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Columbus Underground Messageboard » General Columbus Discussion
Dispatch killing off The Other Paper
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ChrisSunami
King-Lincoln District
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Sorry to hear this. I've been a big fan of TOP since it started, and still enjoyed it even during the Dispatch era.
The Alive was only ever readable during a brief period in the early 2000's... and judging by their recent staff pictures, they are now a zero diversity outfit.
Not that I'm volunteering, but it seems like the time is right for a new alt-weekly to launch. Anyone else remember "HOOT"?
Posted 5 months ago # -
heresthecasey
Funkytown
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I miss the Teet.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Bear
The woods
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I think there might be a lot of things that public access TV did that youTube can't:
Viewers were treated to a large f-bomb-spewing clown who showed, among other things, a transvestite eating dog poop. And there was the gothic-looking Damon Zex, with his trippy videos, appearing to pull tampons dipped in red from his equally freakish girlfriend.
The poo-eating antics of Angsto the Clown, better known as Howard Luken, caused an uproar in Columbus and a removal of that specific offensive episode from Community 21 at the behest of the city. Luken fought the ban in federal court, claiming his constitutional First Amendment rights were violated. A jury ruled in 1996 that the episode was indeed obscene and upheld the city's ban.
It was downhill from there for Community 21, and by 2000, the station was killed off by the sharp edge of a city budget sword.
Source: The Other Paper
Posted 5 months ago # -
NDaEast
Near East Side
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Not everybody is glued to their computers in the same way they are glued to the boob tube. Not everybody has high speed Internet (just as not everybody has cable) ... public access is another way of hitting a mass market: there is no local Youtube channel that has the viewership of cable TV.
When my nonprofit had a Public Access show about 15 years ago, I was amazed at how many people saw me the few times I made an appearance. It ranges from strangers at the grocery store, to the kids on the little league team I was coaching. You would be surprised at how many people actually stop and pay attention to the content.
An Ad Hoc group has been meeting to advocate for the return of public access. We have proposed public access tv as a membership-based organization where the members set rules that meet this community's standards. This differs from the "any thing goes" because of free speech approach taken previously. With a membership-based organization, the members set the rules and the producers either follow them, or lose their rights of membership to put content on the air.
If the City creates the access for public access, this group of people will not allow the Damon Zex's of the world to derail the chance for the public to share diverse views in this forum. Our goal is not to push the bounds of free speech and the tolerance of the citizens, but to allow a platform for thoughtful dialogue by the citizens. We have initially proposed to follow the TV broadcast standards for decency -- this is public access TV and we don't see a need to allow nudity or nastiness as part of a community dialogue. Join us if you would like to be part of the dialogue about our community standards as it relates to public access.
When you go to other cities, you see all types of programming that you don't see in Columbus, based on peoples' interests. In Atlanta last month, we watched their public access for several hours (yeah, I know, what a date) and saw shows about mountain top removal mining, PSAs about bullying, neighborhood promotional shows, and a host of shows put on by people who had issues they were advocating. It was fresh, vibrant, and informative. On the other hand, if you watch public access in NYC late at night, it is Damon Zex and Angusto the Clown on steriods. There is a sensible middle ground that content can be managed to, and it is done well in cities across the nation.
In any case, we need more and better than the 24/7/365 CTV-3 government propaganda channel of smiling council members cutting ribbons on projects they had nothing to do with.
I know Columbus projects a milque toast and astroturf image, but you don't have to scratch deep below the surface to see all the diversity and creativity in people here that could benefit this community with the larger platform that public access provides.
Posted 5 months ago # -
mrpoppinzs
Arena District
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NDaEast said:
When my nonprofit had a Public Access show about 15 years ago, I was amazed at how many people saw me the few times I made an appearance. It ranges from strangers at the grocery store, to the kids on the little league team I was coaching. You would be surprised at how many people actually stop and pay attention to the content.
Do you realize how diluted cable tv has become?
Posted 5 months ago # -
mrpoppinzs
Arena District
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I know I dropped cable tv two years ago...
Posted 5 months ago # -
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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NDaEast said:
Not everybody is glued to their computers in the same way they are glued to the boob tube. Not everybody has high speed Internet (just as not everybody has cable) ... public access is another way of hitting a mass market: there is no local Youtube channel that has the viewership of cable TV.But all of that is changing rapidly every day. It seems easier to help accomodate that change in technology (help locals obtain high speed internet access) than it would be to try to shift backwards to public access where viewership would be minimal at best.
If I want to produce video content where people can see it, I'd rather put it out there to the whole world of billions of people instead of to a local-only channel where maybe a few dozen people are watching at any given time of the day.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Walker
The KLD / Downtown / Gay Street
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NDaEast said:
If the City creates the access for public access, this group of people will not allow the Damon Zex's of the world to derail the chance for the public to share diverse views in this forum.Well, Damon Zex can do his thing on YouTube where people who want to see him can see him:
http://www.youtube.com/user/damonzex666
NDaEast said:
In Atlanta last month, we watched their public access for several hours (yeah, I know, what a date) and saw shows about mountain top removal mining, PSAs about bullying, neighborhood promotional shows, and a host of shows put on by people who had issues they were advocating. It was fresh, vibrant, and informative.You can watch Atlanta public access on youtube if you want, and save yourself a trip next time. ;)
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=public+access+atlanta
NDaEast said:
I know Columbus projects a milque toast and astroturf image, but you don't have to scratch deep below the surface to see all the diversity and creativity in people here that could benefit this community with the larger platform that public access provides.I don't see a milquetoast image, so maybe that's just a matter of personal perspective.
But I'd say that someone like DrewToothpaste is probably what you mean when you're referring to creative people in the community. And he's gotten nearly 10 million video views with Youtube, more than he'd ever get locally with a public access show:
Posted 5 months ago # -
rightofleft
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Walker said:
Well, Damon Zex can do his thing on YouTube where people who want to see him can see him:http://www.youtube.com/user/damonzex666
You can watch Atlanta public access on youtube if you want, and save yourself a trip next time. ;)
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=public+access+atlanta
I don't see a milquetoast image, so maybe that's just a matter of personal perspective.
But I'd say that someone like DrewToothpaste is probably what you mean when you're referring to creative people in the community. And he's gotten nearly 10 million video views with Youtube, more than he'd ever get locally with a public access show:
This is a thread about The Other Paper. Please stay on topic. Thanks.
Posted 5 months ago # -
jbcmh81
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TomP301 said:
This. As soon as Dispatch bought Columbus Monthly the insightful and thoughtful reporting and essays in that publication, that really helped create a feel for the soul of the city, were replaced 100% by fluff, mainly food and drink promos. Even when the cover promises something that sounds like it might be meaty, it turns out to be insipid piffle instead. E.g., something about young Obama and Romney supporters turned out to be little more than pictures of 3 young people wearing Romney tees, and 3 wearing Obama tees. (Of course, the Distort wanted to prove that Romney is cool via tee-shirts).I do have to say that, since a new editor came in a few months ago they have moved from 100% fluff to 1 or 2 reasonably substantive articles per issue. But that means it's still 90% fluff designed to sell food, drink and homes/home improvement. It's ironic that, soon after its purchase, the Dispatch version of CM was touting awards it had recently received -- all for articles by people they had already fired, with the kind of writing that is 90% gone.
BTW, one aspect of the fluff that really gets to me is their almost intolerable hyperbole. Columbus Commons is "the envy of cities all over the country," the Scioto Mile is "stupendous" (tell that to the San Antonio Riverwalk), and some pizza they're writing up is "indescribably sublime." Yech. No credibility. I'm a Columbus booster myself, but come on... (Disclaimer: Those were examples of the kind of writing CM has, not necessarily exact examples.)
To be fair, the Riverwalk is 100% lame and overrated.
Posted 5 months ago #
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