Focusing primarily on educational television, the use of various media in open universities and distance education settings is examined in order to determine whether particular conditions must be met for the successful use of the particular medium or media in collaborative projects. It is noted that there is no logical, step-by-step procedure for deciding on the "best" media configuration, and that a number of factors must be taken into account in making what is, at best, an "intuitive" judgment. Of all of the factors to be considered, it is suggested that access is the most important. Pedagogic issues that should be examined are briefly considered, including the unique characteristics of the medium under consideration (e.g., distributional and presentational characteristics), production styles, what is actually learned from television, professionalism, and quality. Defining the costs of distance education is also considered in some detail. Several organizational issues are examined, and in-house production, partnership with a broadcasting organization, and cooperation between several institutions are considered as possible models of educational media production. The open access model is discussed in the context of British Columbia's Knowledge Network (Canada). (20 references) (EW)