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In a split-vote last week Houston City Council failed to renew its $800,000 contract with Houston MediaSource, the city's cable access provider for more than 20 years.
MediaSource came under fire last June when its contract was delayed for the first time in city council. The cable access company has been operating on reserve funds since then. Councilwoman Addie Wiseman moved for the delay after being offended by a late-night segment.
"We’ve never been able to clearly identify what program that is," Garth Jowett, president of the board for MediaSource, said. “I’ve never been able to see the programming that specifically offended her because we’ve never been able to clearly identify what program she saw.”
Over 20 supporters for MediaSource met with city council in defense of the station. The issue more or less remained a one-woman crusade. It did at least until some raw footage containing nudity was aired the very same night at 11 p.m. Cable access channels typically restrict racier programming to between the hours of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Council members were suddenly more interested.
However, Jowett said that MediaSource does not censor or edit the programs it airs. Producers are required to take basic media production and law courses and sign waivers before submitting material, freeing the station of liability and protecting it from possible first amendment lawsuits.
"If you pre-screen programming, you have to guess right every time," James Horwood, an attorney with the Alliance for Community Media said.
Wiseman's proposed amendments to the MediaSource contract, including a clause that the station pre-screen content for community standards violations, failed after lawyers with the city pointed out that the constitutional right of free speech protects programs carried on cable.
Later in the meeting, the council voted against renewing the contract at all. One voter, Houston Councilman M.J. Khan, surprised Houston Mayor Bill White with his vote against so much that he interrupted the roll call.
"Do you know what we're voting on," asked White, who supports MediaSource. Khan had voted with the mayor earlier.
Khan replied that council was voting on the main item, removing any doubt and dooming the contact. The final vote was tied, 7-7. Council measures fail on a tie vote.
Absent from the voting that day was Houston Councilman Ronald Green, who was counted as a supporter of MediaSource. He was home with his wife, who had given birth to their son just that week.
"City Council stood firm to say that we can and should set policy, and therefore, [we] have chosen not to enter into a new agreement with Houston MediaSource," Wiseman said in a statement from her office. "I thank my colleagues for their thoughtful deliberations on this matter and for making it clear that we are policy makers."
Horwood said the city may be liable under the First Amendment for failure to renew a contract based on content issues with a public access provider. He admitted that proving council’s motivations for discontinuing the contract would not be easy to do.
Pattie Garlinghouse, executive director at MediaSource, has become a “lightning rod,” Jowett said, over an issue where she’s done nothing wrong.
“When I really try to pin people down as to precisely what she’s done wrong I’ve never had anybody articulate that for me other than she’s there, and they don’t like the programming,” he said. “So, two and two make six in this case.”
Jowett couldn’t say whether or not he thought Garlinghouse’s job was safe.
It is not the first time MediaSource has clashed with the city. Jowett said that in 1993 Mayor Bob Lanier severed two access channels and cut the funding in half. One station became the municipal channel and the other was given to Houston Community College to use. All three are supported by fees collected by the cable company but passed along through the council. The city pays nothing, but maintains oversight.
City council has a minimum of 90 days before it may revisit an issue. White might bring the contract up for vote again when Councilman Green is present.
© Copyright World Internet News 2006-07
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Timeline
June 29 2005: City Council postpones $800,000 in funding amid censorship debate lead almost-solely by Councilwoman Addie Wiseman.
July 6 2005: 19 supporters speak for Houston MediaSource at an open meeting of the city council. Later that evening, a segment containing nudity is mistakenly aired at 11 p.m.
July 7 2005: Many council members change their minds after viewing a taped version of the mistakenly-aired segment.
July 13 2005: City Council votes to postpone MediaSource funding. Prosecutors working for Harris County say they do not believe the mistakenly-aired segment met the legal definition of obscene.
August 10 2005: Council postpones funding again. Mayor White announces his intentions to replace 8 MediaSource board members.
August 31 2005: 8 new MediaSource board members are approved. Wisemen submits plans to amend MediaSource’s contract, says she intends to set up “safe guards” against obscene material
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