Plucky independent TV channel hangs on

(Second in a two-part series).

At this point in its brief life, Lynchburg’s independent community television station is so far under the radar that it doesn’t even have a single identifying number.

Phil Spinner, who does production work for the station and brought it back from earlier extinction, explained to me several times where it can be found, but I remained bewildered. So as not to misquote him, this is what I think he said: If you have Comcast cable and a digital tuner, the station is at 190 on the dial; if you don’t, it’s at 59.

How confusing is it?
“I have two TV sets in my house,” Spinner said, “and both pick it up at a different place.”

It gets worse. If you have satellite TV, you can forget about seeing Wally Roach’s animated music/political program, or Linda Smith interviewing community philanthropists, or any of several religious programs. Public access TV was always a part of Comcast’s agreement with the city, and with Comcast it remains — even if the cable company isn’t paying for it any more.

The studio is on the third floor of the Main Street Galleria, and Spinner does most of his taping when the building is empty at night. Some of his equipment came from a discount house, the rest off eBay. Spinner also oversees the city government channel, working on the independent gig in his spare time.

So there is a pulse beating in independent community TV, but only barely.
“I think there’s a lot of potential here,” Spinner said. “This thing is, we’d need to get some sponsorship.”

As it stands now, anyone who wants a show —- “producers,” Spinner calls them — has to pay a modest fee for the privilege.

What local independent TV (Spinner doesn’t like to use the term “public access” any more, perhaps because public access has become so problematic) has going for it, however, is the fact that people absolutely love to see themselves on the air.

My daughter Cindee is a good example. At least three times, she has been ambushed in a parking lot by a WSET crew and asked a question about some issue of the day. She always calls me, all excited, and says: “I’m going to be on the news at 6! You’ve got to watch it!” She hasn’t made the cut yet.

For time is at a premium for our hometown station. Not only is WSET charged with covering Lynchburg in a relatively short span of time, minus commercials, but Roanoke and Danville, as well. While adding another half hour at 7 has helped some, a lot of stories are still dealt with in the blink of an eye. They do the best they can, and that’s not going to change.

Yet when Wal-Mart opened its Old Forest Road store back in the fall, there were Smith and cameraman Melvin Carpenter, interviewing everyone in sight for a half-hour program. It’s the kind of coverage that reflects a famous quote from Abraham Lincoln: “For people who like that sort of thing, that’s just about the sort of thing they’d like.”

Not everyone is going to watch 30 minutes of TV about Wal-Mart. But I’ll bet anyone who was there that day would have been glued to the tube (provided they had cable) had the program aired. (It didn’t).

To me, the possibilities are endless. When one of the local high school sports teams travels to another part of the state for a playoff game, public access could broadcast it. I guarantee there would be no problem selling ads in, say, Amherst County if the Lancers were playing.

Lynchburg televises its City Council meetings. Why not take cameras into all the board of supervisors meetings in the surrounding counties?

Public access could clear more space for political candidates’ debates. It could do special features on local issues or interesting people. If some community icon, like Jerry Falwell, were to pass on to his or her reward, they could do a memorial show interviewing friends and acquaintances. Or, in some cases, even televise the funeral.

What Spinner is looking at is a yawning gulf between here and there, filled with a rushing river of red ink. Still, there is hope.

In the meantime, you might check out the community station. If you can find it.