These are difficult days for journalists. From the White House’s unprecedented banning of CNN, MS Now, and Politico to the assault on public radio and public television and the general collapse of traditional media funding through advertisements, we live in a world of information chaos in which reporters are cast as “the enemy of the people” while too many Americans are getting their news, if you can call it that, from bots and (as the kids say) randos on TikTok.
Those who understand the need for real news — provided by hard-working journalists toiling to proper industry guidelines and ethical standards — are fortunate here on the South Fork to be served not just by good newspapers that are holding the line but also to have a public-access television station over at LTV in Wainscott.
But right now, if it is going to continue to hold fast as a source of crucial information (and, by extension, keep standing as one of the pillars on which good local government stands), LTV needs viewers’ and concerned citizens’ help in an unexpected way: through support for a bill introduced in the New York Assembly earlier this year. The bill is the Technology, Education, Arts Through Media Act (TEAM NY Act) and it would modernize the way public-access channels are funded, ensuring their survival.
Public access channels have, according to our friends at LTV, long gotten their major funding through a franchise-fee calculation that is toggled to cable-company subscriptions and revenue. Basically, when Optimum pulls in more revenue, the cut being passed along to local governments in exchange for the right to run cables on public lands — and the cut of that being handed along to channels like LTV in turn — grows. And when the cable company loses subscribers and its revenue shrinks, the amount being given to government and onward to public-access channels shrinks with it. Obviously, more and more people are cutting the cord and going cable-free in 2026, and that’s a problem. According to New York’s Department of Public Service, cable-modem internet service is not subject to this cable franchise fee.
A nonprofit channel in the Bronx called BronxNet is working with a statewide coalition of community-media groups to get the TEAM NY Act into law. In short, the concept is that there would be a 5-percent excise tax imposed on video-streaming providers’ gross receipts to support a fund for community media and broadband access. Netflix, Hulu, et al., would be taxed so that nonprofit public channels could survive.
LTV does a lot for East Hampton. It airs government meetings, including work sessions, planning and zoning boards, architectural and design review boards, and meetings of the town trustees. It also covers the East Hampton and Springs school boards. These meetings are recorded and made available live on YouTube or cable TV. LTV also preserves local history in its video archives, a priceless resource. It is a sorely needed forum for community gatherings. And, of course, should you choose to become a TV star in miniature with your own cable-access show, it’s there to teach you the ropes and get you on the air.
We hope State Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni and State Senator Anthony Palumbo will become co-sponsors of the TEAM NY Act. The South Fork can’t do without LTV.