Niketa Reed

The Open Channel: Public Access Television and the People Next Door (2011)
Film (short) by Niketa Reed Director, Cinematographer, Editor, Producer For three decades and counting, the city of Fayetteville, Arkansas has provided a channel for its citizens to produce television shows or just speak their minds. The public access television station, a free speech platform in decline, has since garnered a reputation of airing amateurish, eccentric programming on grainy tape versus representing free speech. But in this city, it refuses to die. The Open Channel is an introduction into this world of homemade television where content is uncensored, idiosyncratic and the residents have a lot to say. Filmmaker Niketa Reed shares clips from long-standing shows and historical programming that has aired at the station along with interviews from seven community producers from different walks of life. Written by Niketa Reed