Benton Community Access has been the subject of an ongoing discussion on MySaline.com lately. There was a lot of talk about policy and programming, but of particular interest was the argument regarding whether the channel should become government access. It went on for eight pages. At a point, my eyeballs were beginning to resemble donut holes, when Wireless Mike came in with what was finally a fresh opinion.

He wrote, “Wouldn't it be sweet if a couple of enterprising Saline County youths would take advantage of the public access? A Wayne's World style program could really be a hit here!”

I started to write a reply to Mike, explaining some things he might not know, since he’s a recent transplant from Louisiana. All I could think of to say to him was, “Get out of my head, RIGHT NOW!”

I was already considering coming up with some kind of content. Really. I know some others who might do the same if they knew about the opportunity. As evidenced on MySaline, there are more than a couple of opinionated people around these parts.

Reality is that there is not a majority of people subscribing to cable in Benton. We had cable once while we lived in the Salem area. We didn't keep it very long, due to the same issues listed by Benton residents in a survey recently distributed through utilities bills. Fuzzy reception, favorite channels unavailable, networks sharing a channel (something like Nick in the day and VH1 at night), DVR and HD weren’t available, poor customer service, and a high price.

The survey also said that out of the 14,000 surveys mailed out, only 958 returned them. That's roughly over 6%. That’s a low percentage of people who cared enough to find a pen, some time, a stamp and a mailbox. I bet a lot of people stopped at the first question, which asks whether they have cable service - because they didn't have it.

Would the percentage of respondents have been higher if the postage was paid? Probably. But the cable problem isn't the stamp or the distribution method - it's that people don't like to pay out the wazoo for an inferior product. Incidentally, out the wazoo is an inconvenient and uncomfortable way to pay for anything.

Something else we learned from the survey is that a lot of people think the sound quality of different channels on cable is varying, but in particular, BCA Channel 12 got a poor review regarding the audio. For those of us who grew up with radio shows like "Headphones Only" and drove cars with blistering rock electrifying our ear drums, not to mention a penchant for standing next to the ginormous speaker near the edge of the concert stage at Barton Coliseum. Whether we’re deaf or just like it loud, audio is pretty important.

In fact, there is a bill going through legislation right now that would mandate insurance companies to offer plans that include the coverage of hearing aids. That's a result of a culture of stimulated ears. Side note: my idea of novelty hearing aids shaped like Steve Martin's bow and arrow through the head may finally come true.

Let's think . What medium could the City use to inform residents, that's inexpensive to make, free to receive, can be accessed either live or on demand, and is pretty much what everybody else is doing?

Read my column from December about video streaming. You can find it on BentonCourier.com. Video streaming on the Internet is global, yet it can be local. It's a tool for residents and tourists to know what’s happening. It's a tool for local business to outreach the city borders, and for prospective residents and businesses to reach into the city.

Okay, let's get back to the public programming thing. I wonder how many people knew that I was in the movie "Wayne's World?" Yep. I was an extra for 14 hours and got a hundred dollars, two buffet meals, and the story of a lifetime, with a widely distributed feature film to prove it. Look for me banging my blonde head in front of the stage in the scene where Wayne and the his girlfriend first meet.


This column was originally published in The Benton Courier April 5, 2009. See more of Shelli's Columns.