Edited Longmont Public Media post

_posts/2019-12-19-quiet-media-revolution-longmont.md

@@ -14,40 +14,38 @@ assumed it was unlikely to change hands. But the *Observer* presented an
 unusual idea, one that sparked imaginations by proposing to reconfigure
 notions of media ownership.
 
-If you walk into one of Longmont Public Media's (the *Observer*'s public
-access branch) community organizing meetings you'll find 20 to 30
-enthusiastic individuals happy to greet you and excited to work. Whether
-its gathered around a small table in their office, or in the back room
-of the local coffee shop, the energy of this eclectic group is palpable.
+If you walk into one of Longmont Public Media's community organizing meetings, you'll find 20 to 30
+enthusiastic individuals happy to greet you and excited to work. Longmont Public Media is the *Observer*'s new public
+access branch. The energy of this eclectic group is palpable.
 Many in Longmont are excited to be pioneering their own model for public
 access television.
 
 The notion of public access television was devised in the late 1960s and
-early 1970s. In the era of the first televised war NBC, CBS and ABC
+early 1970s. In the era of the first televised war, NBC, CBS and ABC
 controlled broadcast coverage of the cultural, political and social
-conflict. They depicted the gruesome fighting over seas and the civil
+conflict. They depicted the gruesome fighting overseas and the civil
 unrest here in the United States. The effects were extraordinary. Screen
 media began to have a major influence on public policy and mass
-upheaval. TV began to be seen as a uniquely powerful force; one that was
+upheaval. TV began to be seen as a uniquely powerful force, one that was
 dictated by commercial broadcast networks. Recognizing the power of the
 medium, counterculture movements and media scholars began to advocate
-for what was referred to as "Guerrilla Television." Michael Shamberg
-pioneered the term in 1971 stating, "Guerrilla Television is grassroots
-television. It works with the people, not from above them."[^1]
+for what was referred to as "[Guerrilla Television](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_television)." Michael Shamberg
+pioneered the term in 1971, stating, "Guerrilla Television is grassroots
+television. It works with the people, not from above them."
 
 Recognizing the importance of community driven media, the FCC developed
 regulations authorizing state and local governments to require cable
 television networks to set aside channels for public access. Cable
 companies entered franchise agreements with municipalities in which
-access to infrastructure (telephone poles, sidewalks, etc.) was granted
+access to infrastructure——telephone poles, sidewalks, etc.——was granted
 in exchange for 5 percent of companies' gross revenue. This franchise
 fee was paid to the city, which often reinvested this money into public
-access. Initially many local municipalities adopted this model granting
+access. Initially many local municipalities adopted this model, granting
 community members access to production and distribution methods.
 However, as pressure for public access decreased and many municipalities
-began experiencing increased financial burdens. Funding for public
+began experiencing increased financial burdens, funding for public
 access became less feasible. Some communities shut down public access
-channels entirely while others limited them to local legislative
+channels entirely, while others limited them to local legislative
 proceedings. Public access shifted from a place where community members
 could develop skills and exhibit ideas to a droning of traffic court and
 city council hearings.
@@ -56,21 +54,21 @@ To complicate the matter further, in August 2019 the FCC approved an
 amendment to their 1970s regulation. The change in legislation allows
 cable companies to deduct "in-kind provisions" from their franchise
 fees. This means cable companies can now assert that the market value of
-public access networks (the value of the channel) can be deducted from
+public access networks is deductible from
 the revenue they pay to the municipalities. In 2017 Longmont allocated
 25 percent of the franchise fees collected from Comcast (or \$187,924)
-to public access television. According to the Colorado Sun, that is
+to public access television. [According to the _Colorado Sun_](https://coloradosun.com/2019/02/11/cable-franchise-fee-limit-public-access-channels/), that is
 enough funding to cover one full-time employee and two part-time
-employees[^2]. The diminishment of franchise fees will seriously impact
+employees. The diminishment of franchise fees will seriously impact
 the ability of cities and states to maintain public access television.
-President of Rocky Mountain PBS told the Colorado Sun, "Going from
+The president of Rocky Mountain PBS told the _Colorado Sun_, "Going from
 having franchise fees to not having them, typically what happens in that
 case is the public access goes away." It's clear that new models must be
 developed in order to maintain public access.
 
 Longmont Public Media has taken on the challenge of innovating public
-access. They have suggested that public access television can truly
-function as it was intended; as a resource created for and by the
+access. Its founders have suggested that public access television can truly
+function as it was intended, as a resource created for and by the
 masses. They have proposed a cooperative model of media ownership in
 which members pay a small fee and in exchange can produce and exhibit
 their work. The studio that houses Longmont Public Access will be
@@ -78,28 +76,20 @@ transformed into a media makerspace, serving as a venue for community
 members to create, collaborate, share infrastructure and distribute
 work. Each member of the co-op contributes to ideas around governance,
 programming, events and space utilization. As Michael Shamberg explained
-when he was innovating public access, "The inherent potential of
+when he was proposing public access, "The inherent potential of
 information technology can restore democracy in America if people become
-skilled with information tools.[^3]"
+skilled with information tools."
 
 This is not Longmont's first foray into municipal ownership of community
 media. In 2014 Longmont launched NextLight, a municipally owned
 broadband enterprise. NextLight has dethroned Google Fiber as the
-fastest fiber-optic network, and is now a national model for publically
-owned internet access. Five years later Longmont is building on this
+fastest fiber-optic network, and it is now a national model for publicly
+owned internet access. Five years later, Longmont is building on this
 precedent through the creation of Longmont Public Media.
 
 When Longmont Public Media asked MEDLab to get involved——to help
 formulate this model of cooperative public access——I knew it was an
 opportunity not to be missed. Thursday nights have become one of my
-favorite parts of the week; when I slide past the local middle school
+favorite parts of the week, when I slide past the local middle school
 choir and the couples quietly nestled sipping lattes to the back room of
-the local coffee shop where we work to revolutionize media ownership.
-
-[^1]: Shamberg, Michael & Raindance Corporation.  *Guerrilla
-    Television*. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada, 1971.
-
-[^2]: https://coloradosun.com/2019/02/11/cable-franchise-fee-limit-public-access-channels/
-
-[^3]: Shamberg, Michael & Raindance Corporation.  *Guerrilla
-    Television*. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada, 1971.
+the local coffee shop, where we work to revolutionize media ownership.