The Chronicle‘s Matt Stiles reports that Mayor White is persisting in his effort to allow MediaSource to continue as controversial custodian of the public access channel:
Mayor Bill White, whose first loss on a council vote was on the MediaSource contract, has said he intends to try again to get the panel to renew the deal. The deal diverts small, monthly fees collected by cable providers to a nonprofit — MediaSource since the mid-1980s — to run a city-mandated access channel. The station is distinct from the Municipal Channel, which airs council meetings and other official programming.
That new vote could come by the end of the year, said White, who recently installed several new MediaSource board members, asking them to search for a possible replacement to longtime Executive Director Patti Garlinghouse.
“I’m personally for having public access,” he said recently. “I don’t think any nonprofit or public institution can be perfect. But, right now, there is some burden showing that there have been real changes at MediaSource.”
The issue isn’t whether the city should have public access cable television. The issue is whether MediaSource should continue to act as the custodian of the public access channel.
The previously intransigent executive leadership of MediaSource seems to have gotten the message from the Mayor’s communications staff to shut up if they want to see a contract renewal:
Garlinghouse, whom board Chairman Garth Jowett has said is well regarded among her public-access counterparts nationally, declined to comment about her future for fear it would aggravate the board.
“I have full confidence in the fact that the council will ultimately vote for our contract,” said Garlinghouse, declining to elaborate.
[snip]
Fairly or unfairly, Garlinghouse has been a lightning rod for some on council and for the mayor, who recently expressed a desire for “new management” at the channel.
[Councilmember Michael] Berry, for example, recalls a hearing this summer in which Garlinghouse and Jowett defiantly defended the channel from what they perceived as a politically motivated attack. Berry saw that as a lecture. Some producers disagree.
The producers are wrong. Jowett indeed arrogantly lectured Councilmember Berry, as we noted at the time, and Garlinghouse’s comments only seemed to make things worse. It will be interesting to see if the mayor’s communications staff can keep them quiet, or if they’ll be unable to resist once again lecturing those elected officials who would dare criticize them. If they keep quiet, they’ll almost certainly see their contract approved, unfortunately.
So what changes have been made at MediaSource? That’s unclear from Stiles’ reporting:
Her staff has made several changes to try to ensure that profanity or nudity only air in the early morning hours.
What are they?
And will Jowett and Garlinghouse be able to describe them to Council without blowing up again? Stay tuned.
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