Public-access television – those stations tucked away in a corner of your cable box which are supposed to give the general public a crack at the airwaves, but which more often feature text announcements, low-quality handheld video of elementary school plays, and political rants from marginal-looking individuals with lots of spare time – is struggling to survive in the 500-channel universe. “Today’s access stations are run by small staffs that work primarily to keep programming on these stations,” and in many cities, officials are wondering why they should even bother keeping such channels on the air.