About Us

1. What is Community Access Television?

Community Access Television (CAT) is a non-profit organization contracted by the City of Fayetteville to provide all local residents with access to Fayetteville's public access channel.

2. What kinds of access does CAT provide for local residents?

CAT provides training, certification, and equipment for local residents to produce original programming. CAT provides a medium for local residents to air programs produced by others both in and outside the local area. CAT provides a Message board for use by local residents to make announcements. The only restrictions are that the announcements can't make direct appeals for funds; nor can they contain a call to action to purchase a product or service. Also, competitive product/service
comparison's are not allowed.

3. What's the difference between public access television and regular television?

Public access television is carried on cable, not as a broadcast channel. What this means under the law is that the government cannot place as many restrictions on content as a broadcaster can. Why? Because, the Supreme Court has said, people 'ask for' cable. They invite it into their homes by calling the cable company to sign up, and they pay for it every month.- Katherine Shurlds, J.D.

4. CAT sometimes shows programs that go beyond the bounds of broadcast television. Is that legal?

As long as programming isn't obscene, it's legal. Obscenity is not protected under the First Amendment. Indecency, however, is protected under the First Amendment.

5. What's the difference between obscene and indecent?

The US Supreme Court, in Miller v. California, has established this legal definition:

1. An average person, applying contemporary community standards, finds that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interests.

2. The work depicts, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable state law.

3. The work in question lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. To be prohibited, speech must meet all three of these steps. - Katherine
Shurlds, J.D.

6. So what about profanity and nudity?

Mere nudity or four-letter words are not obscene. They may be indecent or offensive, but are neither sexually arousing (prurient interest) or patently offensive (excessive sexual detail). - Katherine Shurlds, J.D.

7. Why can't CAT impose more restrictive standards on program content. After all, the regular broadcast channels have standards and they don't get in trouble for illegally restricting the Freedom of Speech.

CAT is not a broadcaster. Rather...C.A.T. [is] an extension of the city and the city is the government. Therefore as an organization standing in the shoes of the government...[C.A.T.'s] action is government action, also called state action. What this means is that the First Amendment applies to [C.A.T.'s] actions. [C.A.T. is] liable for violations of First Amendment rights of persons seeking to use the public access channel.- Katherine Shurlds, J.D.

In other words, if CAT were to impose standards over and above those allowed under the law, CAT would be legally liable for violating the body of law associated with the First Amendment. The actions of regular broadcast stations are not definable as state action, so they have much more leeway when it comes to restricting content.

8. If I want to file a formal complaint, what is the process?

The first step of the complaint process is to fill out this complaint form. Please fill out the form completely and remember to sign and date it. The CAT manager will investigate the complaint and respond as quickly as possible. If you're not satisfied with the manager's response, the next step would be to submit the complaint to the CAT Board, who will investigate the complaint and respond. Please date the complaint with the date it was submitted to the Board. If at this point, you're still not satisfied, the complaint can be submitted to the City of Fayetteville Cable Administrator. The Cable Administrator will take the complaint to the Telecommunications board.

9. Where does CAT's funding come from?

Many people have the idea that CAT's funding is tax-payer money, but this is not entirely true. When you pay your cable bill, Cox Comminications passes on a portion of your payment to the City in the form of a franchise fee. The franchise fee is what Cox pays the City for the privilege of providing cable service to the City's residents. A small part of the franchise fee is allocated to CAT after the fee is commingled with the General Fund. To give you an idea of how small a part, CAT's annual budget would barely cover the cost of a medium Coke at McDonald's for every resident of Fayetteville.