The Land Information Access Association is a local nonprofit that up to now has specialized in putting land use, resource and environmental information into easily-accessible formats to help residents, planners and governments make better land-use decisions.
Now -- just in time, it appears -- the LIAA is broadening the scope of its educational mission to include rescuing public-access television station tctv2 from the trash heap.
It's going to need some financial help; hopefully, some of that will come from area governments still meeting their obligations under old franchise agreements and some from a few townships that essentially reneged on old promises. Other funds are expected from services such as production assistance and studio rentals.
Back in the day, tctv2 was sitting pretty. It had a decent revenue flow, it had pretty good facilities at Northwestern Michigan College and there was a steady, if low-key, flow of locally produced programs. Some were exactly what the term public access TV brought to mind -- tepid discussions on arcane subjects or variations on the home movie theme. Others, however, were creative and informative, exactly what a lot of people hoped public-access television would be.
Probably the most popular offerings were the live broadcasts of Traverse City commission meetings on Monday nights. The deathly dull always seemed to be offset by some bit of local politics that kept people watching.
Those broadcasts were a great precedent for the region. They brought local politics into area living rooms and helped raise awareness of local issues. They also led directly to similar efforts by Traverse City schools, Grand Traverse County (finally) and some local townships.
Now, though, the old franchise agreements have changed and the Cherry Capital Cable Council, where the lion's share of funding came from, is dissolving. The channel is, for now, still getting 30 percent of the cable franchise fees paid to Traverse City, Elmwood and Garfield townships (the three remaining Cable Council members); Paradise Township and the Village of Kingsley currently contribute. Seven area townships left the council since 2005 and took their franchise fees with them. The Traverse Area District Library, which supplied administrative services, is pulling out.
The LIAA also hopes to take over operation of the new governmental channel 99, where city commission and county board meetings are shown.
Thankfully, the LIAA still sees value in giving the public at large access to the airwaves -- or cable, in this case.
"It fits with our overall mission, which is about civic engagement and helping people in communities become better informed about their communities," LIAA executive director Joe VanderMeulen said.
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