Like Yogi Berra probably never said, it’s déjà vu all over again.
School trustees restrict broadcasts of meetings, by Joseph Lord (News-Tribune).
Here are excerpts:
New Albany residents won’t get to watch, from their living rooms, elected body meetings on WNAS-TV under a policy approved Monday by school trustees …
… The 6-1 decision — with Rebecca Gardenour voting against — followed vocal opposition from residents leading up to the vote …
… A group of residents argued that broadcasting recordings of public meetings serves an educational purpose, pointing to previous showing of City Council meetings. One speaker argued that media outlets “whitewash” meetings in their coverage.Anna Schmidt, wife of city councilman Bill Schmidt, questioned calling meetings “politics.”“I call it government,” she said …
… Trustee Neal Smith said he didn’t think the school board’s mission was to broadcast public meetings.
“I think someone ought to be on Insight to get a public access channel,” he said, referring to the cable television company.
Right on, Mr. Smith.
Curiously, the council’s Gang of Four News Agency already has a public access channel, popularly known as Freedom to Screech, supplied with information by (shall we say) people “close" to the council, and “manned” by transgendered ghost blogger Erik/Erika.
(To assist those just tuning in, “transgendered ghost blogger Erik/Erika” is our way of describing the author of the Screech blog, which arose from the primordial troglodyte ooze a few months ago and claims to be written by a university professor – a transparently fictitious and adolescent claim that is a laughing stock among educated people hereabouts – at least among those lacking vendettas.)
Back to the point. NA Confidential first considered the education vs. public access question in February of 2005, in “City Council, community access and videotape.”
Our toss-up was this:
Given the organizational basis of the various entities involved, are there compelling reasons for the school corporation to agree to broadcast the videotaped city council meetings?
Our answer:
Now, it would appear that according to an ordinance authored by a previous City Council, New Albany has chosen the educational access option, and in this case, the option is exercised by WNAS, which is licensed through the school corporation and not directly through the city of New Albany.
On the surface, none of this would seem to have anything to do with the City Council or its meetings, videotaped or otherwise.
In a comment, Jeff “Bluegill” Gillenwater nailed the essence of the issue:
Again, this is a clear case of the public subsidizing a private communications company and receiving very little in return. We should focus on the part of the acts that state local governments can require franchisees to provide “access equipment, facilities, services, and support in a franchise”.
Should NAHS be required to broadcast government meetings? No. But Insight should be required to not only broadcast the meetings but to provide the equipment necessary to tape them - not an unreasonable request given the millions of dollars of land use our various levels of government provide them each year.
On the occasion of INSIGHT’s ongoing broadband fiasco, it’s just a marvelous time to revisit a renegotiation of its city-mandated license to print money.
Did I miss something last week? Over on Freedom of Screech a note to Mr. Smith to run in the district he lives in, I thought he did! I guess it’s hard to get your information right, when your on a constant hunt for your Johnson! Let alone some nads!
ReplyDeleteYeah, every place in the USA I've lived had local access cable...thought it was required by statute...did New Albany give the store away on this one too? No code enforcement, $30 million in tax Abatements to rich people, no traffic ticketing, nothing from developers or mega-companies like Insight?! I'm starting to understand why the streets are broken and the sewers don't work...is anyone in charge here?
ReplyDeleteG., it's pretty straightforward. When the municipality had leverage over the telecoms and cable, the franchise came with ONE cable access channel provided.
ReplyDeleteThere were three permissible uses: pure public access (where YOU could host or produce a show); a community station for government news and meetings; and educational uses. The municipality COULD have split the time any way it wished and included all three.
At the time, it was thought that handing it over to the school system was the best choice.
I'd love to see all the meetings (if I had cable), but it's pretty hard to fault the school system for hanging on to what they've got.
Louisville did the opposite - there's basically a city channel.
No municipality has the leverage under the Bush-Daniels regime to pry loose an additional channel, and I don't think we have the money to buy it or operate it.
I think the best choice will be to podcast it or videocast it on the Internet. That's cheaper and could probably be up and running by the next council meeting. Now, who will pay for someone to run the station?
I, my son and my son-in-law all think Uncle Neal is getting a bum rap, too.
ReplyDeletethanks for the details R. Darn shame the ONE channel is all we get...in an age of endless communications channels no less! I agree turning to a new and open channel is one way to go (podcast - internet) as we've seen the bloggers come to challenge traditional print journalism, so may go broadcast? I mean, we're just trying to make government honest and engaging, right?
ReplyDeleteGee rick, too bad the people missed having you in local Government.
ReplyDeleteI mean, your language and thought skills are obviously sooooo mature.
g. coyle -
You're right! There seems to be no one really in charge around here, but it's oh so obvious who wants to BE in charge.
Actually, it's more like a terribly inept person was put in charge, and he can't seem to muster up one good decision for the people of the City.
There is little concern for what's best for the people of the community.
I remember all4word's solution to the Ordinance Enforcement that he was advocating not too long ago.
Wasn't he proposing to spend an incredible amount of money, hiring 3 new officers and additional staff, to create another City Court? Now he proposes a public access channel for the benefit of the majority of the citizens is just too expensive and complicated to make happen????????
Give me a break.
Ceece is right too. It would take a Grassroots effort by concerned citizens of New Albany to make something this positive actually happen.
Sorry for taking so much space.
Altogether now ...
ReplyDeleteOOOHHHH.
aaaahhhhh.
OOOHHHH.
aaaahhhhh.
You just did the funky Trog Wave.
EE, I will put my thought skills up against anyone of those ghost writers you have over on your blog. I still read your pink or purple blog, but refuse to make comments, since you can not control your animals.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I was glad when you made the decision to require those posting on your spit wad to identify themselves. However, that lasted what three weeks? Face it only the cowards post on your blog, so why do feel the need to come over here and make any comments?
Did you miss Roger? Is your pitiful life so incomplete with out harassing someone?
You and your fellow bloggers are in need of many, many years of psycho therapy.
You guys cry and scream, conspiracy, cover up! Are you sure your not living in a different world, a bad movie script or something? You go looking for millions of dollars that you say is missing, but you can not produce one bit of evidence that it is.
Not one fact!
The mayor is doing a fine job of running this city, Tony Toran is also doing a fine job as well, yes most of us on this blog think the city is doing well and moving forward. We see no need to inventory every turd that comes down the sewer pipe. So why don’t you and your fellow bloggers crawl back under the rock you came from!
The worst thing about the three weeks your blog was going straight, there was very little entertainment on the web. Glad you went back to your old ways of doing things, now maybe we will have more to talk about. And, you may not have seen the last of me in city government; after all, we need people to run for office, it seems those that sit in judgment these days need to be knocked of their high horse. They seem to have forgotten the real little people, not the butt holes on your blog that claim to be the little people, the real little people, the poor, the homeless, the single mothers in need. You see, I don’t think a damn one of your bloggers falls under those categories.
You made a comment about my language; I call them as I see them! So what’s the problem, you taking a poke at me is like the pot calling the kettle black! To be honest, I am frustrated, over the people like you and yours that sit high and mighty and think only they have the ability to make life better for all of us, sorry, your ideas suck! The way you and yours attack people and there ideas suck, in just plain ole English , YOU SUCK!
Now I feel better! Take your best shot!
One more thing EE. How many votes did you get in the primary last week?
ReplyDeleteTo find missing millions, look in the folder downtown called: Tax abatements. I've yet to hear anyone explain how a perpetually broke city like NA can afford to let some it's wealthiest citizens NOT pay their fair share of property taxes YEAR AFTER YEAR. These people have been laughing all the way to the bank forever, while the so-called little people fight over crumbs like the cost of broadcasting city meetings or hiring an enforcement officer or two. EE - use some of that venom on the big game.
ReplyDelete