Pubcasting + pubaccess = pubmedia?

Public access channels and public broadcasting need to collaborate, and soon. So writes Colin Rhinesmith, community media and tech manager for Cambridge Community Television in Massachusetts. He admits there's a huge cultural gap: Most pubcasters, he says, are dismissive of the so-called PEG (public educational governmental) channels; pubaccess advocates think pubTV doesn't represent the public. However, PEGs "are trusted institutions in many local communities. They are uniquely positioned to serve youth, seniors, poor people, immigrant communities, communities of color, and other historically disenfranchised groups with access to media and digital literacy training. They should receive public support to do so ..." He says many of those centers are launching citizen journalism projects, which mesh nicely with pubcasting's news push. He charted out the possible partnerships, which also include commercial news orgs.