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Subject: no public access in BP
From: marjan@kud-fp.si (marjan)
Date: 4 Aug 1997 21:39:04 +0200

* * * * *

Why is there no public access in Budapest?
by Tom Bass (basstom@sirius.ceu.hu)


Dialogue concerning the net has advanced far beyond the simple issue of
mere access to the marginalia that characterizes a medium populated by
diverse personalities and interests: newsgroups, mailinglists,
homepages, irc conferences, netcasts, and events catering to every
afficionado, whether midget wrestling or technological utopiae. But
access remains a fundamental point when talking about the presence of
new media in Budapest. There are a few spaces that offer internet
access-for example, Artpool, C3, CEU library, CIJ-to the general
public. This is often rationed by opening hours, no capacity to give
accounts, and a general inability to actually work/research/program at
those locations. Commercial providers are numerous but again they are
not public access facilities that provide space, education, advice,
technical solutions, and a node for the free exchange of ideas in an
informal, uninstitutionalized manner. This points to an obvious gap in
the conception and implementation of alternative media strategies in
Budapest in regards to the net (though other media suffer as well). The
success of alternative providers like XS4ALL in Amsterdam and t0, Public
Netbase, in Vienna have pointed to the success of such initiatives in
providing cheap services and mobilizing artistic, cultural, and
political activism among their users.

Budapest's case is not unique to other cities in East Central Europe.
Disillusioned and disenfranchised, alternative, youth, and
countercultural spheres face the reality of living and creating without
subsidies while also trying to reach a greater audience for their ideas
and initiatives. Typical to these conditions and lack of state financing
for nothing but the most treasured and institutionalized of artistic
media, Budapest is without any alternative venue that addresses the very
real inability of most members of these spheres to access new
technologies. Personal funds do not allow for investments in processors
and modems. Public funds do not recognize cultural phenomena that are
deemed low brow. It must be noted that these strategies are being
followed with great success in the ex-Yugoslavia: B92 in Belgrade, Radio
Zid in Sarajevo, and R101 in Zagreb indicative of the truly polyopolic
nature of the web. The conditions of their funding may appear more dire
considering the dictatorships of Tudjman and Milosevic and the mistrust
of Bosnia. Access to accounts and the internet are easier to find via
B92's Opennet in Belgrade than in Budapest, though Budapest supports the
publication of hundreds of periodicals and supposedly maintains a free
press. But for exactly that reason, that Budapest in not ruled by
dictatorship, access should not be denied to those who are curious about
the net's applications. =


But will the establishment of a public access facility and provider in
Budapest automatically create a community of alternative users? The
answer is no. That community of users is already present. They are
represented by a vast array of interests, though they are primarily
linked to rave discourses. In a more mature form, these interests are
represented in arts and social sciences as well as self-employed
intelligentsia still in crisis about the change of events that has led
to the search for a model of pluralism neither completely East nor
West. =


However, one entity has had a significant impact in providing at least a
space in the ether for alternative perspectives, though limited in its
broadcasting from 10pm to 10am daily. Tilos Radio at 98 FM has proved
its ability to survive as a sometimes fashionable, sometimes
unfashionable flagship of Budapest's alternative media. It is
non-profit, activist, community radio held together by its commitment to
remain commercial but not sponsor free and a source of humor, critique,
representation, and, of course, music. Moreover, Tilos is not without
ambition, wanting to professionalize and reform all of Hungarian media
with its unrelentless independent investigation of mass culture and its
manifestations of prejudice, inequality, taboo, discrimination, and
myopia. As a provocateur, the radio generates dialogue beyond the scope
of mass media; it is participatory, accessible, and understandable,
urban and local. Numerous issue and topic-related shows run through the
week: environment, women's issues, literature, film, internet,
experimental contemporary music, and minorities. Involvement simply
means approaching the radio, making a demo for the staff to listen to,
and finding the appropriate slot in the schedule. =


Tilos Radio has made attempts to accommodate itself on the web, but with
all its resources dedicated to keeping the radio operational, there is
no excess for further projects and infrastructure upgrading. Deprived
of this information distributing medium, Tilos Radio is limited to being
recognized in the Budapest metropolitan area. But if given the chance
to expand into webcasting and webpublishing, Tilos has the chance to
attract the attention of further sponsors--record labels, foundations,
sister stations--as well as gain a listenership from many Hungarian
emigres. =


In order to address this lack of public access while also alleviating
its own net-less situation, Tilos Radio desires but has yet to organize
much less implement a cohesive vision for its future. Ideally, Tilos
would expand to function as an umbrella organization housed in de
Baile-like premises, a facility that would include a stage, caf=E9,
offices, and public access workspace and terminals while also housing
the radio studio itself. This scheme would be an attempt to unite
several independent entities, those within the radio and those without,
into a collective space that encourages that independence but also
relies on representative strength in numbers. =


Budapest severely lacks such a node for the gathering of youth and
alternative cultures, perhaps an unofficial policy of the current
government that sees these social positions as untraditional and
threatening to their agenda of social unity. However, by not
accommodating such roles that are deemed unprofessional, further
disaffection strikes the very channels that are capable of generating
new streams, flows, and perspectives to social malaise and
disenfranchisement.