CACTUS Shares Implementation Plan for a Revitalized Community Sector with CRTC Staff

CACTUS member Cathy Edwards, Robin Jackson (the ex-executive director of the Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund) and Patrick Watt met with CRTC officials on September 3rd to outline CACTUS' proposal to revitalize the community tier by creating a new community-access license class and an accompanying Community-Access Media Fund to support the new license holders. CRTC staff listened attentively and asked lots of questions. We hope that this information-sharing session will help shape the framework of the upcoming hearings by educating CRTC staffers about what the sector can accomplish if given the right tools.

Table of Contents

a) Status of Community-Access Programming in Canada

b) CACTUS Position in Upcoming Policy Review

c) Action Plan if a New Community-Access Media Fund is Created

a) Status of Community-Access Programming in Canada

In the 1980s and 1990s, there were over 300 community-access television channels across Canada, by which the Canadian public (both individuals and groups) had direct access to the airwaves. Most were operated and/or distributed by cable companies. Since the cable industry enjoyed 80% penetration at that time, community TV was “accessible” to most Canadians both as producers and viewers. A few community channels operated over-the-air, in remote areas that were not cost-effective for cable, such as in Valemont, B.C.

In 2009, although there are still about 200 “community channels” in operation country-wide, CACTUS estimates that just over 100 of those, or 1/3 the original number, are genuinely “community-access”; that is, enabling individuals and groups within communities to make programs and messages for themselves. These include:

 The ~45 members of Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec (Fedetvc). Some of the Fedetvc members manage community channels on behalf of a cable operator by contract. Others are independent non-profit community TV corporations that supply programming for part of the playback week of a local cable company. The future of many of these groups are uncertain both because their sources of financing are fragile and because they depend on cable companies for distribution. Many have had to pursue commercial-like models in recent years to survive. As a result, many are functioning below capacity as far as their ability to do outreach in the community.

 The ~33 channels operated by Access Communications (a cable co-operative) throughout Saskatchewan (approximately half of the cabled communities in Saskatchewan).

 The ~19 channels operated by Westman Cable (a cable co-operative) in western Manitoba (accessible to a minority of communities in Manitoba, with just over 26,000 member households).

 Five of the low-power OTA license holders, located in British Columbia, Ontario, NTW and New Brunswick. (The other low-power OTA license holders do not enable access by the community at large.)

 Seven organizations in New Brunswick that operate community channels on behalf of Rogers.

 An indeterminate number of smaller private cable companies (mostly members of the CCSA) that still enable community access, such as SeaSide in Nova Scotia. Cable companies vary widely in their attitudes toward enabling access... even from one town to the next within the same company, so it's difficult to arrive at an exact total.)

Approximately 90% of these channels are located in communities having fewer than 10,000 people (see Appendix A). So, while approximately 1/3 of the original 300+ community TV channels still do access production, they are accessible to less than 10% of Canada’s population. (They tend to be in communities small enough to be of little commercial interest to BDUs.)

Another 1/3 of the original number have been closed down or regionalized. For example, while Vancouver used to have 12 regional offices, these have been consolidated to a single downtown location. While New Brunswick used to have over 30 individual studios, today there are only six.

The remaining 1/3 are in the hands of cable companies that are no longer positively disposed toward community access. Control of content is in the hands of cable staff, although a few (in areas served by Rogers, for example) still allow volunteers to provide free labour as technicians.

In addition, the cable industry as a whole has lost market share, and is now subscribed to by only about 60% of Canadian households. Since telephone and satellite companies rarely contribute directly to community-access production, this is a further loss to the community sector.

So, access to a local community television channel has become a privilege enjoyed by a minority of Canadians. It is no longer a basic service accessible to all.

How do we reverse this trend?

b) CACTUS Position in Upcoming Policy Review

The Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) is an association of individual Canadians, community groups and associations, OTA license holders, cable co-ops and others who are concerned about the loss of access to community channels by Canadians.

During the community sector review, CACTUS’ main requests will be:

1) The creation of a non-profit and non-commercial community-ACCESS license class. License holders will commit to 80% community-access productions. Equipment, training, and air-time will be offered to the community free of charge.

2) The creation of a Community-Access Media Fund (CAMF) to which holders of community-access licenses will be able apply. CACTUS will suggest that this fund be created primarily from the cable levy currently being spent by cable companies that no longer offer production access to their communities.

3) Holders of community-access licenses who apply to CAMF will be encouraged to set up platform-independent access production centres that might simultaneously hold OTA radio and television licenses, webstream, and have must-carry status on the services of all locally available BDUs. They will be encouraged to pool community resources; for example, maintaining offices in local community centres, libraries or theatres, so that the community can “one-stop-shop” to get their messages out. This diversified infrastructure will both promote efficiency and enable communities to modernize and use technologies for local communication to best advantage into the future.

If these requests become a reality, and a Community-Access Media Fund is created as a result of the upcoming hearings, how will the sector be revived?

c) IMPLEMENTATION

Depending on the size of the proposed Community-Access Media Fund, access can be extended to more or to fewer Canadians.

Here are two budget outlines, one for a small community (10-30,000) and one for a larger community (over 30,000). Extremely small communities (< 10,000) might maintain only a camera or camera and edit suite, and relay footage to a larger centre , while the largest cities (over 500,000) might have two-three separate access centres.

The goal is that as many Canadians as possible should be able to travel to a community-access production facility within 30 minutes on public transportation.

Small Community (10-30,000, of which there are 85 in Canada)

Startup Costs
Television
Studio
Control room
Edit suite
ENG kit
Mobile (van with portable cameras)
Headend/servers
$60,000
$160,000
$12,000
$10,000
$50,000
$20,000
Radio
Studio and control room
Voiceover booth
$10,000
$2,000
Internet lab (3 computers, modem, network) $6,000
Office equipment and furniture $2,000
Transmission equipment $60,000
Total $392,000
Yearly Operational Costs
3 staff (manager, community outreach co-ordinator/trainer, technician) $160,000
Repairs (parts, not labour) $10,000
Materials (e.g. videotape, office supplies) $30,000
Rent or mortgage, building maintenance $25,000
Total $230,000

Larger Community (> 30,000... of which there are 86 in Canada)

Startup Costs
Television
Studio(s)
Control room
Edit suites
ENG kits
Mobile (specialized vehicle, committed equipment, CCUs etc.)
Headend/servers
$100,000
$200,000
$12,000 per
$10,000 per
$100,000

$25,000
Radio
Control room and studio
Voiceover booth
$25,000
$2,000
Internet lab (5 computers, modem, network) $10,000
Office equipment and furniture $6,000
Transmission equipment $100,000
Total ~ $500,000

Yearly Operational Costs
5-8 staff (manager, community outreach co-ordinator/trainer(s), technician) $3-500,000
Repairs (not including labour) $10,000
Materials (e.g. videotape, office supplies) $40,000
Rent or mortgage, building maintenance $25- $50,000
Total $400-600,000

Proposed Fund Size, # Channels that Could Be Maintained

Community-Access Media Fund Size # of Channels

(includes yearly operating costs)
$30,000,000
(0.5 % cable gross revenues in 2008)  45/86 cities > 30,000
 20/85 communities 10-30,000
 Fund management ($500,000)
 National association that would provide the leadership to rebuild sector (CACTUS or equivalent) $1,000,000
$60,000,000
(1% of cable gross revenues in 2008)  80/86 cities > 30,000
 80/85 communities 10-30,000
 Fund management ($500,000)
 National association ($1,000,000)
$90,000,000
(1.5% cable gross revenues in 2008)  86/86 cities > 30,000
 85/85 communities 10-30,000
 Fund management ($500,000)
 National association ($1,000,000)
 ENG kits, edit suites, part-time staff support for additional communities < 10,000
 Special project grants, long-term infrastructure and equipment upgrades
 Additional neighbourhood offices in cities > 500,000
$120,000,000
(2% of cable gross revenues in 2008) Not necessary at this time.
> $120,000,000
(2% BDU revenues, including satellite and Telcos) Not necessary at this time.
>> $120,000,000
(2% BDU revenues, including satellite, Telcos, and ISPs ) Not necessary at this time.

OPERATING PRINCIPLES AND GOALS OF THE COMMUNITY-ACCESS MEDIA FUND (CAMF)

CAMF would establish long-term targets to distribute funds evenly throughout the regions, with proportionately more in smaller communities since:

 Minimum staffing, equipment and facilities are necessary to get on air in the smallest communities, and

 The sharing of common resources becomes more efficient in larger population centres.

Since:

 The long-term size of the fund is determined by estimates of on-going operational costs and not startup costs, and

 publicity and community education about the existence of the fund, how to apply for licenses, and how to operate access television channels will take time (not all within a single calendar year)

the CAMF strategy will be to:

 Upgrade facilities and establish adequate staffing at existing independent community TV organizations (including enabling the transition to holding OTA licenses for those currently on cable only, and the transition to digital and HD where appropriate).

 Establish a minimum number of access production centres in each region in the first year (at least one large and one small), which can become models and training centres to enable nearby communities to get up and running in subsequent years.

The following scenario is an example, assuming that CAMF is created from 1.5% of the existing BDU levy, or $90,000,000:

Year 1:

Infrastructure grants and upgrades to existing independent community-access television organizations (approximately 60 total, including members of the Fedetvc in Quebec, but not including cable co-operatives, which already have access to the cable levy):

Estimate per channel

 General equipment upgrades (could include digital and/or HD) $100,000
 Addition of OTA transmission equipment $100,000
 Addition of Internet access terminals,
webstreaming, on-line program archives $20,000
 Addition of radio broadcasting for communities that want it $20,000

ESTIMATE OF TOTAL UPGRADES PER CHANNEL: $240,000

ESTIMATE OF TOTAL UPGRADES $14,400,000

Supplement staffing for existing 60 (non cable-coop) channels: $15,000,000

Fund and national association: $1,500,000

New channel startups, including year 1 operational costs:
36 small, 36 large $59,100,000

Total Year 1: $90,000,000

Year 2:

Operational costs for 43 existing large channels >30,000 $21,500,000
(not including cable co-ops):

Operational costs for 93 existing small channels (<30,000) $21,390,000

Fund and national association: $1,500,000

New channel startups, including year 2 operational costs:
28 small, 28 large $45,610,000

Total Year 2: $90,000,000

Year 3:

Operational costs for 71 existing large channels >30,000 $35,500,000
(not including cable co-ops):

Operational costs for 121 existing small channels (<30,000) $27,830,000

Fund and national association: $1,500,000

New channel startups, including year 3 operational costs:
14 small, 14 large $22,820,000

4 additional neighbourhood offices in cities > 500,000 $2,350,000

Total Year 3: $90,000,000

And so on. In year 4, the remaining additional neighbourhood offices in cities > 500,000 would be complete and attention would be shifted to setting up additional outreach facilities in communities < 10,000 that are not within easy reach of a facility serving 10-30,000.

In actual fact, the setup rate in the first year of the fund might be slower than projected, due to the need for promotion and education about the purpose and availability of the fund monies. A more realistic estimate is that by the end of year 5, the fund would be mainly dispensing operational monies, monitoring performance of existing channels, and setting up additional outreach facilities in communities < 10,000 that are not within easy reach of a facility serving 10-30,000.

ROLE OF A NATIONAL COMMUNITY-ACCESS TELEVISION ASSOCIATION
(CACTUS or equivalent)

 Publicizing the availability of funding for community groups to set up access production centres.

 Supporting community groups in license application process.

 Assisting the CRTC in assessing applications, since an application in the new community-access license class would trigger eligibility for funding from CAMF. For example, while the CRTC would assess technical criteria that affect other sectors and license holders such as transmission range, protocols, and standards, CACTUS might assess the strength of the application from the point of view of involvement and support by a broad cross-section of community stakeholders, and the knowledge and understanding by the applicant community of the role and responsibility of a community-access channel.

 Supporting community groups in funding application process; for example, assistance in preparing realistic budgets (assessment from licensing process would be automatically forwarded to the fund).

 Providing technical and organizational guidance to community groups setting up new as well as existing channels; for example, who to hire, what equipment to buy, how to engage the community in production.

 Creating, pooling and distributing training materials for production centre staff, community producers, and volunteers.

 Lobbying for the community sector.

 Program sharing via a web site and archives, tape bicycling if appropraite, and (long term) supporting an application for a national public-access channel to share programming.

 Web site maintenance to share educational materials, member news and progress.

 Liaising with CAMF to achieve long-term growth targets in the community-access sector.

The board of directors for CACTUS would consist of member channel staff and community producers. Therefore, CACTUS advocates for the immediate needs of those working and volunteering within the sector.

RELATIONSHIP OF CAMF TO NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

CAMF would:

 Have final responsibility for assessing applications by would-be grantees.

 Administer grant monies.

 Monitor that applicants fulfill grant requirements (such as used to be done by the CRTC for cable community channels). Regular reporting would be required not only about programming volumes, genres, and numbers of individuals and community organizations that participate, but also about projects that:
- Benefit the community in concrete, measurable terms.
- Stimulate community debate on important issues.
- Capture and promote local culture or history.
- Involve previously excluded groups.
- Approach the use of media from new or alternative perspectives.

 Ensure that long-term regional targets for community-access are met.

The board of directors for CAMF would consist of a range of organizations with both a stake in the expression of local cultural identity as well as expertise to offer the sector, such as:

 National association (CACTUS) or community-access representative
 Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec
 Canadian Association of Media Education Organizations (CAMEO)
 Federation of Canadian Municipalities/Fédération canadienne des municipalités (FCM)
 Independent Media Arts Association/L’Alliance des arts médiatiques indépendants (IMAA)
 Educational sector (for example, a campus television channel such as NuTV in Calgary)
 A representative of the new media sector (Canadian Interactive Alliance/Alliance interactive canadienne)
 Aboriginal community
 Diversity/ethno-cultural community
 Accounting
 Governance
 Lawyer
Therefore, it will be the Fund’s responsibility to make sure that no regions or major sectors within Canadian society are excluded from access to community production facilities.
PROGRAMMING

The genius of the community-access sector is that a relatively small investment in infrastructure, equipment and training staff can result in large volumes of locally relevant and vital programming. This is possible due to the production multiplier effect of volunteers.

You need a minimal professional staff (trained in both production techniques and community facilitation) to set professional standards, to assist and co-ordinate community volunteers, and to practice outreach to sectors of the community that are often overlooked. Once these individuals are in place and begin to work with a community, a community-access television channel can produce about ten times the volume of programming that could be produced by full-time paid staff alone.

For example, prior to 1997-25 and the changeover in format that occurred throughout Shaw systems, 6 staff and 200 volunteers at Shaw Cable 10 in Calgary produced between 35 and 40 hours of new programming every week, in every genre, from children’s programming, to sports, to seniors, to news magazine, to short fiction, to phone-in programming on a range of topics from the stock market to tax tips. Much of this programming was live and interactive.

Similar ratios are possible at smaller channels. For example, the three-person staff suggested for communities of 10-30,000 might facilitate the community to produce 15-20 hours per week. The smallest communities, with only a camera and edit suite and one part-time staff person (studio), might produce 2-3 hours, which they would probably relay for playback to a medium-size centre, or pool programming with other equally small communities on a single channel.

If access production centres can be re-established in the 86 Canadian communities with populations > 30,000 and the 85 communities with populations between 10,000 and 30,000, those communities will be able to produce between 100,000 and 200,000 hours of new LOCAL production per year, more than all that is produced by the country’s private and public broadcasters combined.

While this production multiplier does work, volume of production should not be the only determinant of channel success, however. With increasingly fractured audiences who can find what they want to watch when they want to watch on a wide selection of channels, most community channels worldwide consider their programming a success if local audiences tune in a few times a week to important local issues, or niche programming aimed at them (children, for example).

There has been an intense focus recently on the possible loss of local news services from communities across the country. Questions have been directed at the community-access sector and its ability to fill these niche. The community-access sector can fill the need for locally relevant programming. Whether a particular community elects to produce in a traditional “news hour” format is unpredictable, however.

It’s important to remember that the traditional news format is expensive and resource-intensive because it’s made up of many short clips, each of which represents a separate shoot somewhere in the community, followed by intensive editing. It’s a big-city paradigm in which viewers can’t be expected to know the subjects of stories, and are assumed to want no more than a minute or two on several different topics rather than an in-depth look at any one.

Community-access volunteers tend to prefer to produce longer, more in-depth stories about topics of personal and community interest. Their smaller town audiences, who often know the protagonists, tend to want more too. So, instead of sending a crew to a football game, and editing just 3 minutes of highlights as part of a “news hour”, a volunteer crew is more likely to air the whole game, and the community is likely to want to watch it, because their kids are in it. Similarly, instead of interviewing a local politician and editing just a couple of key comments on an issue that may or may not affect most residents, community volunteers are more likely to engage that politician in studio for a full half hour on a local issue that affects everyone, perhaps inviting the audience to call in.

So, while a daily high-impact news format is not a common format on community-access TV channels world-wide, what audiences typically get is more: more variety and more depth.

It is, however, common for community-access television channels to produce weekly or bi-weekly news magazine programs, with slightly longer more in-depth segments. They may be updated with new stories as they come in from the community. These variety formats are often co-ordinated by channel staff, as they require input from and collaboration among multiple volunteers and community organizations.

MULTI-PLATFORM ACCESS CENTRES

Because distribution technologies keep changing, it’s important that money for local expression be put into multi-platform access production centres that:

 Leverage existing community resources. For example, they may be located in libraries, community centres, or theatres... places where the community meets and from which community events can easily be broadcast or webcast.

 Are platform-independent. They may simultaneously hold an over-the-air radio and television license, webstream, and have must-carry status on the services of all locally-available BDUs. They should be universally accessible to residents both as audiences and as producers.

This investment in infrastructure rather than in a single technology ensures that community-access production centres will remain current as new technologies come on line in the future.

It also means that the best communication strategies can be designed to assist the community to get its messages out... not confined to a single platform, but efficiently leveraging all. For example, a local band or an election debate presented in a theatre or community centre could be simultaneously videotaped and recorded for broadcast by radio and TV, webstreamed, and available on the services of the local cable operator or regional satellite feed.

OVER-THE-AIR CAPABILITY

CRTC policy 2002-61 was important in creating a new low-power broadcast license class for communities. With the new Community-Media Access Fund, this ability to reach communities free, over the air, can be expanded.

This is particularly important in an environment in which more and more private and public broadcasters are considering abandoning transmission towers and equipment during the transition to digital.

CACTUS sees several possibilities and has several questions/suggestions/requests for the CRTC:

1) It is the intention of CACTUS that new community-access production centres that apply to CAMF must hold over-the-air licenses, to ensure that their signals are universally accessible to their communities.

2) This can happen in several ways. Several of the current OTA license holders, such as St. Andrews and Hay River have set up analog transmission equipment for less than $20,000, by using lesser known brands of equipment, buying second-hand, and utilizing existing structures such as buildings rather than stand-alone towers. Others, depending on geography, geographical spread of the population, and existing towers and infrastructure, have had to pay as much as $100,000 for transmission equipment to get on air.

Depending on the size of CAMF, there are several possibilities for OTA low-power transmission:

 Dual analog digital television sets will continue to be available for some years. If funding is insufficient, communities that are currently transmitting analog signals could be allowed to continue to do so. (This is the policy that has been adopted for rural areas in several other Western countries, including the UK and some Scandinavian countries.) New license holders could be encouraged to purchase digital equipment or given the choice (since analog equipment is currently available second hand at a discount).

 If the private and public broadcasters are allowed to discontinue over-the-air service in communities < 300,000 as they have asked, could the CRTC request as compensation for these communities that the towers and equipment no longer being used be given to new community license holders?

 As outlined by the Canadian Media Guild, it is probably not necessary that smaller communities upgrade to HD in the short term. Existing community-access organizations could continue to use standard definition equipment for the life of that equipment, and upgrade gradually. New license holders would be encouraged to purchase HD equipment, budgets permitting (since HD models are often no more expensive than standard-definition equipment).

3) Some local frequencies for radio and television broadcast must be retained for community use, and not auctioned for use by wireless services.
Appendix A:
Existing Access Television Channels by Group and Population

Group
> 30,000 10-30,000 < 10,000
Quebec Federation Montreal
Terbonne
Châteauguay Dolbeau-Mistassini
Roberval
Thetford Mines
Lachute
Beloeil
Victoriaville Mont-Joli
Kamouraska
Cabano
Vallee de la Matapedia (Amqui)
Normandin
Malbaie
Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre
Baie-Saint-Paul
Buckingham
Témiscaming
Macamic
Havre St-Pierre
Les Escoumins
Colombier
Chute-aux-Outardes
Chapais
Saint-Godefroi
Mont-Louis
Petite-Vallée
Grande-Rivière
Cap-aux-Meules Îles-de-la-Madeleine
Beauceville
Saint-Victor
Berthierville
Saint-Gabriel-de-Brandon
St-Jérôme
Mont-Tremblant
Saint-Hubert
Waterloo
Plessisville
Low-Power OTA Leamington, ON Telile, NS Ash Creek, BC
Hay River, NWT
St. Andrews, NB
Valemount, BC
Chetwynd, BC
Westman Cable, (MT) Brandon Boissevain
Carberry
Dauphin
Deloraine
Gilbert Plains
Gladstone
Killarney
Melita
Minnedosa
Neepawa
Rivers
Roblin
Russell
Souris
Ste. Rose du Lac
Swan River
Virden
Access Communications (SK) Regina Biggar
Bredenbury
Canora
Churchbridge
Coronach
Emerald Park
Esterhazy
Estevan
Kamsack
Kindersley
La Ronge
Lashburn
Maidstone
Meadow Lake
Melville
Norquay
Rosetown
Saltcoats
Springside
The Battlefords
Theodore
Unity
Weyburn
White City
Wilkie
Yorkton
ICTV, Vancouver Vancouver (lower east side)
Community groups operating a community-access channel on behalf of Rogers in New Brunswick Chipman
Minto
St. Stephen
St. George
Grand Manan Island
Harvey
McAdam

Appendix B:
COMMUNITY-ACCESS MEDIA FUND

Mandate
The Community-Access Media Fund (CAMF) would be a not-for- profit funding organization that would distribute funding to community-access licensees for their operations. It would provide funding for new distribution technologies, community outreach and other special projects. The Fund would be responsible to collect information and statistics to monitor the performance of licensees.
Mission
The mission of the Fund would be:
 To support community-access media centres that enable Canadians to use multiple technologies for local expression, including both traditional media such as television and radio, as well as new media such as the Internet, wireless technologies and other new digital platforms.

 To give communities the tools they need to effectively communicate among residents, community organizations, and policy-makers on issues of common concern, to better their communities, and to celebrate and reflect local culture.

 To enable community-media centres in Canada to reflect the diversity of the communities they serves.

 To solicit and distribute contributions/grants and other forms of support to community-access media centres for operations, production, training, distribution, and other purposes that support the aims of community-access production and distribution in Canada.

 To develop community media as an integral part of the Canadian media fabric.

1. Priorities of the Fund

Assistance would initially be made available for the following priorities. (As the needs of community-access media centres change over time, so will the program priorities of the Community-Access Media Fund.):

 Operational Costs
Operational costs of community-access media centres, including routine maintenance of production and distribution equipment for multiple platforms (TV, radio, Internet, etc.), staff, facilities, production costs.

Applicants would be encouraged to show:

 How they will leverage existing community resources to achieve maximum visibility, accessibility, and efficiency, such as locating themselves in community centres, libraries, secondary schools or media colleges.

 How they will solicit involvement with a diverse cross-section of the community, including community organizations, Aboriginal, ethnically diverse groups, persons with disabilities, official language minority groups (where applicable), educational institutions, local businesses, the municipality, provincial and federal elected representatives, artistic and cultural groups.

 Grants for New Community-Access Media Centres
Start-up costs for new media centres, including licensing, production and transmission equipment, facilities, hiring.

 Technological Upgrades for Existing Centres
 Upgrades of production equipment, including migration to digital and HD as appropriate (pending CRTC policy directives and industry changes such as the continued availability of analog reception equipment).

 Addition of new production and distribution platforms, such as radio, Internet, wireless, over-the-air.

 On-going Leadership and Education within the Community Sector
On-going leadership and education to the community-access sector would be carried out by a new national association (CACTUS or equivalent); for example, identification of underserved areas to develop new access-media centres, assistance to would-be licensees, technical and organizational asistance to new licensees, the organizational of professional events, the development of educational materials, common archives of programming, etc. The Fund would provide funding to this association.

 Special Project Funding
Development monies to be made available for special projects, such as the on-going monitoring of distribution technology, and research to determine the best ways to engage sectors of the population that have been overlooked in the past.

 Other Responsibilities of the Fund
The Fund would collect information and statistics on the performance of the community-access media centres. Licensees would be required to submit to the Fund on an annual basis the following information:
 Number of hours of programming produced, by genre.
 Platforms used to produce and distribute programming.
 Number of community producers, volunteers, and organizations involved in the media centre.
 Projects having high impact, such as those which:
- Benefit the community in concrete, measurable terms.
- Stimulate community debate on important issues.
- Capture and promote local culture or history.
- Involve previously excluded groups.

2. Funding

 Community-access media has fallen behind in this country due in part, to the lack of funding available to enable community groups to apply for their own licenses. Since facilitating local expression and Canadian culture is one of the licensing requirements of the BDU sector, it is recommended that funding for these initiatives should come from the BDU 5% levy.

 While the major funding should come from the BDU 5%, the Fund would seek other sources of funding to supplement this amount. It would investigate charitable status so that it could issue tax receipts for donations made by the public and pursue grants from foundations. National government and non-governmental organization sponsorships would be sought. Government grants would be solicited for various special projects.

 The Fund would encourage the community-access media centres themselves to collaborate with municipalities, local businesses, and educational institutions. It would reward applications by communities that have made efforts to diversity financing.

3. Governance
 The organization would be federally incorporated as not for profit. Charitable status would be investigated.
 The Board of Directors would ensure accountability and transparent decision –making, allowing input from stakeholders.
 Those in charge of making decisions would not have any affiliation with any potential funding recipient to avoid conflict of interest.
 The Board of Directors would be comprised of 10 to 12 voting individuals, including representatives from the following organizations:
- National association (CACTUS) or community-access representative
- Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec
- Canadian Association of Media Education Organizations (CAMEO)
- Federation of Canadian Municipalities/Fédération canadienne des municipalités (FCM)
- Independent Media Arts Association/L’Alliance des arts médiatiques indépendants (IMAA)
- Educational sector (for example, a campus television channel such as NuTV in Calgary)
- A representative of the new media sector (Canadian Interactive Alliance/Alliance interactive canadienne)
- Aboriginal community
- Diversity/ethno-cultural community
- Accounting
- Governance
- Lawyer

 The Fund’s Board members would serve on a fixed term, rotating system, without remuneration
 Board members would be nominated and/or elected by the bodies named. For example, CAMEO would designate the media literacy reprentative. IMAA would designate a film or video artist representative.
 The Board would be responsible for ensuring effective management of the Fund, creating policies and practices regarding fund distribution, oversight of finances, strategic planning.
 The Board would establish effective and efficient processes to appraise applications objectively.
 The Board would be a policy Board; it would not manage the Corporation.
 The Corporation and the Board would be governed by its by-laws.
 Annual general meetings would be held at which time financial statements and annual reports would be made available and directors would be elected to the Board.