Please check out the Opening Access video at denveropenmedia.org to see how it may be useful for this panel (which I hope is selected).

Hi, I'm the proposer of this panel. Thanks for checking it out.

Sometimes it seems like there is a chasm between the people who produce traditional community media (cablecast access television and the like), and the people who produce new online media (podcasting, online video and such). This panel--a community media-focused panel at SXSW--seems like the ideal opportunity to bring those two worlds together. Maybe we'll even find a few pioneering souls who are working in both.

It will be interesting to compare the challenges and opportunities of each realm--possibly synthesize some strategy that effectively spans both worlds.

The sort of people who I hope will attend are:

* Online media producers who are interested in connecting with local audiences with traditional community media.

* Access television producers, zine writers, and the like who want to take advantage of electronic media to extend their reach and audience.

* Public policy and interest wonks, who can help understand the impact of issues such as net neutrality, telecom deregulation, and the like.

I've got some excellent people who have offered to assist me in preparing this panel, and, I hope, will be able to serve as panelists.

Dr. Laura Stein is a professor in the Radio-Television-Film department in the University of Texas at Austin. She has some keen insights in media policy issues.

Linda Litowsky is the executive director of Channel Austin, the non-profit that manages the public access television studio and channels for the City of Austin. She also is a member of the board of directors of the Alliance for Community Media.

So, if this sounds interesting to you, please show us some panel picker love. Moreover, please leave any comments you may have with suggestions or direction.

Eeek! I didn't know the line breaks would get munged. I blogged a more readable version of that comment: http://www.unicom.com/blog/entry/548

I'd like to see some back and forth about the (perceived) need for a physical space. Access TV studios have usually been it, but as the cost for equipment goes down more emphasis can be put on bringing people together rather than housing the tools. New media can exist without this space by definition - but is that a good thing? As we struggle to ponder a future for local community access do we see something more nomadic/regional evolving? In a dream it is a mesh between multi purpose theater/studio/lab space, content management systems, videoblogs, live call in programs and partnership driven community development....

This is the best idea for promoting community media that I've heard all year. I would like to get involved.

Hi. My name is Stefan Wray. I'm currently the Communications Director at channelAustin - Austin's public access TV station. A number of years ago I was on a SXSW panel with Bruce Sterling. I've attended several SXSW interactive conferences. - - - There are important developments in the world of public access television. The transition from public access to community media to digital community media is well under way. All around the country traditional "access TV" stations are experiencing a shift in technology - from analog to digital, from one-way broadcasting to interactive timeshifting. The integration of the Internet and Television is being experienced at all levels of the society, and public access is no exception. There are several important development experiments happening around the country involving the integration of users(viewers) to public access studios via the web. For example, Denver Open Media has put forth a conceptual model, and is in development, of a system whereby access TV producers can accomplish the vast majority of their interaction with the facility online. We here in Austin are developing the means for producers to be able to conduct the vast majority of their business over the web. Soon, all three access TV channels will be simultaneously streamed, as well as made available for VOD. - - - At channelAustin, we've had several successful programs on Beyond Television, where we've explored video blogging, podcasting, Drupal web development, and other aspects of "Web 2.0". We are incorporating this into our curriculum. - - - Many access TV stations around the country are faced with possible funding cuts due to changes in state laws limiting operation funds. The landscape for public access is shifting dramatically due to changes in technology, in law and policy, as well as a broader cultural shift with respect to the use of technology and social media tools. - - - As in biological systems, where different ecosystems meet is usually fertile ground with a greater amount of biota. So too, at the boundary or juncture between the old world of access tv and new technologies, there are opportunities and new developments that people who attend SXSW would find interesting to explore.

Excellent panel idea. How can we keep the grand mission of access television incorporated into the changing media landscape and the policies that affect it?