As you may have heard, Columbia’s City Manager recently proposed cutting funding for Columbia Access Television from the city’s 2014 budget. This proposal will be taken up this week by the Columbia City Council.

In light of this, we wanted to affirm CAT’s importance, both to True/False and the City of Columbia. CAT has been our media partner for the past three years, providing technical support and creating quality videos of events like Gimme Truth! and Campfire Stories. In addition, True/False has partnered with CAT to provide an academic-year-round filmmaking program for High School students from Douglass, Hickman and Rock Bridge. These students have been given an incredible jump start on a career in filmmaking, due to the access of top of the line professional filmmaking equipment and editing software from CAT. By making these tool available to everyone in our community, CAT has become a vital part of Columbia’s growing filmmaking culture. As Zielinski (T/F 2011) co-director Chase Thompson put it, “CAT was an open door for me as someone who couldn’t afford to go to film school.”

If you are interested in supporting CAT TV during this critical time, their website offers multiple suggestions on how to help. These include recording a video testimonial at their downtown location, connecting with CAT TV’s Facebook and Twitter, contacting city officials and attending the City Council meetings tonight, August 19th and this Saturday, August 24th.