Higgins, John W. 1994. "Tracing the Vision: A Study of Community Volunteer Producers, Public Access Cable Television, and Empowerment." Dissertation. Ohio State U. Ann Arbor: UMI. 9517017. Notes appear at the bottom of this chapter.

All pages of this site copyright John W. Higgins 1994. Permission is granted to use these materials for non-commercial, educational purposes, with proper citation.

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This study has focused on the empowerment vision of public access cable television, where video training and participation are said to lead to media literacy, media demystification, and empowerment. This vision is an attempt to address societal inequities in the United States, particularly within the electronic mass media. This study tested the empowerment vision of public access as it related to the experiences of community producers at a public access facility.

Specifically, this study: (1) defined the terms of media literacy, media demystification, and empowerment; (2) investigated the relationships between media literacy, demystification, and empowerment through the various literatures of public access, critical pedagogy, and media education, resulting in the video empowerment chart; (3) tested for evidence of awareness and/or action within the areas directed by the video empowerment chart, with particular focus on evidence of structural change, considered the highest level of empowerment; and (4) analyzed the data for issues and connections directed by the sensitizing concepts and the producers themselves.

Chapters 1 and 2 investigated and defined the key terms "media literacy," "media demystification," and "empowerment." Media literacy is considered an ability to "read" and "write" media programs by breaking on-screen productions into component elements, evaluating them, and thereby disrupting the "seamless," "natural" sense of television programs. Media demystification is the ability to recognize and evaluate the complex systems and relationships involved in the creation and distribution of media products, and their connection with broader societal issues. Empowerment refers to an awareness of self, others, and society, with action to change power relationships within each of these spheres. Action to change societal relationships is considered the highest level of empowerment.

Chapter 3 described and outlined the various qualitative methodological perspectives directing this study, particularly that of Sense-Making.

Chapters 4 and 5 provided quantitative and qualitative analyses of data, probing the connections between media literacy, demystification, and empowerment.

This chapter presents conclusions of the test for empowerment addressed by this study.

Findings

The major results of the deductive and inductive analysis stated in chapters 4 and 5 will be addressed below. They are:

1. Media literacy is an outcome of the public access experience for all the producers taking part in this study. Media demystification is an outcome for many, but not all.

2. A new awareness of self is an outcome of the public access experience for some of the respondents; most also experience a new awareness of others. This is best considered within the context of access as process, below.

3. Public access participation encourages a process by which producers move outward from the self to others, and to society--including government and other institutions and organizations.

4. This process outward does not include free speech concerns; producers construct freedom of speech as an individual right rather than a social good.

5. Producers are not changing society through direct, Freirean-defined action and reflection.

6. Societal change within the access facility involves a dialectical relationship between the individual and the collective; a transformation on the personal level affects the collectivity.

Other findings discussed in chapters 4 and 5 are presented below. These will be addressed only insofar as they relate to the previous findings:

7. Producers construct a view of themselves and others partly within the framework of a sense of "community." The communities include the production group, the access facility, and the viewers of access programs. A stronger sense of community is experienced within groups sharing a common purpose.

8. Producers construct a view of themselves and others partly within a framework of tolerance. Respondents develop tactics to overcome deep ideological and personal divisions within the access facility. Personal divisions are more likely than ideological divisions to cause producers to withdraw from access participation.

9. A dialectical relationship exists between individual crew members/producers and the collective crew/access facility/broader society. Positive experiences with the collectivity result in a bonding, a "community"; negative experiences cause producers to withdraw from the collectivity. The most likely cause of withdrawal from the group is a negative encounter with a difficult personality; ideological differences are offered sanctuary by First Amendment dogma.

10. The ACTV volunteer system is a major force in motivating producers to work together, as is the nature of the production process itself.

11. Survival plays an important role in motivating producers within the areas of production, personal, and societal participation.

12. Producers have constructed a notion of audience that is personal and active rather than faceless and passive. Most producers consider their viewing audiences as they construct access programs, and producers believe that the viewing audience for access programs is underestimated. An interactive community exists among producers and the viewers of their programs.

13. Some respondents hold an expanded view of the appropriate level of participation by producers within the structure of access management and policy formation.

14. Access provides the opportunity to address some economic barriers and generate income through entrepreneurial ventures. Such opportunities are not encouraged by current access structure and policies.

The ramifications of these findings on relevant areas of scholarship and practice are discussed below.

Discussion

Media Literacy

The major finding of this study is the discovery that media literacy is an outcome of access participation for all the participants; media demystification is a result for many producers. All respondents are able to recognize and evaluate program content, intent, and the technical elements found within television programs. To a lesser degree, respondents utilize many of these elements regularly in the program production process. Most respondents are able to recognize and evaluate the structure of media organizations and systems, as well as connections with larger social systems.

The findings support the claims of media education that media practice aids the acquisition of the skills of media literacy and demystification. The findings also bolster critical media pedagogy's claims of the dialectic between the "reading" and the "writing" of media literacy skills. Critical pedagogy's "empowering moment," considered below, also suggests the creation of learning situations which may promote conscious reflection upon personal media skills.

The major finding of this study--that media literacy and demystification are an outcome of the public access experience for the producers in this study--supplies empirical data to what heretofore have been theories supported primarily by anecdotal evidence.

The findings support both the inoculation and critical media literacy perspectives: producers do become more savvy media "consumers"; producers' experiences may also be conceptualized within the framework of "political, social, and cultural practices" (Sholle and Denski 1993, 306). Theories within critical media education that posit that the viewing and producing activities of producers are inseparable are also upheld by this study.

Media literacy also has value in promoting analytic as well as critical thinking skills. Within the critical context, media literacy and demystification become tools for challenging the way things are, not merely devices that allow persons to function as good consumers of some commodified version of "information."

The notion that media literacy and demystification are not ends in themselves suggests a process orientation toward empowerment and social change that is strongly supported by the findings in this study. A process approach to communication studies is promoted by Dervin and Clark (1993), who directly inform the discussion in this chapter.

Access as Process

The public access vision of empowerment has been criticized as rather naive--that it believes that technology can solve structural-related societal inequities. The evidence accumulated within this study indicates that the public access vision may not be in practice the naive ideology it appears in theory. Awarenesses and actions of producers either have the potential to address or do directly address structurally based societal inequities. Most producers in this study have experienced at least one moment they define as changing their world to see a world of infinite possibilities. From a dialectically-based perspective of empowerment as process, this defining moment of a world of infinite possibilities is a step in the direction of societal transformation.

The process nature of public access has been contested by Garnham (1987), who states that "the great advantage of the `process' defense of video from the point of view of its advocates is that it cannot be tested" (67). Indeed, this study indicates quite the contrary--the process-based aspects of the access experience permeate the findings of this project. The process nature of public access has been described by Devine (1992b), who argues:

Communications technology does not automatically solve problems. The use of media for animation purposes is process rather than task oriented. The process of a community forming associations, formulating and articulating concerns, forging public discourse, achieving consensus and restructuring power relationships is probably more significant than the programs themselves, and certainly more significant than the technology used to accomplish these processes. (25; emphasis in original)

Johnson (1994) also defines the process nature of the public access experience:

When we understand that communication is based on social relationships, we see that our work [in access] is not simply `providing a communication opportunity' in some neutral way. As community media centers and media makers, our work is as much about furthering public discourse and social change as it is about making programs. To ignore that fact will only recreate the same old social patterns in a new glitzy electronic space. Taking a leadership role in media education provides us with 'the real work' to do in our communities, and it can provide us with the conceptual tools and the self awareness needed to do the job. (9)

The findings in this study concur with the perspective of Devine (1992b) and Johnson (1994), that access is best conceptualized as a process rather than within traditional frameworks of "television," "programs," and "audiences."

Access as process conceptualizes constant change within individuals and the collectivities within which they participate. Discussions regarding the nature of access with respect to the First Amendment is but one example of this evolutionary process within the movement itself. For years, access focused on rather simplistic aspects of freedom of speech that emphasized personal expression. Recently, access has moved toward more sophisticated interpretations of the First Amendment, embracing the quality of ideas over their sheer quantity. This institutional movement from the speech rights of individuals to the discourse needs of a society parallels what seems to be the movement outward from the producer to include others and the broader society.

Access as a process addresses the criticisms that video training in the access context focuses on technology as a panacea for social ills. Instead, video training and participation is seen as a means to an ends, rather than the objective itself. The process orientation is important when considering future applications of technology for social purposes, such as those suggested with the National Information Infrastructure.

Given this process-orientation of access, it seems pertinent to begin discussions regarding the level of participation appropriate for volunteer producers. The access ideal of increased public participation within societal structures suggests that producers, community television, and the society as a whole will benefit from an expanded management role in the structure of public access; the findings of this study support this position. With access conceptualized as a process of evolution, volunteer participation within the structure of public access and the formulation of public policy is a logical next step.

The discussion of access as a process is related to the conceptualization of empowerment within a similar framework. This is explored below.

The Nature of Empowerment

The findings of this study add to discussions regarding the nature of empowerment found within critical pedagogy. The manner in which participants frame empowerment primarily from within the personal sphere is a major contribution of this study to the contest within critical pedagogy. Such a perspective is given cursory attention by Freire, who merely implies the importance of the personal realm in his discussions of societal change.

It is a finding of this study that empowerment builds from the personal and extends outward to include others. As one's life is changed by a transformed sense of self, the lives of others around are touched as well. Society, comprised of groupings of individual "selves" and "others," is subtly changed as a result. This subtle shifting of personal awareness occurs more often within this study than does a conscious effort at changing the power relations within society--usually interpreted as an overt challenge to power.

According to Freirean standards, little societal change is taking place within the public access facility. Freire's overemphasis on action in the societal realm and lack of attention to the role of individual transformation on societal change, seems to misinterpret the nature of societal change. Social transformation seems to involve a dialectical relationship between the individual and collective. A focus on personal transformation as a part of social change is not a pluralist obsession on individualism, but a dynamic process of interaction between the individual and the collectivity.

These findings also provide direction for contemporary critical pedagogists who place emphasis on empowerment that is primarily within the realm of awareness, with little or no action within either the personal or societal arenas. Awareness does seem to be part of initial steps on the road to personal and societal change, and may be an appropriate orientation for a pedagogy operating within institutional education.

Classroom-bound education can benefit from an understanding of the situations which encourage individual and collective growth from an experiential learning perspective. The findings of this study address the nature of the life-long learning practices of respondents outside the educational institution--within the public access context. The importance of the "empowering moment" is suggested: a moment when the producer becomes fully aware of a new process, new skills, or a new way of perceiving the world. Such a moment parallels Freire's "limit situations" (1970b) which, once overcome, inspire hope and confidence to overcome additional situations (89-90).

This suggests that similar situations involving adult learning might construct the learning experience with an eye to such moments. A greater understanding of the manner in which these situations further the learning process is possible by using Sense-Making to analyze the data, as discussed later in this chapter.

Access and First Amendment Practice

The primary contribution of this study to discussions of the First Amendment is the recognition that respondents adopt particular strategies which allow them to tolerate and/or accept the ideological differences of others. Further investigation in this area, utilizing Sense-Making analytic tools (discussed below), will provide insights into the manner by which individuals construct the day-today practice of democratic ideals.

This study also describes the manner in which participants frame their access experience. Respondents overwhelmingly conceptualize access within the First Amendment framework of individual expression rather than public good. This is in keeping with the framing of the access experience within a personal context, and may be related to the respondents' use of freedom of speech dogma to "escape" from undesirable ideological situations. It may also reflect the fact that access has only recently begun to widely emphasize the quality of ideas for the public good rather than quantity of ideas for personal expression.

A deeper understanding of this phenomenon might be provided by utilizing Sense-Making analytic techniques, as discussed below.

Sense-Making

The findings of this study confirm some of the Sense-Making theoretical premises: that individuals operate from a personal framework that includes a dialectic relationship with the collective; that individuals seek help to bridge what they see as gaps in their lives, and construe the information as helpful in this context; and that information is used as a means to an end, not as an end in itself. Sense-Making's perspective of communication practice as a process is also strongly reinforced by findings throughout this study that address the process nature of the respondents' public access experience, and the nature of empowerment.

While this study has utilized Sense-Making theory and data collection methods, it has not employed Sense-Making as a method of data analysis. Such an analysis is based on the idea of the "gap" as described in chapter 3, and focuses on respondent behavior. The method circles a particular moment as defined by the participant and how he or she attempted to bridge the discontinuities of the moment (Dervin 1992). The data is explored with an eye toward these "step-takings"--the "hows" of communication practice (Dervin and Clark 1993).

Future analysis of the data in this study using Sense-Making techniques will provide insights into the process by which the concepts of tolerance are engaged processually, and the situations best suited to encourage empowering moments of learning. In such an analysis, the data will be analyzed more with an eye to what procedures respondents enact to deal with the differences rather than what they have to say about tolerance.

Utilization of Sense-Making analytic techniques is but one recommendation for further exploration of the access phenomenon; others are suggested below.

Additional Areas for Future Research

While recognizing that access is best viewed from within a process orientation that does not consider the viewing audience in the traditional media sense, access will continue to be judged by the programs that make their way into the viewers' homes. As a result, it is imperative that researchers investigate the relationship between the programs and the viewers--from traditional and critical perspectives. The questions of numbers and meaning-making are both relevant to an investigation of access from the viewers' side of the experience.

The findings of this study are applicable only to ACTV and the producers taking part in this project. Related studies with appropriate quantitative methods may provide a useful framework for these results within a broader context.

This study has focused on active producers within the access facility. Further insight might be provided by conducting similar investigations with other groups within the access facility: "armchair" producers, volunteer crew, and staff. Also, an understanding of the access phenomenon might be augmented by the inclusion of those who never return after the initial orientation session (see chapter 3).

Further research is warranted into the training practices in use at access facilities. An analysis of the data with a focus on training, and utilizing the Sense-Making procedures described above, would contribute to an understanding of the situations and practices that encourage the development of self-empowerment and societal change.

Public Access: A Final Word

This study has explored the empowerment vision of public access cable television, and concluded that the vision does provide some measure by which the social structure of the nation is addressed by participants. Rather than direct, radical action, access encourages a more evolutionary growth of outward movement from individual to collectivity, transforming both in the process. Access, then, does fulfill to a limited degree some of the goals the movement adopted during its inception in the late 1960s and early 1970s: social change through public participation in the electronic media.

However, I must admit to a sense of discomfort at the rather pristine nature of the conclusions of this study. As a scholar, and one operating within the critical/cultural perspective, I am distrustful of conclusions such as these that primarily serve to support an existing system, particularly one in which I have a vested interest.

I do find some solace in viewing this project as yet another process of exploration and growth. Seen from this perspective, having completed a test for empowerment the next step might be to begin to re-evaluate the access goals of social change through media participation within the context of the twenty-first century, or to question the economic and social trade-offs involved in providing the public access to the electronic media.

At this point, there is little doubt that the nature of public access sets it apart from the activities of other societal institutions. The experience is a mixture: part expensive toy, part creative endeavor, part individual challenge, part team effort, part educational experience, and part First Amendment practice. Public access differs from other organizations and institutions primarily in that it operates with the stated goals of providing a voice for the previously disenfranchised within the broader discourse of the society, cultivating a sense that people can change their institutions and society, and acting as an agent of that social change. Access accomplishes these through the vehicle of a pragmatic, grassroots orientation to video skills training that has parallels to literacy education.

To a limited degree, public access does fulfill its mandate. Participation in the creation of television programs not only allows persons to become more discriminating viewers, it allows them to actively speak out in the media. Access provides a foundation which encourages individuals and groups to believe they can make a difference on the broader society, and to participate in the workings of the democracy. Indirectly, public access also has the potential to address some of the structural inequities within the society.

The multi-faceted nature of the access experience is best described by one of its participants. Daniel addresses the many aspects of community television as they relate to the lives of the access participants:

Daniel: ... There is a lot of people that come in there and they'll take the classes and they don't understand just what the television media is about. We're not out there doing you know the same as Channel 4 news. We are out there trying to present a thought or an idea most times. We are not professional people. We are you know engineers, housewives and everything else but we're trying to learn how to cope with our society as far as the media that we use all the time which is now television, to better understand it, to use it, to make -- to have fun a lot of times. Produce you know a program that has some context that you know will give someone else the philosophy that you have. Hopefully it is a good show. (B6)