Hello fans of media and democracy,

As Robin Oppenheimer's letter testifies below, we have WON the first stage in the long road to victory to obtain increased community media and financial resources for King County.

THANKS TO YOUR SUPPORT, we were able to persuade all of the King County Council

by Jonathan Lawson

King County cable subscribers are probably about to suffer a major loss in the cable service they���re paying for, as government officials quietly sell out valuable technology access for chump change. In fact, it may have happened by the time you���re reading

KING COUNTY FRANCHISE RENEWAL PROPOSAL ANALYSIS
PROPOSED ORDINANCE 2002-0556

Michael J. Weisman, JD
Reclaim the Media

This is a point-by-point analysis of King County proposed ordinance 2002-0556

I. Revised Staff Report dated December 15, 2003

Revenue Options to the County

[Jan Strout urges Councilmembers to slow down their fast-track attempt to extend Comcast's cable franchise, at the expense of the public's best interests. The Council plans to take this issue up again on Monday Dec. 15--there's still time to submit your own comments!]

To: dwight.pelz@metrokc.gov,

Some seventy percent of Americans now get their television through cable, rather than over the public airwaves. An increasing number of us also use our cable connections for broadband Internet services, instead of choosing telephone-based dialup or DSL connections. Many observers agree that cable will be the dominant medium for Internet access within a few years, as it is now for television. The fat pipelines of many cities' cable infrastructure already has the capability to carry much more information than it currently does. This of course could include extra channels--hey Comcast, how about bundling in Free Speech TV, or al-Jazeera, or more public access channels? Beyond that, additional services such as home security systems and even voice telephony are not only possible, they're being bundled into competitively-priced cable service packages right now. If you don't have access to all these services, your cable could be doing more.

[Resolution passed in 1999 but never funded.]

Seattle City Council Resolution Number 29902: Telecommunications infrastructure

A RESOLUTION relating to high-speed telecommunications services; establishing the City's intention to explore alternative ways of providing the citizens of Seattle telecommunications services, including television.

Adopted Feb. 16, 1999
Vote: 6-0 (Recused: Drago; Excused: Conlin, Donaldson)
Sponsor: Podlodowski

Who controls public access to the Internet? When a city lets a private company tear up its streets to plant a fiber optic communications network, what public benefits should the city receive in return?

New Cable Giant Would Dominate the Broadband Internet, Stifle Diversity

Center for Digital Democracy
29 April 2002, Washington, DC

In joining 37 other organizations petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to reject the proposed merger of AT&T and Comcast, the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) outlined several