channelAustin’s request for proposal under consideration from the Austin Community Technology and Telecommunications Commissio

The Austin Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission (ACT&TC) met April 9 for their monthly meeting with a crowded agenda. The first item for discussion was the upcoming request for proposal response submitted by channelAustin.

channelAustin is available to anyone in the community.

The ACT&TC held its meeting at the channelAustin building, instead of the usual location at City Hall, to listen to channelAustin general manager Stefan Wray plead his case for the upcoming RFP.

channelAustin is a 501(c)(3) corporation contracted by the city of Austin to manage the three public access channels in the area, as well as the media center and equipment that come with them. “As a community media center we strive to represent what Austin is all about and to make content that is produced by the community, for the community and about the community available and accessible to everyone in Austin,” Linda Litowsky said. Litowsky is the executive director of channelAustin and 78702 media. The channels air 24 hours, seven days a week.

channelAustin is a 501(c)(3) corporation contracted by the city of Austin to manage the three public access channels in the area, as well as the media center and equipment that come with them. “As a community media center we strive to represent what Austin is all about and to make content that is produced by the community, for the community and about the community available and accessible to everyone in Austin,” Linda Litowsky said. Litowsky is the executive director of channelAustin and 78702 media. The channels air 24 hours, seven days a week.

A cameraman for channelAustin filmed the entire commission meeting for the public access channel.

As a non-profit organization, $450,000 comes from the city of Austin as a management contract agreement. Over $100,000 is raised through memberships, classes, production services, studio rentals and youth related activities like summer camps and tours. channelAustin promotes these events through the Austin Chronicle and Austin Film Society, and they also self-promote on their three channels.

Before the RFP is published, the city council collects data to determine what the community looks for in its public access channels. The city’s purchasing department then publishes the RFP and there is a three-month waiting period for all interested parties to respond. “The response to the RFP took myself and Stefan Wray almost three months to write last time, and it was reviewed by our board of directors and an outside editor before being submitted,” Litowsky said.

Litowsky speaks to the ACT&TC about channelAustin for the upcoming RFP.

After this waiting period, the purchasing department holds a conference for all interested parties and the bidding war begins. After a series of interviews and reviews by a panel, the ACT&TC recommends to city council the non-profit entity that should be awarded. The ACT&TC essentially serves as the “middleman” in the negotiations process.

“The purpose of the ACT&TC is to advise the city council on community technology, telecommunications services, new sources of funding for access television projects and other various issues that pertain to technology in the community,” John Speirs said. Speirs is a commissioner of the ACT&TC as well as a representative for Telecommunications & Regulatory Affairs for the city of Austin. “The commission receives reports and recommendations from other city boards and commissions and from city departments and then forwards these to the city council,” Speirs said.

Commissioner John Speirs (far left) and other members of the ACT&TC listen at the meeting.

“We’re looking to make sure that the network covers all of its responsibilities,” Paul Lewis said. Lewis is the assistant manager at the Telecom & Regulatory Affairs. “These responsibilities include using the public access studio and equipment and providing multimedia services to the community.”

The city of Austin has already awarded channelAustin with two previous contract agreements. The first contract period started back in October 2005 and lasted through 2011 until the city renewed it through a second RFP process. The current contract period expires in October 2015, and hopefully channelAustin will be getting started with its third session shortly thereafter.

For the past RFPs, channelAustin planned to use the funding in order to generate its own revenue, reduce costs and increase efficiency around the studio. For the upcoming RFP, channelAustin hopes to use the new funds for structural changes at the media center, but they also have an even bolder aspiration. “We will request to find sustainable funding that will help the nonprofit ‘wean’ itself off of city funds,” Litowsky said. “Also, we want to create an evolutionary way to look at community media and how to better involve the community.”

channelAustin has three channels running 24/7 on public access.

The new contract period is schedule to being in 18 months. However, the ACT&TC makes its recommendations to city council in just six months, which is why channelAustin presented its past successes and future plans to the commission. At the meeting, the commissioners seemed impressed with channelAustin’s framework for success and strategies for community involvement. However, as one commissioner pointed out, the station has no way of measuring viewership, which is a concern for the ACT&TC. For now, Litowsky, Wray and the rest of the channelAustin staff will have to wait and see which direction the city of Austin chooses to go with the 2015 RFP.