Atlanta’s public access story began in 1980, when the city’s cable franchise created space for residents to make television of their own. Under Cable Atlanta, Jabari Simama became the city’s first director of public access, and the early system was built around the idea that Atlanta residents should have access not only to a channel, but to the tools, facilities, and training needed to speak for themselves.
In 1986, the city and Cable Atlanta created People TV as a nonprofit media corporation to manage Atlanta’s public access work. People TV became the home of Comcast Channel 24, giving residents, nonprofits, churches, artists, civic groups, and community organizations a way to reach Atlanta households with locally produced programming. The station offered production workshops, studio access, equipment, and channel time, making television production possible for people who otherwise would never have entered a broadcast facility.
People TV’s programming reflected the range and complexity of Atlanta itself. Its schedule included civic programs, church services, political commentary, neighborhood talk shows, cultural programs, entertainment, and experimental local media. One of its most significant programs was The American Music Show, a long-running public access series that documented Atlanta’s underground arts and LGBTQ culture and helped launch RuPaul’s early television career.
After decades on the air, Atlanta’s public access Channel 24 went dark in 2023 when the city’s contract with the previous operator ended. The loss mattered. Residents complained about the absence of the channel, and the city created a Blue Ribbon Committee on Community Access Technologies to recommend a path forward. The resulting effort did not simply ask how to restart a cable channel; it asked what public access should become in a digital media environment.
In 2025, Channel 24 returned as ATL Community Media, with new equipment, a new facility at 2 Peachtree Street, and a mission to build on the legacy of public access television while expanding digital media access and education. The relaunch marked both an ending and a continuation: People TV’s era had closed, but Atlanta’s commitment to giving residents a platform for local stories, civic voice, and community expression was restored.
Shared by Community Media Voices — The Record