Public Access President: Bernie Speaks with the Community

“We think television has extraordinary potential that is most certainly not being utilized on commercial television. Most of what’s on commercial television is junk. The function of commercial television is to sell advertising. What public access can do is open up television for the entire community. I’m delighted to have people on my own show but I think we have the time on public access for any group to take advantage of it.” — Bernie Sanders

In the late 1960s Public Access Television was born from the same cultural and political revolution as the Anti War movement, the Black Panthers, and the guerilla video collectives Videofreex, Raindance, and Ant Farm. So it makes perfect sense that Bernie Sanders, a politician who emerged out of that same ferment would champion Public Access, which he helped bring to Burlington as Mayor in 1984. Recently rediscovered and digitized, Bernie’s own Public Access show Bernie Speaks to the Community has the then-Mayor interviewing everyday members of the community and showcasing special projects including the greening of the city. The three selected episodes here showcase Bernie speaking with mall punks, children at a summer camp for a low-income housing community, and delivering a speech with a blistering critique of the mainstream media. The episodes feature a lighter, funnier, Bernie Sanders who still can be heard making the same fervent statements in favor of public education and health care and against corporate media and the 1%

Episode 41: Mayor Sanders Sets Up In The Burlington Square Mall To Speak With Passers-by / Bernie Sanders & Nat Ayer / 1988 / 31 min / Digital
Episode 26: Mayor Sanders Visits The Franklin Square Summer Camp At Ethan Allen Park / Bernie Sanders & Nat Ayer / 1987 / 28 min / Digital
Episode 50: Sanders' Remarks At The Vanguard Media Mash / Bernie Sanders & Nat Ayer / 1988 / 29 min / Digital

Doors: 6:30pm.
Tickets: Pay-What-You-Wish. Suggested Donation: $10 (All funds are donated to the Bernie Sanders Campaign).