Background

     'Olelo, the access organization for the City and County of
Honolulu, is by far the largest access organization in the State,
and one of the largest in the country.(1)  'Olelo was budgeted to
received over $2.6 million for operating expenses alone in
1995.(2)  'Olelo provides PEG programming on four channels to most
of Honolulu through the Oceanic Cable franchise, except for the
Hawaii Kai area, which receives three channels through the
Chronicle cable franchise.(3) 

     'Olelo's four channels are:

     .    ATTN (Access to the Network).  ATTN is the primary site
          for public access.

     .    ATTN2 had just been inaugurated at the time this report
          was prepared, and was offering a mixture of educational
          and public access programming.

     .    TEC (The Education Channel), the primary site for
          educational access provided by the DOE, UH, and others.

     .    VIEWS, the public affairs and issue-oriented
          programming channel.

'Olelo owns a 38,101 square foot facility in Mapunapuna which it
purchased in May 1994.(4) It uses 13,735 sq. feet of the building
and plans to rent the rest.  It is the only access organization
in the State that provides community production grants to assist
in putting programming on the air.


Training

     The resolution asked whether the demand for training and
personnel is adequately being met through current training
requirements.  The Bureau looked at several issues in this area:
how the training is publicized; how often it is publicized; the
number of individuals and/or organizations trained each year; the
nature of the training program; the cost of the training program;
the evaluations received from the people who have gone through
the program; and the number of shows actually produced by the
people trained.  A copy of the survey sent to 'Olelo and the
other access organizations is attached as Appendix B.

     'Olelo publicizes its training program through its video
bulletin board, Island Info, as well as through promotional
videos.  Staff members make appearances at a variety of community
events, such as Family Day at Bishop Museum, and set up exhibits
including information on training.  'Olelo has made limited use
of radio, broadcast television, and newspaper.  In addition,
existing users are a source of publicity as they spread the word
in an attempt to obtain more crew members.  The training
publicity is continuous, but increases when the wait list for
training decreases.

     The training process is an arduous one.  For persons with
prior experience, the option of taking equivalency exams is
available.  For those without prior experience, complete training
can run up to six months.  The introductory class for the
technical certification course runs for thirteen weeks, covering
the operation of cameras and edit systems, although the separate
field and studio portions could conceivably be taken and passed
in five weeks each.  The introductory producer class covers the
process of story development from conceptualization, and runs
concurrently for thirteen weeks, with some joint and some
separate meetings with the technician course.  According to
executive director Richard Turner, a person interested in
becoming certified in both areas could conceivably take the
technical course and qualify through examination, and then
attempt to pass the producer's section on an equivalency basis.
If the person is not that ambitious, or is unsuccessful, the
person must take the other course to obtain the other
certification, thus undergoing a six month process to obtain both
producer and technician certification.  The introductory classes
are offered approximately six times per year.(5)

     The length of time this training procedure takes is daunting
to potential producers.  'Olelo's procedures required a certified
producer to file the initial request for production, but required
a technician to check out the equipment.  A producer would either
need to be a certified technician to check out the equipment, or
be working in close conjunction with one.

     Evaluation forms are given after the first, fifth, and final
sessions of the introductory field classes, and at the end of the
studio, multi-camera van, and refresher courses.

     Since 'Olelo's inception in 1990, 1061 individuals have been
certified to use 'Olelo's facilities.(6)  Of this number, 398 have
been certified in technical areas only, and the other 663 have
been certified as producers, although over half of the producers
also hold certificates in one or more technical areas.  As of
July 31, 1995, the following statistics apply:

                                                                 

         Total Certifications to Date                    Total
                                                                 

         Producer Field                                    636
        _________________________________________________________

         Technical Field                                   643
        _________________________________________________________

         Technical Edit                                    462
        _________________________________________________________

         Producer Studio                                   189
        _________________________________________________________

         Director Studio                                   134
        _________________________________________________________

         Technical Studio                                  177
        _________________________________________________________

         Technical Control Room                            154
        _________________________________________________________

         Traveling Video Producer                           72
        _________________________________________________________

         Traveling Video Director                           37
        _________________________________________________________

         Traveling Video Floor Technician                  102
        _________________________________________________________

         Traveling Video Control Room Technician            55
        _________________________________________________________

         Traveling video CG Technician                      36
                                                                 

         Total Certifications                            2,697
        _________________________________________________________

         Total Certified Individuals                     1,023
                                                                 


While these figures add up to 1061, they do not show the full
picture; the number of total certificates awarded by 'Olelo as of
the end of the second quarter of 1995 is 2697, as many
individuals hold certificates in more than one area.  Of the
total 663 certified producers, 318, almost half, received their
certification as a result of waiver through an equivalency test
process.

     Even these numbers do not tell the whole story, however.
'Olelo has had a high attrition rate, with a comparatively small
number of people who start the courses actually going on to
produce public access shows.  'Olelo's Training Assessment
Interim Report showed that 35 percent of the trainees did not
achieve certification, and another 42 percent graduated but did
not work in productions.  Twenty-three percent, or less than a
quarter, went on to create programming.

     The reasons participants cited for not continuing to create
programming were:

          70%   Lack of time for producing
          14%   Personal reasons
          10%   No transportation
           8%   Not prepared to produce
           7%   Not interested in production

     Lack of time may be related to the comparative
sophistication of 'Olelo equipment and facilities; however, it is
also strongly tied to the underlying motivations of those who
take the training.  According to one 'Olelo survey, the primary
motivation for 51 percent of the trainees is gaining practical
career skills, not to produce public access videos per se.  To
the extent that trainees come in with motives other than the
production of public access, 'Olelo's job is much tougher, as it
must inculcate not only the basic skills but the desire to serve
the community though the provision of public access services.

     For those trainees who do desire to produce public access
shows, the primary barrier is the difficulty of the 'Olelo
curriculum.  Some trainees felt intimidated by 'Olelo's advanced
equipment and the complexity of video work.  The feedback reveals
that the training attempts to convey too much information in too
short a time span, although, it should be noted, that at thirteen
weeks, 'Olelo's training is far longer than that of the other
access organizations.  Not quite half felt the program length was
just right, while just over a quarter thought that it was too
long.

     The solution to the difficulty of training is thus probably
not to increase its length.  One suggested solution is to break
the certification up into shorter, more manageable courses that
enable producers to start up sooner and with fewer basic skills
that can be added to as the producer's interest grows.

     Other reported training issues were a lack of consistency in
teaching methods by the various instructors, text materials that
were not "reader-friendly" or not accurate, and insufficient
opportunities for hands-on practice.  The
recommendations/implementations plan suggested (1) offering
instructional take-home videos to enable students to review the
in-class instruction; (2) simplify and clarify the textbook
explanations; (3) facilitate quality hands-on training by
communicating the availability of equipment and facilities for
practice purposes, making the edit facility more available to
trainees, and providing more one-on-one assistance to students in
the practice sessions; communicate more thoroughly with trainees;
(4) restructure the curriculum, including breaking up the
technician workshop into shorter courses on individual topics;
integrate technical training into the producer/director
curriculum; create a transitional mechanism to enable graduates
to gain experience immediately after certification; (5) be more
active in the post-certification phase by starting a mentoring
program, requiring trainees to volunteer for existing
productions, create studio or field training labs, and develop an
"Open Mike" format that requires minimal production skills.

     The length of the wait list and the training, plus the
concerns of the public, convinced 'Olelo to revise its training
procedures.  This new program(7) was being implemented as this
report was being prepared, so this report is unable to comment on
its actual implementation.  However, it is a positive sign that
'Olelo realizes that its current program is flawed and is
searching for a better alternative.

     As stated above, one problem in retaining producers had been
the fact that for just over half, the primary goal was gaining
practical career skills, not producing public access shows.
'Olelo is attempting to address the motivation issue by requiring
an individual to participate in a review in which the potential
trainee's motivation is assessed and alternatives are suggested
for those whose goals are not the production of public access
programs.  'Olelo considered and rejected a scheme in which all
certified producers would be required to make, and all
technicians to work on, at least one show within a six month
period, or refund to 'Olelo the actual cost of the training
program.  Apparently one of the 'Olelo options, however, will be
to train an individual whose goal is only to gain practical
skills, but charge him or her for the full cost of the program.

     The Bureau asked for a compilation or transmittal of the
course evaluations, and statistics on number of shows each
producer makes on a yearly basis, and received a copy of the
independent study of training workshops cited above in lieu of
information from the over-2000 individual evaluation forms.


Equipment and Facility Availability

     Equipment availability is limited to residents,
organizations, institutions, and businesses that reside or
conduct business within the franchise area.  Individuals residing
on military installations, such as Hickam Air Force Base, that do
not contribute to the fees that are passed on to 'Olelo, are
excluded.  Residents must be adults, or minors under the
supervision of a responsible adult.   Reservations are made a
maximum of three months in advance, and the amount of equipment
loaned will be determined by the 'Olelo staff, based on the total
number of producers divided by the total amount of equipment.
Five days before the day of the reservation, the equipment list
can be expanded if there is any unreserved equipment.  Forty-
eight hours before the day of reservation, any unreserved field
or editing equipment is made available on a first-come, first-
served basis.  If the requests exceed the equipment available,
reservations are granted according to the following priorities:

     .    Organizations that have received a Model or Community
          Productions grant from 'Olelo;

     .    Individuals or organizations with programs that both
          (1) serve the needs established in a community needs
          assessment, and (2) are tied to a specific event or
          activity that cannot be reproduced or recreated;

     .    Individuals or organizations with productions tied to a
          specific event or activity that cannot be reproduced or
          recreated;

     .    Individuals or organizations with programs that serve
          the needs established in a community needs assessment,
          and are not tied to a specific event or activity; and

     .    Any other programming tied to an event that can be
          recreated.

     'Olelo has allocated production equipment to the City and
County of Honolulu and the City administration, and allocates
equipment periodically to the state Legislature.  In particular,
two robotic units are loaned to the Legislature, until its plan
to obtain its own equipment is approved.  When the Legislature is
not in session, the robotics are made available to other groups
if they meet certain criteria.(8) 

     On occasion, these governmental entities require additional
equipment, which 'Olelo will grant them according to these
criteria:

     .    There is no significant impact on the use of the
          equipment by others;

     .    The requestor has used the designated equipment to its
          maximum potential, and/or additional equipment is
          necessary to accomplish the production;

     .    The request is minimal and limited in time; and

     .    The equipment is scheduled on a first-come, first-
          served basis.

     'Olelo's central Mapunapuna facility is available for PEG
use, but as a practical matter, the vast majority of the facility
and equipment usage is made by public access users only.  In the
second quarter of 1995 the largest user group for each of the
facilities and equipment was the public (the following figures do
not add up to 100 percent as they do not include that time that
the facility was not in use).(9) 

     Editing:

          Public:         72.4%
          Training        15.5%
          Gov't            0.2%
          'Olelo           0.2%
          Education        0

     Studio:

          Public          29.1%
          Public - EFP     8.5%
          Training         3.8%
          Gov't - EFP      2.6%
          Education        0

     Remote portable cameras

          Public:         37.7%
          Training:        4.1%
          Gov't            2.3%
          Education        0

     Consumer portable camera

          Public:         25.1%
          Training:        1.0%
          Gov't            0
          Education        0

In 1994, the public used the 'Olelo facilities 88 percent of the
time, government 5 percent, and education, not at all (Department
of Education (DOE) and the University of Hawaii (UH) use their
institutional production equipment).  Leeward Community College
(LCC) contracts with 'Olelo to allow use of LCC's excess capacity
for public access clients.  On occasion, 'Olelo itself will
facilitate a production using their central facilities.

     'Olelo restricts facility use on a monthly basis, according
to whether the production is a studio, remote, or mixed location
production.  According to executive director Richard Turner,
these time restrictions permit an experienced producer to prepare
two new shows per month, but may not provide the same opportunity
to a new producer who is still getting used to the equipment and
thus working at a slower pace.

     'Olelo gives priority for use of equipment assigned to the
City and County of Honolulu, DOE, UH, and the Legislature.  If
that equipment is underutilized, or 'Olelo has a temporary need
that will not adversely affect these agencies, 'Olelo will
reassign the equipment.  'Olelo's central facility does not grant
priority to one category of users (P, E, or G) over another.

     Removal of defective and obsolete equipment was an issue to
some producers.  'Olelo states that it maintains a capital asset
equipment inventory database that projects a useful life for each
piece of equipment and schedules a projected replacement. If a
piece of equipment needs replacement earlier, it is taken out of
the inventory and either used for parts or is supposed to be
disposed of in the following order of priority:

     (1)  Auctioned for the highest price;

     (2)  Offered to grants recipients (such as UH and DOE) to
          offset grant amounts; and 

     (3)  Disposed of by the executive director in any method
          that best serves the organization.

As a practical matter, according to Turner, the equipment is
either cannibalized to provide parts for other equipment or given
to DOE and UH as an equipment grant.  It should, however, be
noted that equipment disposal is a matter of considerable
controversy by some independent producers, who claim that
equipment disappears from use without explanation.


Cablecast Access

     'Olelo divides up its weekly programming schedule into
blocks dedicated to sixteen types of programming:  Arts and
Performance, City government issues, community information and
services, cultural/ethnic issues, economic issues,
educational/instructional, education issues, environmental/health
issues, inspiration, national/international issues, native
Hawai'i, native Hawai'i issues, personal growth, social/political
issues, sports, and state government issues.  Each show is
scheduled a minimum of four times.  Block programming is intended
to help build an audience for a channel.  Within the blocks,
programs are scheduled according to the following criteria:

     Program category, as selected by the producer

     Target audience

     Priority level

     Appropriate placement within the time block

     Whether the program contains adult material (typically
     scheduled after 10 p.m.)

     Producers may indicate a date and time of choice, which is
     taken into consideration, given the constrains of block
     programming and the scheduling priorities.

     The scheduling priorities are:

     (1)  First consideration:

          (a)  Programs created within Honolulu;

          (b)  Programs created within the State; and

          (c)  Programs created elsewhere.

     (2)  Second consideration:

          (a)  Time-sensitive programming (as opposed to
               "evergreen" programs that are not time-sensitive);

          (b)  Programs that cover events that cannot be
               recreated;

          (c)  Requests involving original premiere programming.

     (3)  Third consideration:

          (a)  Programs representing multiple speakers (as
               opposed to single speakers) 

          (b)  Shorter programs have precedence over longer
               programs;

          (c)  Programs over which 'Olelo exercises editorial
               control and/or creates have a lower priority than
               programs created by others;

          (d)  Programs that have been cablecast the longest will
               be first to be preempted, and live broadcasts will
               be considered independently.  Premieres or
               previously preempted programs will have a higher
               priority.

          (e)  All other factors being equal, if one producer's
               work has already been bumped by another, the first
               producer's work will have a higher priority than
               the other.

'Olelo also has criteria for scheduling programs on The Education
Channel, ranging from programming produced by an accredited
educational institution that is offered for academic credit, to
programming produced by an individual or agency independent of an
accredited educational institution and that does not deal with a
vocational and/or employment subject.

     To enable producers to have sufficient time to promote their
programs, 'Olelo establishes, for each channel, a scheduling
window that guarantees the time and date of the show.  The
scheduling window for ATTN and ATTN2 is six weeks; a show may be
preempted at any point up to six weeks from the date of its
premiere, but once the six week point is reached, the show is
guaranteed its placement.  The scheduling window for TEC is one
year, to allow adequate time for instructional courses to lock in
a class schedule for an entire school year.  The VIEWS scheduling
window is forty-eight hours to allow issue-oriented, time-
sensitive materials to be cablecast in a timely manner.

     A live show scheduled outside the scheduling window (i.e.,
before the start of the minimum window period) will be carried in
its entirety even if it runs over, with original programs to
follow immediately and with the preemption of repeat shows.  A
live show scheduled within the scheduling window (once the window
has started) will run until its conflict with a premiere program,
at which point it will be discontinued.  The presenter of the
live program may choose to return to the live event in progress
after the premiere programming is concluded, or cablecasting the
remainder on a tape-delayed basis.


Editorial Guidelines

     'Olelo exercises no editorial control over programs pursuant
to Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) Decision
and Order No. 154, which provides that "a cable operator shall
not exercise any editorial control over any public, educational,
or governmental use of channel capacity" authorized by the
federal law.(10)  No program is turned away on the basis of length
or content per se; the only criteria for rejection are:

     (1)  Inability to meet the requirements for technical
          compatibility;(11) 

     (2)  Programming inconsistent with PEG purposes, such as:

          (a)  Defamatory matters;

          (b)  Matters that invade the privacy of a private
               citizen;

          (c)  Matters intended to defraud the viewer or obtain
               money by false or fraudulent means;

          (d)  Obscene matters; and

          (e)  Matters concerning a lottery or similar
               enterprise; or 

     (3)  If the content is commercial. 

     Commercial content is forbidden by the DCCA rules as well as
the Decision and Order.  Specifically forbidden are:

     .    Materials designed or intended to promote the sale of
          commercial products, trade, or services;

     .    Materials containing any direct appeal for contribution
          of funds, support, or other property of value;

     .    Audio or visual reference to any business, service, or
          product from which economic consideration was received
          in exchange for the reference, except for limited
          references to a sponsor;

     .    The listing of a contact phone or number for anyone
          other than the program producer or presenter.

As 'Olelo does not prescreen its programs, a violation would only
be discovered after the program had aired.  If a program is found
to have commercial content, the producer/presenter is given the
option of removing that portion, or or having the entire program
withdrawn from the access channel.  Repeated violators risk the
loss of PEG access privileges.


Promotion

     Program listings are submitted regularly to the Honolulu
Advertiser, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and Mid-Week Magazine.
Advance notice is given on the cable system's Preview Network and
Pro-Guide.  More immediate notice is given on the access channels
themselves on their Coming-Up Next and Coming-Up Later services.
Listings contain the title, but not the content, of the show.
Program producers and presenters are encouraged to promote their
own programs, with the help of free workshops by 'Olelo as well
as a video tape available for in-home viewing.


Viewership

     'Olelo arranged for a viewership survey in December 1993,
covering only ATTN (which at that time covered both P and G
access) and TEC (E access), which revealed that 81 percent of
cable subscribers support cable access as very (32 percent) or
somewhat (49 percent) valuable.  Four in ten viewers reported
watching ATTN, and about three in ten reported watching TEC, for
a total of over half who watched either channel.  Forty-seven
percent watched neither channel.  An additional viewership study
was prepared in the summer of 1995, which showed that half of
O'ahu cable viewers reported tuning in to one or more 'Olelo
channels in July 1995.  Over eight in ten viewers surveyed viewed
access programming as valuable to the community.(12) 


Budget

     'Olelo allocates funds between the PEG sectors based on
priorities established by the Board in the strategic planning
process.  The budget is reviewed annually along with requests for
funding from each of the three areas.  The current priorities
are, first, public access, second, education, and third,
government.  Within each of these sectors, moneys are allocated
between the areas of production, overhead, administrative staff,
and the other areas through the operating budget, which is
developed by creating a business plan with public, community
policy advisory committee, and staff input and feedback.  The
budget is then presented to the program, development, and then
finance committees of the board prior to full presentation at a
board meeting.

     One of the complaints lodged against 'Olelo is that it
spends more money and resources on E and G, and less on P.  That
is not the case.  'Olelo spends over half its resources to
support P programming, about 30 percent to educational
institutions, and about 13 percent for state and local
government.  'Olelo provides more resources for P as it sees its
educational and governmental partners as more able to bring in
their own resources.(13)


Board Membership

     On the issue of whether the method of selecting its board of
directors should be changed to include the votes of cable
subscribers, 'Olelo replied that:


      As a general matter, however, we are not in favor of any proposal
      which would have certain sets [seats] received for or selected by
      certain groups.  Special interest may always come before the
      board, or lobby the board; the board itself should operate in the
      general community interest.


This is not entirely responsive; the question was whether the
subscriber votes should be included, not whether they (or any
other group) should have a dedicated seat on the board.

     'Olelo does seek public input through its various advisory
mechanisms.  It continuously solicits feedback from all users by
evaluation, suggestion box, quarterly open forum, evaluation
committees formed for particular projects, and both a community
policy advisory committee (CPAC) and educational advisory
committee.  The members are selected by staff.  The CPAC meet on
a regular basis to review reports, recommendations on new
services, and changes to policy, and to hear specific complaints.


What the State Can Do to Help Meet PEG Access Goals

     The Bureau asked for additional input from 'Olelo as to what
the State could do to help 'Olelo meet the PEG goals.  'Olelo
listed three ideas:

     (1)  The State could help by ensuring that undue political
          influence and special interests do not interfere with
          the creation and implementation of PEG access public
          policy;

     (2)  Ensure that the current funding mechanism that ties
          cable franchise fees to cable related purposes remains
          status quo; and

     (3)  Ensure that future state and federal regulatory
          developments in the telecommunications industry will
          perpetuate these public benefits to all those who
          provide video services by wire (i.e., video dial tone
          (VDT)) technologies and providers.

When asked what the State could do to help fulfill the promise of
the G access channel, 'Olelo's only suggestion was that the State
make the allocation of PEG channels consistent for all cable
operators at the rate of ten percent of capacity.


Public Comments on 'Olelo

     The Bureau received a significant amount of comments from
the public on 'Olelo.  Proponents found the training to be very
helpful and adequate, the service exemplary, and the staff
cheerful and helpful.  They spoke of encouragement, of a vast
improvement since the days when Oceanic handled public access,
and of the extraordinarily good job that 'Olelo's management is
doing.  One teacher wrote describing the award-winning programs
her school has been able to produce, thanks to 'Olelo's training
and grants.

     On the other hand, the Bureau also received complaints from
independent producers that center around the lack of
responsiveness of 'Olelo management to their needs.  This is not
a new complaint; 'Olelo's 1993 Draft Five Year Plan states that


      . . . [i]nterviews and meetings with producers surfaced
      significant criticism of the organization.  This is not unusual,
      for many access center find themselves at odds with the very
      producers who should advocates of the organization.  Producers are
      usually most concerned with the creative process of making
      television and frequently have little patience with the
      organizational and policy issues surrounding access.  However,
      they are the clients ... 'Olelo needs to find creative ways of
      addressing the perceptions and issues raised by these
      constituencies.(14) 


     The report points out seven primary differences in
perception between 'Olelo and its producers: first, there are
dramatic differences between the perception of 'Olelo's mission:
most producers define public access in terms of individuals'
access to equipment and saw other programs as competing with that
access.  Second, producers feel that they are not valued by the
organization and are shut out of the decision-making and
information loop.  They seem unaware of 'Olelo's mission and
basic policies.  Third, the producers have the perception (echoed
in comments made to the researcher) that more funds are devoted
to the E and G functions.  In fact, this is incorrect; as shown
above, the P element is the most highly funded and P users get
more facility and equipment time than do E or G.  Fourth, a small
but vocal number of producers are quite critical of 'Olelo's
policy of prohibiting producers from engaging in commercial
productions or in being compensated for those production.  Fifth,
producers want more training and more assistance during
productions.  Sixth, there are some expectations that 'Olelo
should be providing professional-level training and technical
equipment to support those aspiring to become professionals.
Seventh, an active core of producers do not support activities
that increase the load on PEG equipment and oppose any 'Olelo
program that appears to take resources away from public access.

     Some of these points appear to be the self-centered
complaints of those who seek to make money from public access
television.  One producer on O'ahu relayed his complaints about
other producers who try to earn a living by selling their
services to organizations that want to make public access
programs.  A balanced view seems to be the best approach.  As the
goal of public access is to allow for a diversity of viewpoints,
the complexity of the equipment should be kept to a bare minimum
to allow new users to learn quickly and gain confidence.
Complexity should be avoided.  On the other hand, not everyone
can make the three to six month commitment for training.  Those
who want to be able to transmit their message should be able to
make arrangements with those who have training to have their
message aired, within certain limits; hired producers cannot be
allowed to elbow out users who speak for themselves, lest access
be limited to those who can pay for it.

     Other points that have more validity revolve around the
misconception of 'Olelo's mission and allocation of resources.
There is a small, vocal, concerned group of users who feel,
rightly or wrongly, that 'Olelo is deliberately ignoring their
concerns.  'Olelo needs to take active steps to familiarize all
of its users with its full mission and to be responsive to user
inquiries, even if 'Olelo does not ultimately agree with or act
on them.  'Olelo seems to be trying to respond to these
complaints through instituting its new training program, the
details of which were not available at the time this report was
prepared.