Interactive Telecommunications and
Local Community Processes
Two-way cable television has vast potential for addressing the
communication needs of both the private and public sectors in urban
areas. Although there has been extensive discussion of potential
applications of two-way cable television, few public uses have actually
been developed. This can largely be attributed to uncertainty about
the costs and benefits of such applications. This paper reports
on an experiment which is supported by the National Science Foundation
and designed to assess the role of interactive telecommunications
in the provision of urban services. The project is being conducted
by the New York University Alternate Media Center, School of the
Arts and the Graduate School of Public Administration over a thirty-month
period.
This experimental system is a prototype for public uses of two-way
cable television in urban communities. The purpose of the research
is twofold: to determine the costs and benefits of using interactive
telecommunications to deliver public services and to evaluate the
impact of this communication technology on citizens and urban service
delivery organizations.
New York University, in collaboration with local public and private
organizations, has designed and installed an interactive cable television
system. The system has been established to serve senior citizens
and public agencies in Reading, Pennsylvania, an industrial city
of 88,000 located approximately 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
The system consists of three interconnected neighborhood communication
centers which are located in a multi-service center and two senior
citizen housing projects. Local government offices and high schools
are also connected to the system as are the homes of local cable-subscribers.
Programming over the system is designed to provide information and
referral for social services, education and training, and citizen-government
interaction.
The neighborhood communication centers are equipped with portable
television cameras and monitors which permit two-way communication
among the three centers. Initially, special converters were installed
in the private homes of approximately 125 elderly citizens to allow
them to view the cable programming over their home television sets
and to participate by telephone. The positive response by homeviewers
to the interactive programming led to the subsequent decision to
extend the programming to the 35,000 local cable television subscribers.
Programming over the system consists of daily, interactive sessions
which originate from the neighborhood communication centers as well
as from various remote locations such as the City Hail, the local
office of the Social Security Administration, the County Court House,
and several high schools. The programs, which are transmitted two
hours a day, five days a week, include citizen-government interaction,
information and referral on social services, and education and training.
The basic methodology for assessing the effect of the two-way cable
television system employs treatment and control groups which are
examined on a before and after basis. Control and experimental groups
have been designated for each of the neighborhood communication
centers which are located in different kinds of residential sites.
The evaluative research allows service delivery to be analyzed in
three contexts: two-way cable; one-way viewing with telephone call-in;
and those with no access to the system at all.
In Spring 1975 implementation and research efforts were initiated
in Reading. This involved hiring and training local staff, selecting
and installing equipment, and identifying and contacting various
community organizations. Simultaneously, the design of evaluative
instruments was undertaken by both the research team and social
service agencies. Programming began in January 1976. By that time,
many senior citizens, agency-users, and representatives of local
organizations had acquired familiarity, skill, and experience with
the technology.
The design and implementation of this experimental cable project
have been the product of three criteria: the needs of senior citizens,
the technical configuration of the cable system, and the requirements
of evaluative research. The strong and active involvement of senior
citizens and local community groups has been an essential component
of this project. Senior citizens participate in virtually all aspects
of the interactive cable system from planning to actual production.
They are responsible for planning and developing software and are
involved in the operation of the neighborhood communication centers
and technical equipment.
A diversity of public and quasi-public organizations use the interactive
system to communicate with senior citizens. More than seventy agencies
have participated in the programming. Twenty organizations are regular
users of the two-way cable system and fifty have appeared on an
occasional basis. Educational institutions account for 15 percent
of the organizational programs, local governmental units comprise
21 percent of such programming, and social service delivery agencies
are responsible for 49 percent of the programs.
At the present time, the two-way cable system is operated by a
local non-profit corporation, Berks Community Television. This corporation
was created to take over the interactive cable system at the termination
of the experimental phase in February 1977. It represents a broad
range of public and private institutions in the local community.
The interactive cable system has generated a wide array of effects
on both individuals and organizations in Reading. Senior citizens
constitute 16 percent of Reading's total population and are significant
consumers of public services. Moreover, they often face substantial
problems of limited mobility and access in obtaining the services
they require. The two-way cable system has emerged as a means for
the elderly to communicate with each other and with public agencies.
Furthermore, it serves important social and political purposes by
reducing isolation and providing a forum for the elderly to participate
in local government processes.
One area in which programming over this system has proven to be
particularly effective is that of citizen-government interaction.
Regular weekly programs are conducted in which senior citizens can
communicate directly with elected municipal and county officials.
Senior citizens utilize these programs to articulate their preferences
about public goods and services provided by local governmental units.
Requests for information, specific demands, and evaluations of municipal
policy are made for such local issues as street repair, water supply,
housing, property taxes, and safety.
These programs allow senior citizens to participate directly in
public affairs without encountering the time and travel costs of
visiting City Hall or the institutional and psychological constraints
of participating in formal public meetings. The interactive cable
system personalizes the contact between citizen and public official
and enhances the traditional functions of local government officials.
Elected officials are able to obtain accurate and regular information
on citizen concerns without leaving their offices, and can also
use the cable system to explain the constraints and dilemmas they
face in resolving urban problems. Thus, the overall level of information
about urban conditions is increased for both citizens and public
officials.
The character of citizen-government interaction on the Reading
cable system is in sharp contrast to the type of interactive telecommunications
most frequently proposed for use in local political processes: polling
and referenda through digital return systems. The experience in
Reading indicates that regular teleconferencing between citizens
and public officials should be seriously considered as a mode of
communication in local political processes. It allows citizens to
transmit their demands for public goods and services to local decision-makers
on a regular basis and permits policymakers to obtain first-hand
information from consumers of local services. Moreover, such teleconferencing
can be readily incorporated into the structure of urban government,
for it compliments existing communications processes and does not
entail extensive modifications in the daily operations of local
government.
Social service programming consists of information exchanges between
senior citizens and representatives of the Social Security Administration,
County Board of Public Assistance, and other social service agencies.
In addition, information on health care and medical services is
transmitted on a regular basis. Adult education programs are conducted
by the local branch of Pennsylvania State University and several
high schools use the cable system for social studies classes in
which students discuss civic affairs with senior citizens.
A wide range of entertainment programs take place over the two-way
cable system. Senior citizens have created quiz shows in which homeviewers
and participants at the neighborhood communication centers compete
for prizes. In addition, there are poetry readings, sing-alongs,
and programs which highlight the local history and folklore.
There are approximately 35,000 subscribers to the local cable company,
ATC-Berks TV Cable Company. A survey of subscribers was conducted
in November 1976, just one month after programming had been made
available to the entire community. Nearly one-fourth of ail subscribers
in the survey reported that someone in their household had watched
the interactive cable programming. Moreover, almost half of the
cable subscribers were elderly or had an elderly person living in
their household. These findings indicate that there is a large potential
audience for such cable programming in urban communities oriented
toward the elderly.
The interactive cable system in Reading has provided a human and
technological framework for the development of a broad range of
public service programming. Public officials, service agencies,
and senior citizens are able to determine if and how two-way cable
television can serve their particular needs and then design programs
which are conducive to their communication requirements and processes.
The Reading system does not depend on elaborate technological equipment
but rather on the capacity of individuals and organizations to formulate
new uses of two-way cable television within a community based and
operated system. The Reading system encourages the development of
a variety of new applications. The 'open-ended' character of the
system has led to the rapid diffusion of this technology to other
governmental units in the community.
The findings of the Reading cable project indicate that public
agencies utilize interactive telecommunications for a variety of
reasons; however, production efficiency in the provision of goods
and services is rarely the basis for organizational participation
in the cable system. Public sector organizations obtain a variety
of benefits from participation in the two-way cable system. Certain
agencies regard the interactive cable system as an innovative means
of providing outreach services which are otherwise conducted through
staff visits to individuals and community centers within the urban
area. The municipal and county governments view the cable as a mechanism
for obtaining citizen feedback on public policies and programs,
while other service agencies utilize the two-way programming to
disseminate information to clientele who are traditionally hard
to reach. And, for some organizations, the system serves as a valuable
tool for gaining exposure and enhancing organizational status in
the community.
In the past, a number of factors have limited the application of
new technology in local government. A critical factor in the success
of the Reading project is that the two-way cable programming does
not conflict with the traditional norms and practices of the service
delivery organizations. It is clear that, if two-way cable television
is to be adopted by local units of government, it must correspond
to the current needs and values of service delivery organizations.
For the elderly, the two-way cable programming has only partially
led to greater utilization of social services. A far more pervasive
set of effects has been in the social psychological health of the
senior citizens and on their relationships with local officials
and the community at large. The two-way cable programming serves
as an important vehicle for social interaction and participation
in community affairs. It has provided a means for improving the
responsiveness of public officials to the distinctive needs and
interests of the elderly population. Moreover, the interactive cable
system personalizes the communication between citizens and local
officials. Telecommunications eliminates the impersonality of bureaucratic
structures and thus humanizes the relationship between the individual
and the government.
The senior citizens in Reading have also developed a high degree
of personal efficacy through their involvement in the cable system.
Their access to, and control over, the public service programming
has enhanced their overall visibility in the community and provided
a forum for communicating with each other in a collective setting.
Furthermore, the participation of senior citizens in the planning,
production, and programming has created a situation in which their
skills and experience can be effectively utilized.
The results of this study illustrate the capacity of interactive
telecommunications to reach specialized groups within large central
cities. The Reading project provides a multiplicity of services
over two-way cable television to one distinct population group:
senior citizens. The elderly represent a growing segment of the
population which can be effectively served by broadband communications.
They have distinctive problems of isolation, limited mobility, and
particular needs for information and social services.
The potential abundance of channel space and the capability of
two-way communications suggest that the needs of other subgroups
of the urban population may also be addressed by new applications
of cable television. The challenge for telecommunications is to
create an institutional framework in which individuals and groups
can make efficient and effective use of two-way cable television.
Such a framework should allow a wide range of individuals and groups
to participate in the planning and development of public service
programming.
New public uses of two-way cable television are most likely to
succeed where they reflect the needs and interests of local citizens
and agencies. A participatory framework for testing and implementation
is necessary for the development of innovative and imaginative uses
of two-way cable television. Such a framework creates a self-generating
process in which the full potential of interactive telecommunications
can be realized in urban communities.
Originally published in Two-Way Cable Television:
Experiences with Pilot Projects in North America, Japan and Europe
W. Kaiser, H. Marko and E. White (eds.), Springer-Verlag, New
York, 1977