Government and Educational Access Channels
Township Channels
: on Comcast
: Channel 43 - on Verizon :Channel 24
This is a Government Access Channel
-Township meetings are aired at 9 AM- 2 PM-and 7 PM
view the meetings online
http://www.abingtonpa.gov/channel43.htm ( there is a
link there to you tube )
Abington School Meetings
play at different times weekly : ie Friday 6am to 9 am -the
full schedule can be seen at
http://www.abington.k12.pa.us/about-asd/amp-tv/ They
are on on Verizon 34 and Comcast
968
PLEASE HELP US KEEP COMMERCIALS OFF
THE CHANNEL !!!!!!!
As of March 2013, just 3 months into President Peggy Myers'
already controversial start as head of the Board, a segment promoting her favorite
charity , PAL ( of which she is also a Board member and Director of
Donner Development) was put on the channel.....
IN the
government meeting slot.
The problem with that :
1) No viewer would know if the
government meeting was even going to air, as the lengthy segment
preempted the start time of the meeting .
2) Anyone
who did wait patiently had to watch the segment for this
non-profit, that solicits donations, in order to view the
meeting .
This is
inexcuseable --- and it would also be egregious for commercials
to be aired anywhere.
There are plenty of community slots
that make us aware of the many events and activities in the
township - and each should be given equal opportunity to notify
the public - but not be able to use our government access for
the aquiring of donations and . Peggy Myers is the
one who in 2006 suggested that we put "entertainment " on our
Channel ( despite our current 900 channels of entertainment - which would remove one of the most powerful tools that
we have for government information to reach residents in a clear
and meaningful way.
Please help us keep the clannel
clear of Commercials - and to work toward full coverage of
government issues.
Write your
Commissioner and tell them
no commercials and then
let me know that you
did ! ( lest they claim no one has spoken up ...)
In order to
build
community, all in the community need the free ability to thrive,
not a small handful who are given preferential treatment at the
expense of the other 50,000 or so .
In 2006 there was
virtually no news . We have changed that landscape dramatically.
Now I think many know that we
need to get to get real GOVERNMENT information to the residents
as succinctly as possible . We
still do not have our finance meetings, our economic development
meetings, zoning meetings and other important GOVERNMENT
information & meetings on the channel and we have been
refused many special meetings, too, like the Wawa
Ordinance that revised so much in our Township and showed a
frightening new method that allows developers to dominate zoning
rights.
The meeting black outs, sound games and drop outs
that , as of this writing, are even described on a TV
announcement slide, are designed to try to force the
meetings off TV . Having them on TV is where many residents
actually “bump into them “ and learn of the things happening in
their township. It is a place where parents can see them
easily , even if the computer is in use by children for homework
or by a spouse, as is still the case in many homes .
It is designed to reduce the numbers watching. Period .
Few will make the “trek” to you tube – while thousands upon
thousands will see them on the TV .
In the early days of the TV, Commissioner
Wacther was trying to make a case to get it dismissed as too
costly. "Only 3 in a hundred” had seen the TV meetings ,
he said after querying people at the polls. Wow
- in a
township of 56,000
that’s the equivalent of 1400 people at a meeting !
Wow –really - you've never gotten a meeting to so many
people before .
Viewership has grown substantially since then --- but please
know - it is a treasure that is to be guarded from those
who would remove your ability to have any oversight in the use
of your property and your money - and your government process as
a whole .
9-12 NEW SCHEDULE for
TV MEETINGS :
9 am 2 pm and 7 pm are the new times to view meetings on Comcast
Channel 43 and Verizon Channel 24 .
This is a change from the 9-3-9. Only the
Board of Commissioners and 4 of the Committee meetings are
currently aired. ( public works , code enforcement, public
affairs, and public safety ) The other meetings that are
important to residents, including zoning and finance among
others, are still denied.
These meetings are invaluable to those who are keeping an eye on
your dollars or working
on issues in their neighborhoods.
Once you need it, it's too late to start asking . So
please call or write your Commissioner or Township manager and
ask for zoning and finance & other meetings and ALL
special meetings to be
included in the airings.
We have room and there are so many things
happening in Abington Township -like Township wide rezoning-
that make this valuable asset so necessary.
No, we do not want to sell our channel to time and weather
business concerns - we have a zillion other channels for the
weather available right on our TV screen.
No, we do not want
to sell our channel to advertisers for "commercials" on the guys
that this will bring funds for us to use. in fact, what it
will bring is difficulty for you finding out how your funds are
actually being used. So without the channel you might not
know about the $72,000 bus that ran for 20 people. How
many ads would it take to cover up that information?
Yes, we need transparency and yes the channel is
one of the best tools that we have for that. Please call
or write your Commissioner and ask for the rest of the meetings
to be taped and made available.
Here is some more of
the history of struggle to use the
channel
9-12 MEETINGS USED TO
PLAY AT
9 am 2 pm and 7 pm prior to summer 2012
we started our quest in 2006 when we heard that the
commissioners were thinking of putting entertainment on our
channel. We already had hundreds of channels worth of
entertainment - but what was missing was the tool needed for
transparency in our Township and the airing of our Township
meetings and business so that residents could understand what
was happening in their local government. It was not an
easy quest - it took nearly 2 years for us to actually get the
meetings on TV. We learned that we had to film our own
actions so that our words were not twisted- and that there were
no minutes available that properly reflected what happened.
It has been a great coup for
transparency to have the meetings aired that we have been able
to get aired so far-
Here are some links from the old days back at the original scene
of the effort.
Citizens want Governmental Meetings, Community, School,
School Board
and other programs aired on Comast Channel
43/Verizon Channel 24 . It is time to end the scrolling - and it is important not
to let non-profit businesses use our channel as a free resource
while we are unable to see all of our government & school
meetings .
A brief overview of this
topic and what we still would like to see
Contact us about this issue
What Abington residents said about
what they'd like the Commissioners to do
Contact your Commissioners
Residents
please note : To find out how you will be
affected by the changeover to digital which will be
effective as of June 12 '09
click here
or go to :
http://dtvanswers.com
___________________________________________
|Channel
43 Overview |
What Abington residents are saying
|
Contact someone about this issue
|
Your
Commissioners |
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|
