88R27545 BPG-D
By: Hinojosa H.R. No. 1677
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Austin Public, the city's public access television
station, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding in
June 2023; and
WHEREAS, Now the longest continually operating public access
television station in the country, Austin Public launched on
Capital Cable channel 10 in June 1973 as Austin Community
Television; community media activists, members of the Texas
Commission on the Arts, and radio-TV-film majors joined forces to
learn about access television, then available in only two cities,
and obtain channel space and a corporate charter; in the early days,
with no cable lines or satellite dishes in the heart of the city,
broadcasting required a trip up Mount Larson to wire a playback
device into the cable system; the first live music cablecast
involved a musician performing at the site with the city in the
background; and
WHEREAS, The channel reflected the community with its wide
variety of programming, including city council meetings, sermons,
live music, offbeat call-ins, reports on civil strife, and shows
with such unlikely titles as The Pun Zone and Face Your Pets; famed
film directors Richard Linklater and Robert Rodriguez availed
themselves of the resource, and a number of producers, activists,
and board members from the station have gone on to serve as
executive directors of access television in other cities; and
WHEREAS, Since 2015, the Austin Film Society has administered
Austin Public, carrying on its tradition as an independent,
noncommercial free-speech forum that is open to all Austinites; it
has expanded its platforms, broadcasting over cable channels 10,
11, and 16, and streaming simultaneously on the Internet;
empowering individuals and nonprofit organizations, it offers low
and no-cost training, equipment, facilities, and content
distribution to facilitate communication, community building, and
diversification of the media landscape; and
WHEREAS, For a half century, Austin Public has amplified the
voices of area residents, helping them to entertain, inform, and
maintain the city's proud reputation for weirdness, and the
community is indeed fortunate in the continuing existence of this
notable incubator for creativity and civic engagement; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate Austin Public access television on
its 50th anniversary and extend to all those associated with the
organization sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it
further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the organization as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.