Public Service Media (disabled)

<p>Benton believes that our democracy is enhanced by a rich and inclusive media system that values the voices of all communities. To that end, we&rsquo;ve supported research that gives us a sense of the health and well-being of public service media.</p>
<p>In April 2011, we released the results of a <a href="/sites/benton.org/files/2011%20PEG%20Access%20study.pdf">study</a> administered by the Alliance for Communications Democracy on the current state of PEG access channels. Public access channels in our communities can provide hyper-local news and public affairs programming, a kind of narrowcasting that can help us make informed decisions about our neighborhoods. The study shows that far too many PEG channels are closing or under-funded.</p>
<p>Benton also funded the pilot phase of the <a href="http://communitymediadatabase.org/">Community Media Database</a>, developed during the months of February through May, 2011. This project is intended&nbsp; to collaboratively collect and freely present information about community media providers in the United States.&nbsp; Presently it contains initial information on over 2,000 community access television providers and over 800 Low Power FM radio stations.</p>
<p>For more information on Benton&rsquo;s history in Public Service Media, <a href="/initiatives/public_service_media">click here</a>.</p>