Anderson said. "We thought their programming good enough to provide everywhere. We wanted to provide it not only in rural Washington County, but in Fayetteville. We believe in the Jones Center and what they do."