While such outlets are available to the public on
a non-discriminatory basis, operate independently
of the editorial control of cable station
managers and offer participants opportunities
to speak freely on topics of their choice, their
democratic significance is compromised by a
predominantly local orientation that, among
other issues, manifests itself in a lack of access
to people residing outside the immediate community,
a lack of financial support for distributing programming among different stations and
a resulting lack of ties to broader spheres of
public debate (Aufderheide, 1992; Engelman,
1990; Stein, 2003).