Follow this link to see the highlights from the ACM Midwest Conference 2008.

I wish that was a joke, but sadly no. And imitation being the most sincere form of flattery aside, the unfortunate truth is that there are one or more unauthorized websites currently associating their own organizations and fund-raising schemes with PATV. Don’t be fooled! — Apart from this site, and a youtube & google.video account, there are NO websites affiliated with this PATV station.

www.patv.tv is the place to check for all your Iowa City PATV news and updates (or give us a call at 338-7035, or email contact@patv.tv). Measures are being taken to remove the offending sites, but it’s a big internet: hard to keep an eye on all of it.

In the meantime, just remember that www.patv.tv is the sole authorized web domain for Public Access Television in Iowa City & Coralville, and don’t be fooled by dem rascally impostors! Thanks, and sorry for any confusion!

2008’s off with a bang! The 1st month’s nearly over, and it was about as jam-packed with rumors and speculation as one would hope in these rumored, speculative times.

But breathe easy (for now), dear viewers: the Iowa City PEG channels are (allegedly) safe for another year (i.e.: the check’s in the mail). So come down to the station today and start making the kind of programming you want to see on television. Take the opportunity to exercise your very own freedom of speech and put your vision right there on the beast: the small screen: the all-mighty tube, for friends, neighbors and strangers alike to see. Don’t let’s watch the access channels slip away without milking ‘em for all they’re worth, people! (And I mean that in the best way possible, hey.)

January’s done, here’s hoping February is twice as productive and 1/2 as tense. Thanks and g’night, ladies and gents!

P.S. Thanks so much to everyone who contributed to the “Democracy Now” fund! I’m happy say that we received enough donations to maintain our “Free Speech TV” subscription and continue airing episodes of the award winning, daily independent news program “Democracy Now” for another year. I know a lot of people really rely on this show for their news, and PATV is only too glad to be able to help bring it to you.

As you may be aware, PATV is tracking changes in legislation that will affect the future of public, educational, and governmental access (PEG) channels. The way that the law currently stands means that in the best-case scenario, PEG has only ten more years of funding in Iowa. PATV is taking steps to turn this unfriendly law around. PATV director Josh Goding was recently appointed to be the representative from the Midwest Region to the national board of the Alliance for Community Media (ACM). The ACM is a national alliance of PEG channels that, among other endeavors, will be challenging some of the FCC’s recent unlawful rulings with regard to video franchising. Goding will be attending the ACM board meeting in Washington, D.C., the first weekend in November, to help arm PATV for a new legislative push in 2008. For more information on the current state of disaster facing our community channels and the decline of independent media, go to  http://ourchannels.org and http://www.freepress.net and get the scoop!

For those who haven’t heard, new legislation has passed in Iowa that may have serious consequences for not just PATV and the other local P.E.G. stations, but all access channels state-wide.

With the future so tenuous and uncertain, the ability to use local cable-cast television to express your voice possesses a newfound sense of urgency and importance.
So come! Put those big ideas rolling around your head on the small screen for your fellow Iowa City citizens to see, before access TV is nothing but a memory!…

How will new legislation effct your public access, educational, and governmental channels? What can we do about it? A question and answer, round-table discussion presented by PATV.

Saturday, June 30th 2-5 pm @ Iowa City Public Library, Meeting Room A. For more information call 338-7035.

FCC licensing for Community Radio will begin October 12, 2007 and last seven days. Please pass this on! Mention this opportunity to anyone you know in your town who might be interested -musicians, activists, radio geeks, non-profit organizations, local agencies, etc. The possibilities are enormous for communities to have our own megaphone and get our message out on the radio.

For more information from a local person, contact Dave Bradley at
dlbcab [at] hotmail.com or ph. 319-627-2954