COK’s Guide to Airing Documentaries on Public Access Television

Why show videos on public access?

Even the most effective piece of literature on factory farming and its abuses can’t quite compare to seeing those cruelties with our own eyes. When we witness—as best we can—the suffering farmed animals endure for us to have meat, milk, and eggs, we’re much more inspired to help them with every bite we take by choosing animal-friendly foods.

Because COK believes that letting the victims of the animal agriculture speak for themselves is among the most powerful tools for encouraging people to become vegetarian, our investigators document factory farm conditions, and we produce films to take individuals behind the closed doors of farms, slaughter plants, and livestock auctions.

As we don’t have the advertising budgets of the meat, egg, and dairy industries, animal advocates must turn to more creative and cost-effective ways to get the animals’ message into homes across the country. Airing documentaries about animal agriculture on your local public access television station is an easy and effective way to do just that.

How do I get started?

Many communities with cable television providers also have their own public access television stations. Check your local station listings to see if your area has one. If it does, you can find the station’s contact information, by:

• looking online (for a great resource, visit www.openchannel.se/cat/linksus.htm),
• watching the station for a station identification notice,
• contacting your local cable service provider,
• or searching your local yellow pages under a listing such as, “Television Stations & Broadcasting Companies.”

Typically, a community resident can become a member of the local public access television station by attending an orientation session, filling out a membership form, providing proof of identity and proof of residency, agreeing to the station’s rules of operation, and paying a small annual membership fee, often ranging between $20 and $60 per year. There is no requirement that you be a cable subscriber; local residency alone should be sufficient. Public access television stations usually offer courses on how to produce programs. But, with the exception of the initial orientation session, local residents wishing only to sponsor already-produced programming (such as one of COK’s documentaries) are normally not required to take these production courses.

How do I get animal-friendly documentaries on my local public access television station’s schedule?

Once you become a member of your area’s public access television station, you should be able to air programming that was not produced in the public access television station’s own studios. Consult with your local public access television station for details on how to do this, as each station’s protocol differs.

Requirements

Each station has its own specific requirements with which you must comply in order to air programming created at an outside production facility. You will likely be required to provide information about the program you would like to air, such as: the program title, the total running time (to the second), the date the program was recorded or filmed, the production facility where the program was produced, and the producer’s name and contact information. Most public access stations require members to submit an airtime request form according to their deadline schedules.

Sponsor credit

Usually, the station requires the addition of a credit screen, so your name will be listed as the program sponsor at the end of the program. This lets viewers know that the program was aired at your request instead of selected by the public access television station. As well, the credit screen expresses that the station is not responsible for statements made in the program. Many public access television stations allow you to comply with this requirement simply by paying a small fee for the staff to add the credit screen bearing your name. Costs for a staff-added credit vary from station to station. Some stations charge $20.

Format and dubbing

Each station uses a particular format for airing programs and may have a limited ability to dub from other formats. For example, DCTV, the Public Access Corporation of the District of Columbia, uses DV Cam format. The station can either accept programming in DV Cam format or it can dub from mini DV format. All other formats are unacceptable. In contrast, Virginia’s Arlington Community Television can dub from VHS video format. Talk with staff at your local public access television station for more information on what format(s) can be submitted. Dubbing services are likely provided for a small fee. DCTV, for example, charges $23 to dub a 30-minute or less program from mini DV to DV Cam.

Fees

Public access television stations do not charge for airtime, but, as discussed above, some do charge small fees if they need to dub or edit your tapes. Many advocates regard these fees as a contribution to a worthy cause. However, if you do not have the financial means to afford these costs, many animal advocacy organizations are willing to provide some financial assistance for members who want to air their programming on public access television.

Scheduling and timeslot requests

The public access television station determines its monthly schedule, including the dates and times your program will air. Many stations allow you to request specific days and times and do their best to accommodate your preferences. Often, each program will air multiple times in the course of one month, and you can usually submit more than one documentary at a time. For instance, DCTV has aired as many as six different animal advocacy programs in one month.

Some stations will air documentaries of any length, but others schedule programming in 30- or 60-minute slots. You can combine two or more shorter documentaries into a single program to follow the station’s guidelines. Talk with staff for more details.

Resubmitting videos

After your program has aired for the first time, you can resubmit it—normally at no cost—to be aired again in future months. Again, using DCTV as an example, documentaries have been aired during as many as four months in one calendar year. So, be sure to keep your video(s) in the schedule throughout the year, increasing the number of people in your audience.

Are there restrictions on content?

Public television stations will not air any materials that are obscene or that constitute libel, slander, an invasion of privacy rights, a violation of copyright, or other violation of law. Nor will they air any materials that are commercial in nature. In addition, programming containing “mature” content can be so labeled and restricted to later evening hours when children are not likely to watch.

Other than these limitations, however, public access television stations provide an open forum for political speech and generally do not control programming for content. So, a programming manager would not be able to refuse to air an animal advocacy video if the documentary clashed with his or her personal beliefs. This makes public access television a much more open avenue for the broadcast of pro-animal messages than most commercial television stations.

Where can I get animal advocacy documentaries?

COK offers four documentaries:

• 45 Days: The Life and Death of a Broiler Chicken
• Inside the Egg Industry
• The Auction Block: An Inside Look at Farmed Animal Sales
• Hope for the Hopeless: An Investigation and Open Rescue at a Battery Egg Facility

Additionally, COK offers shorter public service announcements (PSAs). To learn more about getting copies of any of these documentaries or PSAs to get on the air, contact COK at info@cok.net or by calling 301-891-2458.

Many other organizations offer documentaries and PSAs at no charge for those seeking to place them on public television stations. Some include People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Farm Sanctuary, Mercy for Animals, and GourmetCruelty.com.

As well, VegVideo bundles animal advocacy documentaries into hour-long programs and provides them on VHS to supporters who wish to air the compilations on public access television stations. To learn more, check out www.vegvideo.com or e-mail VegVideo@yahoo.com.

Do people really watch public access television?

Airing COK documentaries on public television stations has proven to be an inexpensive and incredibly effective way of getting the animals’ message into thousands of living rooms.

Most public access television stations do not track the number of viewers who tune in, so it’s not possible to know the exact number of people who watch your program each time it airs. But, we do know from statistical and anecdotal evidence that many people do watch public access. According to nonprofit organization Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), roughly 60 percent of the average community is reachable by cable and 50 percent of cable viewers are likely to watch at least some programming on their local cable access station. In Washington, D.C., we’ve gotten an incredible amount of feedback, letting us know without a doubt that airing programs on DCTV has been effective. During COK’s FaunaVision tours, vegetarian feed-ins, and other outreach activities, our staff and volunteers often talk with people who mention that they saw animal advocacy programming on DCTV and were deeply moved. We also get email and telephone requests for our Vegetarian Starter Guide from individuals who found out about our free publication by watching public access!

Spread the word!

You can actively increase viewership by publicizing each documentary you air. Send an e-mail message with a description of the documentary and air times to a listserv or other e-mail list of people who might be interested in watching. Arrange a viewing party in a home or a community hall. Create a simple flyer with scheduling information and post it in your local library, health food store, or other popular location.

You can also contact your local newspaper and ask them to include the documentaries in their television programming schedule. Provide a brief description of the program, the air times, and the channel.

You can do it!

Once you schedule your first animal advocacy program, there’s no stopping you from getting more and more documentaries on the air! If you ever need suggestions or help, please don’t hesitate to contact us by emailing info@cok.net or calling 301-891-2458. Good luck!