As we look back over the 18 years since the creation of BCAT we can see that many of the things that were envisioned as possible as part of a vibrant local public access programming organization have been realized. With each passing year we have seen more and more innovative and creative programming produced by local residents and coming from all three segments of BCAT's mission statement.
Public, educational and governmental programming have all increased in both the size of the viewing audience as well as the pool of residents who participate in the creation, production and on camera activities.
The result of this success is that BCAT is becoming more and more an integral part of the fabric of the community. Politics, religion, education, public safety, business, sports, and local and national affairs are all regular fare on the BCAT viewing schedule.
As much as has been done we must remember that community programming is still in its infancy and there is much more which can and will be accomplished.
In governmental programming we are seeing more and more of the actual inner workings of the boards and town management however still not all of the activities of town government are public. Wherever possible BCAT and boards and committees should continue coordinate to allow for viewing of public proceedings. The televising of the Ways and Means committeee should be the next priority.
With the decline in the amount of print media coverage we have experienced over the years it is vital to the interests of the town that not only do we have more local news coverage but that we also encourage critical analysis and divergent opinion of what that news and information means to the community. BCAT is the singular best opportunity within the town to encourage greater voter awareness on issues of the day. By encouraging public discourse, the greater awareness and ensuing interest in issues is the best tool that the community can utilize to combat general apathy in the political process. In addition greater knowledge of the entire governmental process offers the hope of increasing the number of residents interested in joining the political process and perhaps becoming Burlington's leaders of tomorrow.
Public programming has also come a long way yet still has room for enormous growth. BCAT's mission statement clearly delineates areas that can be exploited more fully. Individual expression, cultural exchange, and art appreciation are areas that offer opportunities to further enrich our community. Additionally, Burlington's long and proud history has only begun to be explored in this medium. In the coming years it is expected that the people, places and events which have contributed to making us the community we are will be chronicled and will bring life to those things in a way that only multimedia can fully exploit.
Our educational channel also offers great potential. In the corporate world there has been a dramatic increase in education by melding the use of the television and the internet to deliver high quality interactive training directly to the employees desk on a daily basis. So to can the general public gain this type of education through the type of system which BCAT controls. Today's ever changing world requires us all to be adaptive to change and be quick on the uptake to new learning. The need of the resident is great, the system is in place for delivery and soon we will be seeing greater content available for delivery to the adult education market.
BCAT has potentially a large role to play in public safety in a number of areas. The police department and BCAT already collaborate through the town's fiber optic net for such things as snow emergencies and other announcements. With the advent of statewide and national programs such as amber alert that collaboration may increase. Additionally with the advance of interactive TV and the aging of our population we may see the system potentially evolve into an even more enhanced 911.
In order to fully achieve those goals, which BCAT envisions, and those, which have not yet even been imagined, we require one most important thing. Continued support from town leaders, is a necessity, acceptance from town residents is a must but most importantly for community programming to deliver on its potential it must maintain a stable platform of technology and the necessary expertise to maintain that technology at its highest level of productivity.
In order to accomplish that, BCAT must have a stable and reliable revenue stream. To date that revenue stream has been reliable and uninterrupted. I would hope that the town's leadership would insist that the existing commitment to that stability remains intact in any new agreement between the cable TV providers and the community.
