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Chapel HilTs 'People's
Channel' Provides Public
Access to Local Cable TV
By Joanna Pearson
Staff Writer
"T A That do a gay church, an exercise instructor in
\l\l her 90s and a group called Atheist Viewpoint
T * have in common?
They all appear on The People’s Channel, Chapel
Hill’s public access cable channel.
The People’s Channel is a nonprofit organization
whose mission is to provide the means and promote the
opportunity for area citizens to exercise free speech.
With a wide selection of noncommercial programming
and citizens’ “soapbox programming,” Channel 8 beams
out diverse, and sometimes controversial, selections.
“There is no censorship,” Bob Gwyn, president of the
People’s Channel Board of Directors, said. “We do not
preview the programs. We
depend on producers to guar
antee the content, and there’s
only one series we have to put
on after midnight.”
The People’s Channel is
available to anyone living in
Orange or Chatham counties.
At its studios on South Elliot
Road, the People’s Channel
offers free instructional train
ing classes and use of produc
tion equipment and studio
operating equipment.
Chapel Hill has this com
munity resource, Gwyn said,
thanks to the forethought of
certain town members.
“In 1998, a group of people
here were dissatisfied with the
public access channel and decided to form a nonprofit
corporation,” Gwyn said. “We did a lot of talking to the
Town Board and the Cable Advisory Board.”
The Cable Act stipulates that a cable company must
provide at least one public access channel if a govern
ment franchise asks for it. In the 1998 franchise with
Produced by
the People
Shows on The People’s Channel, listed
below, air at varying times each week,
'Almanac'
'Atheist Viewpoint"
'Back to Basics’
'Bell Yeager freewill Baptist Church'
'Catholic Perspective’
'Community Land Trust'
'Continuous Train Wreck"
’Cotton Patch Gospel’
'Enviro Closeup'
"Family Fun in the Triangle'
"Gospel on the Road"
'Higher Ground"
’ln Praise of Age'
'lnside North Carolina'
'K-TV'
‘Let’s Eat'
'Live at the Cave'
'Living by the Word'
'Meet the Teacher’
'Metropolitan Community Church’
[NASA Clips'
'Ora onto*"
'Perils for Pedestrians'
'Positive Progression"
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'SrigWi^Phonics'
‘Wv^eofYahweh"
Windows , >
Time Warner, the town of Chapel Hill requested not
only a public access channel, but a government
channel (Channel 18) and a channel for
University use (Channel 4).
“By the spring of 1998, (The
People’s Channel) organized a
board, rented space, and built
a studio, control room and
editing suites,” Gwyn said. S
The Board of Directors of
The People’s Channel reflects ’
the multiplicity of talents rep
resented in Orange County.
Gwyn himself is a retired UNC
professor of communication stud
ies, whose area of special interest has
People's Channel Orientation
Sessions
Feb. 13 7 p.m. —9 p.m.
March 17 7 p.m. —9 p.m.
Courses offered in:
basic studio production
character generation
basic field production
edit training
The next course in basic field
production, will be held Feb. 21 and
28 and March 7 from 7 p.m. 9 p.m.
Call 960-0088 for more
information.
“Others just like to get on TV. These are folks who feel
a responsibility to discuss matters.”
One program, called “People’s Soapbox,” allows any
one to get on TV and say anything they want for 10 min
utes. Many programs have educational content, such as
“Perils for Pedestrians,” or a program called “In Praise
UNC Grad Makes Bid for Fame
With His Own Comedy Show
By Brian Millikin
Staff Writer
UNC graduates normally shoot for the big time
by heading to New York or L.A. Troy Griffin, on
the other hand, decided to stay home and bring the
big time to Chapel Hill.
A May 2000 graduate of the School of
Journalism and Mass Communication, Griffin has
found success as producer and host of “Random
Insanity,” an irreverent variety show on Chapel
Hill’s cable access People’s Channel. The show pre
miered in December, and has quickly established
its bad self - in a good way, of course.
“I hate to label it,” Griffin said of his show, “but
it’s like a cross between ‘(The) Tom Green (Show),’
‘Jackass’ and ‘The Man Show.’”
Like those go-for-broke comedy shows,
“Random Insanity” will go to any length to get a
laugh. Segments for the show come from just about
anywhere. A stuffy Thai restaurant has become a
DJ funk party, a critical lens has been turned on a
best buns contest at the beach, and- most memo
rably -a toenail has been pulled out of a toe by
someone’s teeth.
Nudity and profanity are not obstacles on the
quest for “Insanity.” “We’re not setting out to be
profane,” Griffin said of the show. “It’s a TV show
el Hill requested not
hanncl for
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BB JB 1 n Jg
newspaperman nBNA
locumentary film
io won
for documen
show that features
ication extends to the various bands and comics.
been communi- 1
ty media.
“We have a
dedicated board,”
he said. “It’s a volun
teer board, and we have
a medical doctor, a native
Chapel Hill newspaperman
and even a documentary film-
maker who has won an
Academy Award for his documen
tary.”
This dedication extends to the
producers of programming. The
People’s Channel Studios are open
from 2 p.m. until 10 p.m. most
nights so that people can put togeth
er their programming after work.
“Some folks have a message
they want to get out,” Gwyn said.
... I’m trying to put together a show people will
watch.”
Inspiration for “Random Insanity” came before
the success of “The Tom Green Show” and
“Jackass.” “I had this idea years ago, so at first I was
pissed,” Griffin says. “But they’ve opened the win
dow, and my show’s different enough that it won’t
be labeled a copycat”
The idea to do the variety show was in the
front of Griffin’s mind his senior year at UNC,
when he worked and learned at the “Carolina
Week” news program, which airs on Student
Television.
“I took in as much information as I could there,
because I knew I wanted to do the cable show,”
Griffin said.
It was the professional atmosphere of “Carolina
Week,” not the news aspect, that attracted Griffin.
“I learned a standard of professionalism from that
show as far as quality and putting it together,” he
said.
But while his work with “Carolina Week” was
able to reach the entire audience of UNC students,
his new show does not, since neither UNC nor
Carrboro’s cable services carry Chapel Hill’s
People’s Channel. “I’m trying to get it on in
Carrboro and added to STV,” he said of the cable
crossover problem. “It really doesn’t make a whole
Thursday, February 15, 2001
of Age”
that is produced by
the Senior Center. The People’s Channel has also
broadcasted movies for the blind.
“We’re hoping to expand to less-served populations.
We would love to get a news broadcast in Spanish,”
Gwyn said. “This is a community service. We’re try
ing to use this means of communication to bring peo
ple together.”
The People’s Channel is not limited strictly to edu
cational or informational programming, however. One
series titled “Continuous Train Wreck” is a variety
s®-* 33ii aHi
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANDREW ROSS
“Random Insanity" producer and UNC graduate Troy Griffin, left, explains his craft to an
interested onlooker. The crew shot tne show live from Bub O'Malley's last Friday.
lot of sense.”
Griffin is sticking to his guns though, and pro
ducing an episode of “Random Insanity” every
week to air Saturday nights at midnight. He’s start
ing at the bottom and working up toward his life’s
aspiration: working with Oprah Winfrey.
“She embodies everything I believe in," he said.
“She’s taken her thing and helped millions of peo
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Page 5
show that features
various bands and comics.
For one stunt, the show’s pro
ducer took a video camera and rode across North
Carolina from the mountains to the sea.
And all of this is available for the mere 69 cents per
month that Time Warner charges each subscriber.
Although the channel isn’t available on the University’s
cable system, Gwyn emphasized the availability of the
resource to students interested in working on shows.
“We’re very interested in getting University students
involved.”
The Arts & Entertainment Editor
can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.
pie.”
“Random Insanity" is just a step on the way to
Griffin’s true ambition. “I want to be able to help
change people’s lives, and hopefiilly, this’ll get me
noticed.”
The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached
atartsdesk@unc.edu.
... page 6