Local public access TV stations may be the best kept secret in America. Where else can you get free access to training, equipment, support and the local airwaves all in one location? For small businesses, local access TV is an opportunity to produce your own TV show, become known in the community and build your reputation as an expert in your field. Local access or community media, is also known as “PEG” access, as in:

1. Public – Stations open to the community for local programming
2. Educational – Stations dedicated to educational or school-related programming
3. Government – Government access channels for town meetings and city business

It’s the "public" channel that offers the most potential, and here’s how to maximize it:

Check your local listings

Not every town has all three “PEG” outlets, but with over 3,000 community media centers across the country, chances are there’s one near you. Check your town’s Web site or contact your town hall. Another misconception: You do not necessarily have to live in the town to utilize their community access station. Most access centers are eager for new producers and new programs. FYI: The Alliance for Community Media is a national, non-profit organization that promotes and supports public access TV. They maintain an extensive database and links to local access centers. Look for your town there.

Get free training

Most community media access centers provide frequent producer orientations, equipment training and studio instruction. The focus is typically on getting you up and running in one or two sessions. Volunteers and producers are the life blood of public access, so you’ll find plenty of accommodating help.

Go make TV!

As long as you’re armed with an idea, you’re ready to produce a show. If you’re not quite ready for your close up, start by assisting with another show, or by being a guest on another’s producer’s program. There’s no shortage of opportunities in front or behind the camera, so just dive in. The Alliance for Community Media’s online bookstore also features books and videos for additional training or inspiration.

Fix it in post

You can produce your program “live to tape,” if you’re doing a talk show or just want to do your show “on the fly.” In most cases, you’re probably going to want to edit your tape. Post production is where you can make your program look more professional by editing mistakes, inserting graphics or adding music. Most home computers now include basic editing or movie-making software, and those starter programs are relatively easy to master. iMovie is ideal if you’re on a Mac; Windows Movie Maker is adequate if you’re on a PC platform. When you’re ready for more professional editing, bump up to Final Cut Pro for the Mac or Adobe Premiere for the PC.

Promote and distribute

Once your show is complete, find out from your public access station when it’s going to air so you can promote your premiere! You may find that they run it several time per week. In addition to the local airing, you should definitely consider expanding your distribution. One way to extend your reach is to ask your channel to “bicycle,” or share your show with other access centers. A more direct approach is to upload your show to free video hosting sites such as YouTube or VideoEgg.com. Most video sites restrict uploads by file size (100MB) or length. Yo go beyond the obvious sites like YouTube and Google Video, and upload your video (or shorter clips) to Blip.tv and Veoh.com. These are very-user friendly, free video hosting sites with lots of great features.

Here are a few more suggestions to keep in mind:

• Public Access TV need not be cheesy. The technology and equipment have come a long way – so take advantage of the resources available.

• Expand your video from local public access to the Internet. Web users are downloading 7 billion videos per month!

• Be sure to save your video as an electronic file for the web, such as a Quicktime movie (.mov), or a Windows movie (.wmv). After you upload your video, many video sites will provide the HTML code so you can embed your video on your own website.

• A study by the Wharton School of Business reports that video can be 600% more effective in communicating a message than print. Tap into that power!

Lou Bortone is an award-winning writer and video producer with over 20 years experience in marketing, branding and promotion. As an online video expert, Lou helps entrepreneurs create video for the web at www.TheOnlineVideoGuy.com. In addition, Lou works as a freelance writer and professional ghostwriter, with a ghostwriting site at www.GhostwriteForYou.com and a blog at www.GhostwriteGuru.com.

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