Maximum RocknRoll

DIY Television

As the corporate controlled "news" presents no dissent to the war in Iraq, now is the time to create our own media. America might be addicted to empty television, but cable access rocks.

Fuck this U.S. war of aggression, and the media machine it rode in on. I am sick of the lies. I am sick of the manipulation and redirection and propaganda that fills the air every hour on the hour. Iraq is talked about as only a battlefield, a place where "sharp" fighting was seen in the north, and U.S. missiles "softened up" Basra. The deaths of hundreds of Iraqi civilians are glossed over, erased, made nothing but ghosts, a necessary part of war. The term, "collateral damage" was invented by the Pentagon.

When asked about the extent of Iraqi casualties toward the end of the Gulf War, then-military Chief of Staff Colin Powell blandly remarked: "That is really not a matter I am terribly interested in." The death train rattles by and the acrid smoke of burning skin fills the air as we all feel, if not see, the bombs falling in “our name” thousands of miles away, and realize that young American men and women are being sent to die for oil and power and emperor's folly.

On the evening "news" there is no discussion of repercussions, of broken towns, of the terms of occupation, or even the international meaning of pre-emptive invasion. Simply put, in our media, U.S. acts of aggression have been sanctified.

Aaron Brown, lead anchor of CNN’s coverage of the war (he’s the man at the desk, laughing with Vietnam era generals, taking us out to commercial) was recently a guest on Democracy NOW! with Amy Goodman. When challenged about CNN's lack of coverage of the anti-war movement and dissenting points of view, Brown replied, “perhaps your listeners expect a kind of 50/50 balance at this stage about whether there should or shouldn't be a war or not–in my view– it's just not a relevant question.”

"Why?"

"Because it's over-it's on, it's being done."

(Now stand behind the President and shut the fuck up.)

I know that there are millions of pissed off people in this country, and around the world, who call this war illegitimate, illegal, immoral and a crime against humanity. Where are our voices in the televised media?

Static.

By sheer luck, the same night George W. Bush gave his State of the Union address last January, I was on live television denouncing the upcoming war. At the same time Bush was claiming, “We seek peace,” on the major networks and trying to convince an unwilling public to pay for war in blood and dollars, I was calling Bush a liar and a thief on channel 9 in Cambridge.

Besides going head-to-head with the State of the Union, that particular episode was the first year anniversary of Roach Motel, a cable access show that I have been producing for the last year. Right after my guests and I talked about the war, and the imagined “threats of mass destruction,” we cut to local Boston anarco-punks Leon Czolgosz playing live in the studio, shot in front of a blue screen filled with images of devastation from the Gulf War. Later on in the show I played video footage of Aus Rotten live at ABC NoRio, and clips from the “best of” Roach Motel, including the “War and Media and Air Guitar Episode,” one of my favorites. During that episode, in between serious discussions of the media’s current role in promoting war and manufacturing consent, we held an air guitar contest. Contestants had 30 seconds to play air guitar to the song of their choice, against a backdrop of war movies and the corporate news. The winner received a prize air guitar that was once played by Elvis.

A week later that same (previously recorded) show was distributed to BNN in Boston, and Roach Motel was reaching a possible 100,000 homes and playing a total of five times a week, every week. Granted, one of those times is at 5am, but I’ve run into people who have seen it even then. Hey, insominacs deserve good television too.

Welcome to DIY television. It rocks, and this little known movement is growing every day. Cable access has been around since the late seventies, when the FCC ruled that the top 100 cable markets in the country were required to give a certain amount of their profits (around 2 percent) to cities to create cable access centers and channels. The noble idea was to offset the exclusive control corporations have on the television medium by providing residents with the tools, training and channel time to produce their own shows.

Since then, media activists across the country have lobbied for and defended cable access, and fought to create new centers. There is no national standard, and each city has to negotiate the best deal with the cable company it can. The logic for funding, besides noble ideas of freedom of expression, is that cable companies are using the public domain, laying cable under sidewalks and streets, and the city deserves a portion of the profits. That money goes to pay for equipment like cameras, tape decks, and edit suites, and a staff to run the center and teach classes.

So it’s thanks to cable access activists that I’m on television. For the past year I’ve produced Roach Motel from CCTV, the cable access center of Cambridge, MA. It’s funny that only today, I found out that George Tabb had a band also called Roach Motel. It’s a good name. It makes me think of dirty Motel 8s and the butts of good joints sitting in an ashtray. Maybe George could donate a decent theme song.

This month the theme of Roach Motel was “Fuck the War.” I showed video footage from the recent March anti-war protests in Boston and New York City, and talked to members of the M.I.T. Anti-War Coalition about local university ties to U.S. military spending and technology. Street performance artists from Class Acts and poets from the local group Dagger also performed live on air against the war. It felt amazing (and honestly, a little scary) to be on the air and yelling “Fuck this War!” only six days after the US invasion began, when all the major networks and Boston newspapers were so united and silent in their support for the war. I felt like a tiny crack in a wall of media blackout.

And, just to top it off, and give punks a little respite from the massive depression and anxiety of war, during that episode of Roach Motel I showed footage from the second day of the New York City Punk Olympics, held at CBGBs last December. Highlights included THE UNSEEN, BLIND SOCIETY, SANGRE DE LOS PUERCOS and MDC doing a great Johnny Cash cover. Oh yeah, and my band THE PROFITS played, “Fight War, Not Wars.” I would have shown footage of MOLOTOV COCKTAIL, but at the show I was too busy having a good time during their set to focus on holding a camera straight.

Cable access, for lack of a better adjective, rocks.

The point of this column isn’t to promote my show, but to let punks know how easy getting a television show of your own can be. It’s easy. It’s much like making a ‘zine or getting a band together, the more work you put into it, the better it is. You get better at it the more you practice, and you don’t need previous experience.

All cable access centers are set up differently, but there are a few basics that most centers share. First, look in your local phone book or get on the Internet to find out if there is a local cable access near you. If so, you are in luck. Call them up and tell them you are interested in producing a show, and ask what you need to do. Most cable access centers require producers to live in the town they serve, so look for an access center in your town, or have some ID in mind.

You will probably need to become a member, and pay a yearly due that helps toward supporting the center. For example, at CCTV the yearly fee is $55. However, there are usually options for volunteering a few hours of your time instead of paying dues.

Next, you need to take a few classes to learn how video cameras and edit suites work. These classes are often at night, since most people work during the day, and are pretty short and to the point. For instance, at CCTV I teach a basic camcorder class. After two and a half hours, people who have never used a video camera before are ready for their first shoot in the field. Or the punk rock show! Learning to edit takes more time and practice, but most people get the hang of iMovie, Apple’s digital editing software, within a couple of hours. How you will edit also really depends on what kind of system the cable access station has set up and what type of show you are putting together.

The good news is that you generally don’t need to buy your own equipment. For instance, at CCTV if you are creating a show to be cablecast on the station, you can check out a $1,000 camera for free. Pretty fucking cool.

More on cable access, punk rock and reclaiming the media next month.

Right now I’ve got to jump in the Profits van for a show in Baltimore, and I’ve already exceeded my word count as it is. Cable access punks please get in touch. Reclaim the media, fuck this war and up the punx- Erika ransom@theprofits.org (Also next month a PO box.) In Boston, check out channel 23, midnight on Wednesdays, for more Roach Motel.

P.S. I just realized that by the time you read this, the Profits will be on U.S. tour as we’re going in May and June. Dates are posted at www.theprofits.org and elsewhere in this mag. See ya on the road, punks! Hell ya.