The Problem with Public Access Television -Part 3

411 Productions

Empowering Youth with the Media Arts

On Thursday, May 18th, 2006, a small group of Public Access Television Producers in San Antonio, Texas went to the City Council Chambers to air once again, their outrage that the Public Access Channel 20 in San Antonio was still black (not broadcasting). We had only one public access channel in San Antonio where local citizens could produce television shows that could be aired locally. The channel had gone off the air on January 1^st, 2006, due to the Texas state legislature passing Senate Bill 5.

Our original trip to City Council, in which over 80 (out of 180) Public Access Television Producers showed up to air their dismay at the prospect of losing the channel, was in mid December, at the last City Council meeting of the year for 2005. This trip was the 3^rd time we appeared to speak as Public Access Producers at City Council Chambers, during the Citizens to be Heard segment, which is not aired on the local Government Channel 21 in San Antonio. The City Council doesn’t like to air that portion of City Council meetings because they get a lot of angry people who show up for that, some of whom make very strong comments. The rest of the City Council meeting (the part with all the people in suits) is always aired on the government channel 21 in San Antonio. How’s that for censorship!

If you need more background information on what the problem with Public Access Television issue is about, see our previous postings in this blog starting from December 2005, when we 1^st realized the danger we were in. Bottom line, is that Public Access Television is in danger of being lost, not just in San Antonio, but all across the U.S. It is the only local outlet that ordinary citizens who don’t have the resources to rent production studios and film equipment, have, to produce and broadcast on television locally. This is funded with a 1% franchise fee that is charged to paying cable customers, and is turned over to the City for use for PEG (Public Access, Educational, and Government) broadcasting. The money to fund these channels comes from us, the paying cable subscribers, not the city or the cable companies.

One must understand that what is occurring here in San Antonio is not an isolated incident. This scenario is and will continue repeating itself in other cities in the U.S., one by one, as their current franchise agreements end, and if their state legislature has passed law(s) to make this drastic change. This is being done very surreptitiously. These laws are being lobbied to our state politicians by the cable/telecom companies, because they don’t want to have to deal with cities on an individual basis. In the end this endangers localism, which is how we are able to see and hear people in our own cities and neighborhoods on TV other than on the local news channel, and we all know what the local news consists of.

New York City is going through these same hard questions right now as they are realizing the danger their public access channels are in. The New York State legislature has been lobbied on this. A few other states have already passed these new franchising laws in favor of the cable companies negotiating on a statewide basis. This is becoming a model for the future, and this is not good. This leaves me and you, the common citizen, out in the cold, silenced and caught in the storm of who is responsible for the airing of public access. What has happened in San Antonio is a prime example of the damage than can take place and we all need to realize that “There for the grace of God go I.”

Citizens be warned. Don’t let this happen in your state and cities. Be sure to call, write or e-mail your state congressman and senator and let them know that all of this is very bad news, and they better not let this happen in your state. If we don’t all speak up now it will be too late to turn back the tide.

Patsy Robles, 411 Productions

Empowering Youth with the Media Arts

411show.blogspot.com

DeAnne Cuellar (left) with Texas Media Empowerment Project, (texasmep.org) and
Patsy Robles (in red) with 411 Productions (411show.blogspot.com) at the May 1st, 2006 Immigrant Rights Rally.

Actors from World Can't Wait (www.worldcantwait.org) at Immigrant Rights Rally, May 2006

Immigrant Rights Rally, May 2006 (Chavez flag)

May 1st,2006,, Day of Action for Immigrant Rights

Tomorrow on Monday, May 1st, (May Day), will be the 2nd national day of action to bring attention to the plight of immigrants in this country and the attack on them by HR4437. See previous posts for details if you need more background info.

Tomorrow we ask that all youth across the USA Not Attend School, and for people who are able to, without risking their jobs, Not Go to Work. We are also not to go shopping. It is also a day of economic boycott to show people how immigrants, the work they contribute and taxes they pay, are important for the wheels of this country to keep turning. It will be a reality check for everyone.

If you are a student and there is a rally in your city, attend it. Wear your most outrageous clothes, costumes, swimsuits, school or dance uniforms, you name it. Show off your beauty and make yourself be heard (peacefully). Most of the rallies across the nation will be starting in the afternoon and will include marches in cities. Check your local paper for information or contact a local activist group that is involved in the coordination of events. Regardless of what side you are on on this issue, be there and watch this new civil rights movement in action. This is all history in the making. Be there to observe it for yourself. Also anyone who takes some good video can contact me, and we can post it on this, and other websites.

Hope to see you all on television and the Net showing yourselves off.

Patsy Robles, Executive Producer for 411 Productions
Empowering Youth with the Media Arts

411 Show - Violinist Nancy 11 years old

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411 Show - listen and watch this breathtaking performance by

young 11 year old violinist Nancy Zhou. She is an internationally known performer from San Antonio who has already travelled to other countries to showcase her talent.

She plays a beautiful by piece by Paganini (not Puccini as stated in video). We were very honored to have her on the 411 Show as a guest performer.

Espanol:Oigan a esa Joven, Nancy de 11 anos, tocar esta pieza para violin del compsitor Pagatnini. Nancy ya es un artista que esta reconocida internationalmente.

Produced by 411 Productions

411show

A Day Without a Mexican April 10, 2006

On Monday, April 10, 2006, history was made across cities in the U.S.
What was wonderful to watch about this was that people of all ages, backgrounds. colors and religions united to voice their outrage at the passage by Congress of HR 4437, Anti-Terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. The bill has passed the House of representatives, and now must pass the U.S. Senate to become law.

The bill criminalizes undocumented immigrants as felons. It expands the definition of smuggling to include those who "knowingly" relate with them such as, family, neighbors, clergy, teachers and businesses. This may mean you. Local police agencies would be drawn into enforcing these provisions. They are already overworked from combating other crimes. They don't want this bill to pass either.

If within your circle of friends and family there are any immigrants, they are in danger of being
convicted of a felony (serve a minimum of 1 year in jail), no matter how long they've been in the U.S. This could send your friends, parents, other family members and their spouses to jail, in addition to undocumented immigrants being deported.

The next Day of Action against HR 4437 will be on Monday, May 1st, 2006. Many students participated in walkouts at schools, or refused to eat their lunch in protest of this bill on April 10. We ask that for Monday May 1st, 2006, students from all schools across the country stay home in protest, so that they don't have to walk out of their schools, and put themselves in physical or legal danger. Many school doors were chained shut on April 10.

Our hope is to wake-up the masses of people, especially youth to get involved in this issue, before it's too late. The madness of this bill must be stopped. It must not be allowed to pass.

The students in France protested against a bill that would be an injustice to them and allow them to be fired without cause for the 1st 2 years they worked. They protested for weeks, until finally, the Prime Minister and their legislatures reversed the bill, from the intense pressure. Youth can have great power, even the power to reverse an unfair law that was passed to benefit employers, but to the detriment of youth.

If there is a march in your city on May 1st, 2006, go to the march and experience it for yourself. I promise you that it will be an experience that you will remember for the rest of your life. Wear your school shirts, your dance uniforms, cheerleading outfits, your swimsuits, etc. as a group so that you all stand out in the crowd. Show everyone the beauty of youth in action.
Don't be afraid. We have nothing to fear but fear itself. (FDR)

To quote Dr. Martin Luther King: Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Dare to make a difference, it will make you feel proud.

For video of the March against HR4437 that occurred in San Antonio, Tx, click on this link on the website for Michaelverdi.com. We hope to post more video on this march soon. You will see Executive Producer for 411 Productions Patsy Robles Benitez and Journalist Barbara Renaud Gonzalez with their commentary on the march. But watch for all the youth that were there that day, and dared to get involved. They have been awakened and motivated to defend their friends and family on this important issue.

http://www.michaelverdi.com/popup.php?url=http://michaelverdi.com/video/april10.mov

411 Show - Hurricane Katrina Part 2 (11 min)

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411 Show – 2nd part of our show concerning hurricane Katrina and reaction from youth to the events after Katrina hit. Features Ashley 15 years old as host and Chris, 16 as guest.

See narrative on Part 1 of this show for more background information.

Produced by 411 Productions

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411 Show - Belly Dancer Yas 22 years old

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411 Show – Watch Dancer Yas, 22 years old, dance this sultry Belly Dance.

Yas has been dancing for 2 years with Karavan Dance Company in San Antonio.

For more information on Karavan Dance Company go to www.karavansa.com

Espanol: Vean a Yas 22 anos, bailar este baile del vientre. Yas baile con el grupo Karavan de San Antonio.

Produced by 411 Productions

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Produced by 411 Productions

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411 Show - Hurricane Katrina Part 1 (9 min)

411 Show - Hurricane Katrina Part 1 (9 min)

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File may take a few minutes to load on Windows Media/Quicktime.

This show features Ashley, 15 years old as host and Chris, 16 as guest. This set of shows was shot 3 weeks after Hurricane Katrina. The news channels had 24 hour coverage for a few weeks in September 2005. However as usual, the news and interviews focused on the adult perspective.

Many teens and children were surprised and shocked from the images seen after the hurricane, many showing children and pets in distress. We sought to discuss the effects of this disaster at a level youth could understand and relate to.

Chris, who performs with the Network for Young Artists of San Antonio as a singer, performed at a shelter set up for Katrina evacuees at the former Kelly Air Force Base, now renamed Kelly USA. You will see one of his performances in a future posting.

We taped two shows on this topic, and will present them in separate postings of 10 minutes each.

Ashley was recruited by us after scouting for talent at local talent shows in San Antonio called “Our Part of Town”. She is also a singer with the Network for Young Artists in San Antonio and performs at various events.

Produced by 411 Productions for The 411 Show.

411 Show - Kelsey 10 yrs old Singer

411 Show - Kelsey 10 yrs old Singer

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Watch dynamic Kelsey, 10 years old, sing "We got the Beat" for the 411 Show.

Kelsey is a performer with the Network for Young Artists in San Antonio, which is a non-profit organization that teaches youth musical performance.

Produced by 411 Productions

Vean esta jovensita Kelsey, de 10 anos de edad, cantar la cancion "We got the Beat".  Kelsy canta con una organizacion llamada "Network for Young Artists", en San Antonio que ensena a jovenes cantar y bailar.  

The Problem with Public Access Television-Part 2

It has been almost 3 months since we posted on the issue of losing our public access channel in San Antonio, Texas. As of the last week of March 2006, the Public Access Channel is still off the air. After numerous meetings and phone calls with the City of San Antonio, public access producers, and media watchdog groups in Washington DC, we still have no public access channel to air our shows on.

The Public Access Producers were advised that the channel would be back up and running as soon as possible. That was at the end of December 2005. As soon as possible has turned out to be over 3 months as of now.

We have been left in the position of no longer having a studio to record at, staff to assist with editing, editing equipment and for that matter cameras to shoot video. We formerly had all that available per the contract the city had with Time Warner Cable prior to December 31st, 2005. The rug has been pulled out from under us.

We now also have to hustle to create/build a studio to shoot shows, raise money to buy camera equipment and editing software, and still having to wait for the City to get their act together to air shows, which so far has been at a snail's pace. It is just not at their top of the to do list. They state they are still waiting for the broadcasting equipment to come in. It has been a very disappointing 3 months.

Meanwhile we are in the process of setting up a small studio, and will need to purchase the camera and lighting equipment to resume shooting. We will continue to post the shows to the internet while we await the public access channel broadcasting to resume.

We all wish to continue the work that we do. We all feel that we are doing something worthwhile to change the options available to youth from the media they watch and listen to. If you would like to help, we welcome any donations from the public of money or equipment or advice for video production. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to assist. And remember, this is all probably coming to a city near you.

Patsy Robles,
Executive Producer for 411 Productions

To read an article in San Antonio Current from 2004 on The 411 Show, click on this link:
http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=12073486&BRD=2318&PAG=461&dept_id=484045&rfi=8

To view the article on the Public Access issue in the San Antonio Current Magazine, link below:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15796347&BRD=2318&PAG=461&dept_id=484045&rfi=8

The 411 Show- Adopting Pets - Part 2- (13 min)

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The 411 Show - File may take time to load on Windows Media/Quicktime. The remaining 13 minutes of the show on adopting Pets. See note on previous post for Part 1.

Featuring Nadia, 15 years old as host and Eric 18 years old. The cat is named Lucky, but also known as “Ms Kitty”.

Produced by 411 Productions

The 411 Show-Adopting Pets Part 1(9 min)

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Files may take some time to load on Windows Moviemaker or Quicktime.

The 411 Show - Featuring Nadia 15 years old and Eric 18 years old. This show filmed in late 2004, was by far our most popular show. We received lots of comments and because it aired several times, many people got to watch it. The cat, whose real name is “Lucky” (because she was lucky we picked her up from the parking lot of a grocery store, where she had taken up residence), has the nickname “Miss Kitty”. Well Miss Kitty was definitely the center of attention on that day of filming, and she took it all in stride.

The show dealt with a serious issue in San Antonio. Where over 50,000 dogs and cats are put to death each year, making San Antonio the number one city that kills unwanted pets. The local newspaper, the Express-News, had run a series on this called “Death by the Pound”, which showed graphic photos of carcasses of dogs thrown in the land fills, which stirred a lot of people into outrage, which was long overdue. Many youth consider themselves animal lovers, and facing the reality of what happens to pets that get picked up by the pound was a wake up call. We hoped to encourage more youth to consider adopting a pet from the pound. Changes have been made at the pound since this episode aired, including the resignation of some staff, however there are still disturbing problems that still linger to this day.

To view the article from the San Antonio Express News in November 2005 click on this link:

http://.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA111404.1A.poundmainbar.543d8efc.html

Produced by 411 Productions

Flamenco Dance- Derek-14 The 411 Show

Flamenco Dance- Derek-14 The 411 Show

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Watch this Flamenco performance by the dynamic dancer Derek, 14 years old. He is dancing to "Farruka" a classic Flamenco piece. Derek was discovered by us at a Show in San Antonio called Give Belly Dance a Chance, which is given annually by Karavan Dance Company. He and his fellow dancers also dance regularly at an event called First Friday, where every 1st friday of the month there are artists doing a wide variety of performances, usually on the street or in parking lots in the downtown area of San Antonio known as King William. It is a popular event for youth in San Antonio.

Derek has been dancing since he was 4 years old and studies under the fabulous teacher, Rodolfo Medellin, who opened the Movimiento Dance Arts School in San Antonio. He is also the instructor for the two previous spanish dances posted- the Paso Doble dance and the Rumba dance.

All these dancers came to perform for the 411 Show in the summer of 2005. It was a very exciting and high energy morning at the studio that day, with lots of kids from 5 to 14 years old very excited to be dancing for the cameras. Performing for a camera is very different than performing for a live audience. We use the show as a teaching tool for dancers who are used to live performances, to learn the differences in how they should tweak their performance for a camera, when there is no audience.

All of the dancers behaved very professionally for being of such a young age and their costumes looked fantastic.

You can view the other two performances by this dance group in previous postings. For more information on Karavan Dance Company go to www.karavansa.com

Produced for the 411 Show by 411 Productions

Espanol: Vean este baile de Flamenco por el joven Derek, de 14 anos de edad. Derek ha estado bailando desde los 4 anos de edad. Es un bailador muy dynamico. Descubrimos a Derek en un show en San Antonio "Give Belly Dance a Chance" , que es un show de baile del vientre que produce el estudio Karavan cada ano.

Usamos el show para dar instrucion a artistas jovenes cuales son las diferencias entre bailando para un audiencia en vivo y bailando para las cameras.

Derek estudia bajo el gran maestro Rodolfo Medillen, quien abrio la escuela Movimiento Dance Arts en San Antonio. Pueden ver dos adicionales bailes por los estudiantes the Rodolfo Medillin en videos previos. Todos los jovenes de edades 5 and 14 se portaron muy profesionales este dia en el verano the 2005 cuando grabamos estos bailes.

The War in Iraq-Part 2 (14 min)

The War in Iraq-Part 2 (14 min)

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The 411 Show - A continuation of the show on the War in Iraq. This was the very 1st show we had filmed when we began production in June 2004. It was a very rainy bad weather day and you could hear the heavy thunder coming through on the mikes.

This discussion was on why we went to war in Iraq, from a teenage point of view. What were the motivations of our Government? What was the Media's role in convincing the public that we should go to War? Who are actually the people who " go to war "? Who benefits from War?

Produced for the 411 show by 411 Productions

The War in Iraq-Part 1 (9 min)

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What are the viewpoints and feelings of youth on the War in Iraq? A discussion by teens as to why the U.S. went into Iraq and for what purpose. This was the very 1st show we taped for the 411 Show in the summer of 2004, shortly after the release of the Abu Graib pictures showing Iraqi prisoners being abused. You can see the amateur camera work as we were trying to learn how to run the cameras. However this show set the tone for the future shows that were taped showing thoughtful discussions on provocative issues by youth.

The show features Melissa Ann-15 years old as Host, Nadia 15 as co-host and Robyn 14 as a guest.

Produced by 411 Productions

Espanol: Este show tocante la Guerra in Iraq fue el primer show que grabamos para el 411 Show. Ensena a estas jovenes hablando francamente y con preocupacion sobre el tema de guerra. El show se grabo en el verano del 2004, poco despues que los fotos de prisioneros Iraqi’s en la prision Abu Graib fueron revelados al publico.

 

 

Robyn-14 yrs old: Singing "Sweet November"

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Watch Robyn Correa, 14 years old, singing on guitar for the 411 Show.

Espanol: Vean a Robyn, 14 anos, cantando y tocando guitarra en el show

"The 411 Show."

 

Produced by 411 Productions

Nicole 13-Performing "If I Ain't Got You"

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Watch Nicole, 13 years old, sing this song. by Alicia Keys for the 411 Show.

File may take a few minutes to load on Quicktime or Windows Media Player.

Espanol: Vean a la joven Nicole, de 13 anos, cantar una cancion de Alicia Keys.

Produced by 411 Productions

Paso Doble Dance-The 411 Show

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Watch these young dancers, ages 6-7, dance a Paso Doble routine.

Paso Doble music is what you may hear at bullfights in Spain and Mexico.

The music is "Gato Montes".

Choreographer-Rodolfo Medellin from Movimiento Dance Arts

This file may take a few minutes to load on Media player and Quicktime.

Espanol: Vean a estos jovenes de 5-7 anos, bailar este Paso Doble.

Produced by 411 Productions