Recent restrictive actions by the TV8 Board, primarily by Jeff Smith, Joyce Overton and Ed Robey, began in earnest when the TV8 Board met at their Dec. 9 meeting where an apparent attempt to restrict nonlocal programming with a new policy was created.
The objection to these videos by the board was apparently voiced as too “far out” (related to “conspiracy theory“), and that county supervisors would not support this kind of programming.
In addition, they claimed some few unknown persons (as opposed to the many TV8 viewers who enjoyed being informed by such videos) objected to this kind of programming using this excuse as a further basis to impose the new “provisional” policy (while publicly claiming at a later meeting the need for more local input as the reason for forcing a change in TV8 programming).
However, the TV8 board was created as advisory board, and not to act as a policy implementing board. By creating and dictating a programming policy it changed its functional nature, which is why Shawn Swatosh (from Mediacom), a TV8 Board member, resigned due to potential legal issues against Mediacom that can result from such a board dictating programming to a PEG station.
This action by the TV8 Board also makes the county and city (Jeff Smith is a Lake County supervisor, and Joyce Overton, an elected Clearlake City official) potentially liable for such restrictions of free speech, regarding the operation of a PEG station.
Apparently, subsequent actions by the then-acting voluntary TV8 PEG station manger Allen Markowski were deemed inappropriate and contrary to TV8 Board and city powers of control (the city is the franchise owner of the PEG station), and City Administrator Dale Neiman locked out all public access to the station. The city, in some unmentioned conjunction with the TV8 Board members, apparently accomplished this lockout action without regard or discussion with the TV8 Advisory Committee and without civil due process.
Following the closure of the TV8 station to community public access, the TV8 Board, at Clearlake City Hall, held public meetings on Jan. 13 and Jan. 20. Various objections to the board’s action and their rationalizations aired but at the Jan. 20 meeting, it was clear the TV8 Board was to assume complete control, which basically includes a dictatorship of programming over the “public” part of the Public, Education, and Government aspects of operation of a PEG station.
Coming from a fuzzy advisory position, the TV8 Board now assumed more complete control by essentially firing the voluntary provisional TV8 operation’s manager, Markowski, the most successful manger to lift TV8 out of its previous obscure and retarded position against substantial political and financial obstacles, and dissolved the TV8 Advisory Committee and all TV8 PEG station operational personnel.
It becomes obvious that a PEG station should not have politically minded county or city officials in control of its programming operations (in spite of franchise considerations), as that control is in conflict with the public access to free speech which represents the nature of a PEG station.
Political dogma and bias tend to infest and pervert the meaning of free speech when political power assumes such authority over the principles for which PEG stations exist.
The operation of the TV8 broadcast station, once created (regardless of city franchise ownership) is by and for the people of Lake County, not for the personal biases of public officials pretending to represent the People through a PEG station, and where such “government” control is legally prohibited in terms of programming.
Indeed, under “Powers and Limitations of a City” the “Limitation on Personal Activities”: “No city council member may occupy two different public offices at the same time, if the offices are incompatible one with the other.” In my opinion, Jeff Smith and Joyce Overton, as TV8 Board members, establishing and dictating programming policy, represent political positions in conflict with the TV8 PEG station operations as proscribed by both Federal, and by state law in this case.
To challenge an establishment’s identity of control becomes a threat to that establishment. Such a threat tends to translate into actions against organizations and individuals, politically (and often underhandedly). Free speech and truth suffer under these conditions, and history shows a long struggle to preserve this freedom.
The very existence of TV8 as a PEG station is one of those entities created in the attempt to preserve the value of truth and freedom against intrusion by political and corporate influence. Programming is a major concern because of this potential influence, which often results in such deterioration, but which is protected under the Constitution of this Republic, for obvious reason.
Such actions as the Clear Lake TV8 Board has recently demonstrated, in terms of policy and control, have demonstrated an attempt to subvert these constitutional guarantees with political intrusion and distortion. The recent, hastily imposed, ill formed provisional policy (a weakly disguised programming control over content), and subsequent action of locking out public access to the TV8 station, represents that malignant interference and conflict of interest, in my opinion.
Having said the above, the TV8 PEG Board at the Jan. 20 meeting apparently adopted a new station manager, Terri Larsen, who outlined at this meeting a new and comprehensive TV8 operational structure called “transition television” as a replacement of the former operational staff. This promises to implement more local programming and a revised structure for the good of the PEG station.
More power to them, but in my opinion as a former TV8 PEG Advisory Committee Member volunteer, beware of imposed political dictatorial powers acting under the guise of a TV8 PEG Board composed of elected politicians, and others who subvert free speech in covert ways.
Maurice Taylor lives in Clearlake.
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