Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#4473
JOSEPH M. MARTIN, JR.
COLLECTION OF CABLE AND LOW-POWER TELEVISION FILES
Inventory
Abstract: Correspondence and other material collected by
Joseph M. Martin, Jr., of Spectrum Communications,
Inc., Pittsboro, North Carolina, relating to cable
and low-power television. The cable television
material reflects the activities of Martin and his
company as consultants to the city of Raleigh, N.C.,
at the time of the renewal of Cablevision of Raleigh's
franchise, 1981-1983. The low-power television
material consists of photocopies of applications to
the Federal Communications Commission from groups
wishing to establish low-power television stations in
North Carolina and printed matter on the general
subject of low-power television.
Online Catalog Terms:
Cable television--North Carolina.
Cablevision of Raleigh (Raleigh, N.C.).
Low power television--North Carolina.
Martin, Joseph M.
Spectrum Communications (Pittsboro, N.C.).
Television broadcasting policy.
United States. Federal Communications Commission.
Size: About 2450 items (7.0 feet).
Provenance: Received from Joseph M. Martin, Jr., of Chapel Hill,
North Carolina, in December 1986, through Gifts and
Exchanges, Davis Library, UNC-CH.
Access: No restrictions.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers, or
their descendants, as stipulated by United States
copyright law.
Table of Contents:
Historical Note
Collection Overview
Series Descriptions
Subcollection 1. Cable Television
Series 1. Raleigh Cable Study and Controversy
Series 2. General Printed Matter
Subcollection 2. Low-Power Television
Series 1. Applications to the Federal Communications
Commission
Series 2. General Printed Matter
Shelf List
HISTORICAL NOTE
SUBCOLLECTION 1. CABLE TELEVISION
In 1982, the 15-year agreement between the city of Raleigh,
North Carolina, and Cablevision of Raleigh, Inc., to install and
operate a cable television system in that city was scheduled to
expire. Anticipating this, the city council began studying the
cable television industry to identify cable system options for
the area.
Fuqua Associates, a cable television engineering firm, was
commissioned to report on the cable system then in use and to
make suggestions about a future system. Joseph M. Martin, Jr.,
and Alan Land Julich of Spectrum Communications, Inc., were hired
to serve as consultants. Information from metropolitan areas
across the country was compiled. The Raleigh Cablevision
Steering Committee was established to assist the Law and Finance
Committee of the city council in determining and codifying the
city's cable access needs.
The franchise competition between Cablevision of Raleigh and
Future Cable Communications of Raleigh, Inc., erupted into
controversy when the question arose of whether or not the city
council had the right to award an exclusive cable contract to one
company. A heated discussion of the issue was carried on both in
the press and in the city council.
SUBCOLLECTION 2. LOW-POWER TELEVISION
Low-power television involves transmitting signals at powers
up to 100 watts VHF or 1000 UHF. The low power of these signals
limits the reception area to an average of 10 to 15 miles from
the transmitter, as opposed to 40 to 60 miles for conventionally
transmitted signals.
Because equipment requirements are significantly less than in
conventional stations, low-power television was envisioned as a
relatively inexpensive way of getting low-cost, community-based
television stations or networks of such stations on the air.
COLLECTION OVERVIEW
These papers were collected by Joseph M. Martin, Jr., of
Spectrum Communications, Inc. As they treat two distinct
subjects, they have been divided into two subcollections, one
relating to cable television and the other to low-power
television.
The cable television papers reflect the activity of Martin and
his company as consultants to the Raleigh City Council on the
cable television issue. Included are subject files, information
on cable systems outside Raleigh, and volumes, all relating to
the Raleigh cable television study and controversy; and printed
matter on the general subject of cable television.
The low-power television papers consist of photocopies of
applications to the Federal Communications Commission from groups
wishing to establish low-power stations in North Carolina, and
printed matter on the general subject of low-power television.
The arrangement is as follows:
Subcollection 1. Cable Television
Series 1. Raleigh Cable Study and Controversy
Subseries 1.1. Raleigh Subject Files
Subseries 1.2. Cable Stations Outside Raleigh
Subseries 1.3. Volumes
Series 2. General Printed Matter
Subcollection 2. Low-Power Television
Series 1. Applications to the Federal Communications
Commission
Series 2. General Printed Matter
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
SUBCOLLECTION 1. CABLE TELEVISION
Series 1. Raleigh Cable Study and Controversy
1969-1983. About 1700 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical by file title assigned by Martin.
Correspondence, printed matter, and volumes relating to the
study of cable television options for the city of Raleigh, North
Carolina, and to the controversy over exclusive cable rights.
Subseries 1.1. Raleigh Subject Files
Folder 1. Access Ascertainment
2. American Television and Communications Corp.
3. Cable Administration
4. Cablevision of Raleigh, Inc.
5-7. Cablevision Steering Committee
8. City Council Trips
9. Civic Center
10. Colleges
11. Correspondence
12. Financial Data
13. Franchise Renewal Applicant Interrogatory
14. Future Cable
15. Information Aid Booklet
16. Institutional Network
17. Jackson Enterprises
18. Jordan (Tony) Mayoral Race
19. Leased Access
20-27. Meetings. City Council
28. Law and Finance Committee
29. Mayor
30. Public Hearing
31. Negotiations
32. North Carolina State University
33. Notes
34. Ordinance and Contract, 1969
35. Ordinances, Adopted
36. Municipal Uses of Cable
37. Request for Proposals
38. Statement of Cable Requirements
39. Transit Authority
40. Wake County Organizations
41. Wake County Schools
Subseries 1.2. Cable Stations Outside Raleigh
Folder 42. Arkansas. Fayetteville
43-44. Arizona. Scottsdale
45. California. Brea
46. Long Beach
47. Sacramento
48. San Francisco
49. Santa Barbara
50. Colorado. Denver
51. Thorton
52. Florida. Fort Lauderdale
53. Pinellas County
54-55. Tampa
56. Valparaiso
57-59. Georgia. Atlanta
60. Illinois. Dekalb
61. Glenview
62. Springfield
63. Indiana. Bloomington
64. Kansas. Overland Park
65. Louisiana. New Orleans
66. Maryland. Baltimore
68-69. Montgomery County
70. Massachusetts. Boston
72-74. Cambridge
75. Michigan. Dearborn
77. East Lansing
78. Grand Rapids
79. Marquette
80. Southfield
81. Minnesota. Minneapolis
82. Missouri. St. Louis
83. New York. New York
86. North Carolina. Buncombe County
87. Carrboro
88. Cumberland County
89. Fort Bragg
90. Fuquay-Varina
91. Garner
92. Greenville
93. Forsyth County
94. Harnett County
95. Hope Mills
96. Lenoir County
97. Mocksville
98. Raeford
99. Selma
100. Smithfield
101. Statesville
102-103. Ohio. Cincinnati
104. Cleveland
105. Columbus
106. Maple Heights
107-108. Oregon. Portland
109. Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh
110. Reading
111. Tennessee. Knoxville
112-114. Texas. Austin
115-116. Dallas
117. Wisconsin. West Allis
118. Washington. Seattle
119-120. Yakima
Subseries 1.3. Volumes
Volume 1-3. American Television and Communications
Corporation, 1982-1983
4-11. Cablevision of Raleigh, 1982-1983
12-13. Fuqua Associates, 1982
14-15. Future Cable Communications of
Raleigh, Inc., 1983
16-24. Spectrum Communications, 1982-1983
Series 2. General Printed Matter
1981-1983. About 200 items.
Folders 121-129.
SUBCOLLECTION 2. LOW-POWER TELEVISION
Series 1. Applications to the Federal Communications Commission
1980-1981. About 350 items.
Arrangement: alphabetical by location.
Photocopies of applications to the Federal Communications
Commission from groups wishing to establish low-power stations or
networks of stations in North Carolina.
Folder 130-131. Asheville
132. Bat Cave
133. Benson
134. Burlington
135-141. Charlotte
142. Coastal
143-146. Durham
147. East Fayetteville
148. Farmville
149-151. Fayetteville
152-153. Gastonia
154-159. Greensboro
160-163. Greenville
164. Guilford
165. Hickory
166-167. High Point
168. Jacksonville
169-170. Kinston
171. Raleigh
172. Rocky Mount
173. Williamston
174-176. Wilmington
177-182. Winston-Salem
Series 2. General Printed Matter
1981. About 200 items.
Folder 183-192.
SHELF LIST
SUBCOLLECTION 1. CABLE TELEVISION
Box 1. Series 1
Subseries 1.1 (folders 1-35)
Box 2. Subseries 1.1 (folders 36-41)
Subseries 1.2 (folders 42-67)
Box 3. Subseries 1.2 (folders 68-100)
Box 4. Subseries 1.2 (folders 101-120)
Subseries 1.3 (volumes 1-7)
Box 5. Subseries 1.3 (volumes 8-24)
Box 6. Series 2 (folders 121-129)
SUBCOLLECTION 2. LOW-POWER TELEVISION
Box 6. (cont'd) Series 1 (folders 130-159)
Box 7. Series 1 (folders 160-182)
Series 2 (folders 183-192)