CCTV Invites You To Celebrate 33 Years of Free Speech and Advocacy

May 25, 2017

Summer Greetings, Friends!

RSVP HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebrate-33-years-of-free-speech-with-cctv...?

Join the Party! We hope you can join us to celebrate 33 years of Free Speech and the Full Moon on June 9th from 4 - 6 p.m. at Burlington City Arts. Please bring your friends and family to celebrate the work we do together to protect local media and democracy. 

Put Democracy in Your Pocket.  In July, Channel 17/ Town Meeting Television will open the doors of local government even further with live streaming coverage of local policy meetings in Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski, Essex, Essex Junction and Williston. Wherever you are, you can tune into ch17.tv and engage with government in action!

Fight for the Set-Top Box. For more than a year, we’ve worked with our Vermont access colleagues to secure a new 11-year cable contract with Comcast. Despite a clear decision from the Vermont Public Service Board in our favor, the Company refuses to open community access to its digital HD channels or interactive program guides. Vermont’s case is likely to go to Federal Court before year end. Why the protracted fight? Because Comcast wants no interference in the control of your set-top box--the small but powerful device that delivers your cable and internet while collecting data on your usage.

Privacy and Consumer Rights at Risk. It’s no wonder that our local efforts gain importance today’s national landscape: Comcast helped Congress to roll back FCC data privacy rules in March and the FCC is working furiously to neuter net neutrality. This is why we must do everything in our power to secure community media and public networks where we live.

Now More Than Ever. We’ll stand tall against Comcast in Vermont. We’ll watch this summer’s looming sale of Burlington Telecom closely. We’ll produce and air countless programs about and with our community. And we will continue our work on important and innovative projects such as the Civic Cloud which makes local control of community content possible.

Democracy Flourishes in Sunlight. Thank you for all of the ways you make our collective work possible: as community media makers, activists and financial supporters. CCTV Center for Media & Democracy depends on all of us to keep the light shining through our front line advocacy, media education, and open networks. Please consider a gift to the CCTV Free Speech Fund or make a secure online gift at www.gvgb.co/vtgives-cctv

See you at our community celebration of free speech on June 9th! 

With abiding thanks,
Lauren-Glenn Davitian

Executive Director, CCTV