NEW HANOVER COUNTY — The government of New Hanover County might be the more appropriate party to field a local nonprofit’s push for public access television, a Wilmington City Council member suggested Tuesday.
Councilwoman Margaret Haynes, during continued talk about the possibility of a public access channel in Wilmington, noted viewership would probably extend well outside the city’s limits, making it more a regional entity than a city exclusive.
“My concern about this project is that once again the city is being asked to take the lead and do the work and finance and promote something that serves all of the county residents,” Haynes told fellow council members at the board’s regular meeting Tuesday. New Hanover County, she said, is “clearly, it appears to me, the proper entity to go to. They would be representing all of us.”
Without adding to it, Councilwoman Laura Padgett backed the idea. Earlier in the meeting, before Haynes issued her comments, Mayor Bill Saffo suggested looking to the county for partnership if the public access project is one the city wished to pursue.
“One of the things that I have a concern about is that the City of Wilmington would be on the hook for this,” Saffo said, referring to possible programming liabilities in addition to costs. “And I know a lot of people in the unincorporated areas and the areas around this community–including Brunswick County, Pender County–would have access to that public access channel. And I just want to know if there is any support from [New Hanover County’s] end.”
Saffo noted the county has a desirable television production studio for its government programming channel, NHCTV, which has aired for 12 years with live county commission meetings among other government features.
Carey Disney Ricks, who manages the county’s TV team in addition to serving as public and legislative affairs manager, said the county’s resources “are utilized to their fullest extent to promote programs and services that benefit all citizens of New Hanover County.”
(The City of Wilmington also has a government programming channel, GTV8, which airs city council meetings and other city government material. NHCTV and GTV8 are distinct from the idea of a public access channel, which would air community-generated content.)
Reached Wednesday evening, New Hanover County Board of Commissioners Chairman Woody White said he wasn’t certain whether his board would support or oppose the public access endeavor. “I always welcome any idea or chance to partner with the city,” he said.
But while Councilman Kevin O’Grady on Tuesday said reaching out to the county as a partner couldn’t hurt, he insisted the city should take the lead.
“There’s no reason why we can’t work with the county and do this jointly for the whole county,” said O’Grady. “But we are the leaders. I mean, we’re the ones that always step out. And we’re doing it again. We’ve got the urban area that supports this kind of service. I think we need to pursue it.”
The recommendation for a Wilmington public access channel came from a Castle Street-based nonprofit called the Southeastern Alliance for Community Change (SEACC), which envisions “WPA-TV”–for “Wilmington Public Access”–running programming “by and for the people of Wilmington.”
That could entail homegrown political talk shows, focuses on area arts and Wilmington history features–as well as the variety of potentially objectionable messages and images covered equally under the First Amendment (though no libelous or obscene material would qualify).
SEACC operates a website, https://ilmpublicaccess.tv, to promote the opportunity.
But logistical and financial questions lived on at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Said Councilman Neil Anderson, “Personally–I won’t speak for everybody, obviously–I’m not opposed to it. I’m just having a problem with how it’s going to sustain itself.” He said he had not seen a business model that would generate the operational revenue to run a public access channel.
O’Grady suggested the city put out a request for proposals from any third parties interested in providing the service. Until that conversation begins, it would be difficult to fully grasp the possibilities, he said.
Listening in the audience Tuesday was SEACC board member Steve Lee, who said he had prepared some remarks to read aloud during the council meeting’s public information period, but opted to go unscripted to address the remarks from council specifically.
“The notion of combining [the channel] with the county just blows my mind,” Lee said before pointing to a city proposal to spend $2.82 million to revitalize Riverfront Park. He said that project would serve not only Wilmington’s residents but anyone who chooses to visit.
“In a way, a public access channel is the same kind of venue: open to everyone and available to everyone,” Lee said.
He added that the request for proposals could include stipulations that the city would not spend any money on the channel.
By Lee’s count, 21 other municipalities in North Carolina have public access channels, and he called them “champions of free, responsible speech.”
“You too,” he said, “can be a champion of free, responsible speech for all people in Wilmington, from the poorest laborer to the wealthiest merchant.”
A recent survey conducted by the city to gauge interest in a public access television channel drew 339 respondents, 89 percent of whom claimed Wilmington residency. Nearly 80 percent of all respondents said the city should request a public access channel from local cable provider Time Warner Cable (TWC). (Related story)
North Carolina law says any city with at least 50,000 people can have at least three PEG (public, educational or government access) channels by request to the local cable provider.
While Wilmington has GTV, the city claims it never asked for an additional public channel.
TWC did air local content on channel 4–most of it church-based–but discontinued it in November 2009. The city allegedly declined an offer from TWC around that time for the bandwidth that has, in result, since been reallocated and is no longer available, rendering the channel useless snow today. The city says no record exists to show it ever declined a channel offer and believes it has a better-than-50-percent chance of winning a legal battle against TWC to obtain the channel if it came to it.
In a stage of the discussion last year, and partly to do with the possible legal burden, City Manager Sterling Cheatham had recommended against the city working toward a public access channel. In light of the continued curiosity, about financial sustainability and how other cities’ channels operate, Cheatham on Tuesday said his office would gather information to answer council’s latest questions for continued discussion at a near-future work session.
Contact Ben Brown at [email protected] or (910) 772-6335. On Twitter: @benbrownmedia
