Do YOU watch Info TV 12?

Disclaimer: My husband chairs the public access committee. I have produced a couple of public access cable shows. And I hear more than the average person about public access television and the Southwest Oakland Cable Commission. Judge this accordingly. – JH-G

The Janaury 27th Southwest Oakland Cable Commission meeting has provided an interesting example of something I have long believed: The people who have the most trouble communicating are the people who do it for a living. I have no idea why that’s true, but I have seen the adage proved out over and over again.

This evening’s case in point: The SWOCC Public Access Promotions committee made a presentation to the SWOCC board about a number of issues, including a cancelled holiday lighting contest in December. Things started to go wrong when the committee’s $300 request for a little prize money and advertising was a non-starter for budgetary reasons. Undaunted, one of the committee members collected some fantastic prizes, which could have eliminated the need for SWOCC funding. Unfortunately, the local newspaper wouldn’t pony up a free ad. A good deal could be had, though. All they needed was $150. Members were told SWOCC’s budget couldn’t accommodate even the smaller request, so they pulled the plug on the contest. After so many delays and denials, they ran out of time and energy.

This may sound like a complaint about the Grinches at SWOCC, but it’s not. Frankly, in these tough economic times, a buck is a buck. But if we all know money’s tight, then shouldn’t we all be working harder to make the most of what we have, to communicate and help each other accomplish our goals? As tonight’s meeting unfolded, it seemed clear that could have happened, with a few small steps in the right direction.

One of the committee’s greatest frustrations has been the lack of a real budget. The PAPC was formed several years ago in the middle of a budget cycle, and members were told if they needed or wanted anything, to just ask – which is not to say the request would be fulfilled, but SWOCC would try to help. At one point, the SWOCC board gave them a ceiling of $1,500 for their requests. After hearing about the contest, however, SWOCC board members said they don’t just hand money over to city commissions or committees. Rather, PAPC members should work up a budget to have their annual funding requests considered. So why is that no one – even through two years of discussion about individual PAPC funding requests – ever said, “Submit a budget, and we’ll take a look at it.”?

It’s unfortunate, because the committee has gone through quite a bit of frustration over this. But more importantly, the $300 or some portion thereof might have been worked into the SWOCC budget at the beginning of the year. Funding is much easier to find then, than in the middle or at the end of a budget cycle. Also, SWOCC board members would have officially known the contest was a priority for the PAPC. Several board members had great suggestions for no-cost contest promotions, which would have been really helpful in, say, November. Unfortunately, the right people weren’t getting the “hey, these people need help” message. If they had, then maybe Novi SWOCC board representatives would have realized the holiday lighting contest their community had to cancel could move forward, in cooperation with the PAPC.

In other words, our three cities missed out on a really cool event not for lack of money, but for lack of communication. Physicians, heal yourselves.

–Joni Hubred-Golden
Publisher, The Enterprise

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