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City by the Lake.org, The Voice of Michigan City, Indiana _ City Talk _ City wants to combine public TV channels
Posted by: JHeath Sep 3 2008, 09:15 AM
This was all over WIMS this morning. Lots of folks kept calling, emailing, and text messaging their opinions on this specific topic. So many, in fact, that they were barely able to cover the rest of the news. A few people wondered how publicly the notice and agenda were posted, others were just plain appalled that this would happen without public input. I wonder if someone out there will check the ordinance to make sure this was all done correctly.
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=17108&TM=40463.92
City wants to combine public TV channels
Opponents contend mayor, BOW trampling First Amendment.
Rick Richards
City Editor, The News-Dispatch
MICHIGAN CITY - An agreement to combine the operations of public access Channel 99 and government Channel 97 on local cable television was passed unanimously by the Board of Public Works and Safety on Monday.
That vote happened even though four local producers objected to the idea.
Mayor Chuck Oberlie, who sits as a member of the Board of Works, said the reason behind the agreement was to create an orderly schedule of live broadcasts of government meetings.
The proposal came from a recommendation from Bart Lombard, whose company, Access La Porte County, operates the government channel. He said the channel was at capacity for broadcasting live government meetings and suggested combining the two channels as a way to bring a more orderly schedule to those broadcasts.
"In no way was this suggestion made to keep anyone off the air," Lombard said.
Al Austin, producer of the program "News and Views," disagreed, saying the change appeared to be an effort to silence critics of the Democratic Party and of Oberlie.
Austin, who said it would be a disservice to the community if his program was eliminated, asked the Board of Works to take the matter under advisement and discuss it with the City Council before voting.
Dennis Metheny, the Democratic trustee for Coolspring Township and producer of the program, "Time to Blow the Whistle," disagreed with the proposal, saying it was nothing more than an infringement on his right of free speech.
"I don't know what this is about," Metheny said. "It appears to be more about control than public access."
Metheny, whose program has been on the air for "12 years and eight months," questioned whether the Board of Works was "upholding the Constitution and freedom of speech."
Also speaking against the proposal were producer William Landing and producer Glen Wilson.
Oberlie said the change is needed because the public access channel now exists "without management." The goal, he said, is to give a priority to airing all government meetings live. He also pointed out that Channel 97 is operated by La Porte County and Channel 99 is operated by Michigan City.
"The big complaint we have is the lack of a schedule to know when meetings are being broadcast," Oberlie said. "There is nothing in this agreement that precludes any of this local programming from taking place."
Austin, however, disagreed, saying that if Michigan City was involved in managing the channels, it could be involved with dictating what kind of programming it would allow.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Sep 3 2008, 09:29 AM
Sounds like the same old thing that has been happening in MC for a while now... They are trying to consolidate their power base and silence their critics. Area by area this group is taking over what you see and here.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Sep 3 2008, 11:27 AM
I've looked up the members of the http://emichigancity.com/cityhall/boards/publicworks/index.htm. The 4 members are Chuck Oberlie., John Schaeffer (City Controller), John Espar (Board Atty.), and Tony Metzcus (who was appointed by the Mayor, and has no term expiration date).
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Sep 3 2008, 11:30 AM
As you know, I have been on my hind feet about this for a long, long time. The little "incestuous" group is in office and/or has big input behind the scenes, and decisions are made with the public discussion just for show. The FIRST step is to get rid of incumbents, starting with the mayor. He has had too much influence and it has not been to the benefit of the City and area.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Sep 3 2008, 01:07 PM
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=50&SubSectionID=75&ArticleID=17043&TM=54470.73
Political discourse is important to our free society. All voices, even though different, even though difficult to swallow, must not be silenced. Using one's partisan power to censor opinions only nourishes hopelessness and anger, and results in a desire for an avowed hostility toward government in general.
Let people speak. There is nothing to fear.
Jeff Stepanek
Michigan City
Posted by: southsider2k7 Sep 4 2008, 07:06 AM
This concept has been bothering me the more than I think about it, and maybe I am missing something... Bart Lombard said he was at capacity for running government meetings on TV, so combining his programming with someone else's is going to free up space to run all meetings live? How the heck does that work? That is counter-logical as far as I can tell. Having the two stations work together to air things, and keep set schedules would be the ideal set up so that there are two chances to air something instead of just one. It would also keep more space for unique programming.
Posted by: edgeywood Sep 4 2008, 12:34 PM
I have to agree with everyone. This is part two of the ploy to silence any independent commentary. It started when Oberlie gave the public access to ALCO. (Someone refresh my memory, it was run by another entity who had a studio on Franklin St.)
ALCO - Bart Lombard, Past President and Director of Operations, Stephanie Oberlie, Ex-Officio Board Member
http://www.alco.org/about_us.html
The trend here is less local news. The News-Dispatch covers less local news now and also seems disinclined to tackle any of this in depth. Their reporting is cursory, no follow-ups... WIMS has no community issue coverage to speak of, they rely on the News-Dispatch and listeners to report anything beyond the police blotter and associated mayhem. WEFM does a credible job of covering local issues, but hey...Ron Miller can't be everywhere.
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Sep 4 2008, 12:40 PM
WeFM generally sounds like they read the press releases and call it news. They are not the only place that does that, of course, but what MC really needs is real reporting or fed investigators.
Posted by: JHeath Sep 4 2008, 01:09 PM
... WIMS has no community issue coverage to speak of, they rely on the News-Dispatch and listeners to report anything beyond the police blotter and associated mayhem. WEFM does a credible job of covering local issues, but hey...Ron Miller can't be everywhere.
Wait a minute, I think WIMS does a great job with local coverage. Most media outlets rely on various news sources (PR reps, people who witness various events, etc...) to help them gain access to whatever is going on. Then they report it all back to us.
I, for one, appreciate all that Ric, Johnny, and the rest of the staff over there allow and encourage the public input. I think as time goes on, they'll be the better local station. They're a progressive, forward thinking group--and that's something we need more of around MC.
Posted by: Michelle Sep 4 2008, 07:55 PM
Public access TV? Did I accidentally set the DeLorean to go back to 1985 when that was pertinent?
j/k...but I seriously didn't know that it was still around and watched. What a weird way to pass along information in this age.
Shuttering any source of local news, as lame as it might be, seems like a bad idea though.
Posted by: edgeywood Sep 4 2008, 08:05 PM
Wait a minute, I think WIMS does a great job with local coverage. Most media outlets rely on various news sources (PR reps, people who witness various events, etc...) to help them gain access to whatever is going on. Then they report it all back to us.
I, for one, appreciate all that Ric, Johnny, and the rest of the staff over there allow and encourage the public input. I think as time goes on, they'll be the better local station. They're a progressive, forward thinking group--and that's something we need more of around MC.
Don't get me wrong. I appreciate and support WIMS, but they do not cover city or county board meetings. I could do with less police reports.
I hope they do build a news organization. I've heard Ric mention the possibility of more stations. It would be great to have a regional group that really covered LaPorte county. Sunshine is the best disinfectant!
Posted by: southsider2k7 Sep 5 2008, 06:17 AM
Public access TV? Did I accidentally set the DeLorean to go back to 1985 when that was pertinent?
j/k...but I seriously didn't know that it was still around and watched. What a weird way to pass along information in this age.
Shuttering any source of local news, as lame as it might be, seems like a bad idea though.
In MC, it is a real source of alternative information. The one that really stands out is Dennis Metheny. Love him or hate him, he is one of the best investigative reporters in LPC. He goes and gets whatever information he can get. I usually don't agree with the conclusions he comes up with, but the guy goes and gets the facts. For example, he is the only news source in MC I have heard who went and got Michael Hardings contract through FOIA and went bulletpoint by bulletpoint over the details of what he got paid, his benefits, and the other details. There are a significant amount of people who watch these shows in MC.
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Sep 5 2008, 12:55 PM
Not a big fan of Metheney's personality, but a fan of his when it comes to a)how he handles the trustee's office, and b)how he gets the facts.
Posted by: edgeywood Sep 5 2008, 01:30 PM
Not a big fan of Metheney's personality, but a fan of his when it comes to a)how he handles the trustee's office, and b)how he gets the facts.
Agreed. I also like News and Views...wish it was back on the radio. It was broadcast on WEFM for a time.
Posted by: lovethiscity Sep 5 2008, 07:58 PM
I have to agree with everyone. This is part two of the ploy to silence any independent commentary. It started when Oberlie gave the public access to ALCO. (Someone refresh my memory, it was run by another entity who had a studio on Franklin St.)
ALCO - Bart Lombard, Past President and Director of Operations, Stephanie Oberlie, Ex-Officio Board Member
http://www.alco.org/about_us.html
The trend here is less local news. The News-Dispatch covers less local news now and also seems disinclined to tackle any of this in depth. Their reporting is cursory, no follow-ups... WIMS has no community issue coverage to speak of, they rely on the News-Dispatch and listeners to report anything beyond the police blotter and associated mayhem. WEFM does a credible job of covering local issues, but hey...Ron Miller can't be everywhere.
wow from what I understand, Stephanie Oberlie does not even live in the County
Posted by: JHeath Sep 5 2008, 09:48 PM
Really? I mean, I like Ron and all, but some of what he reports sounds more like an editorial than actual news. Plus, he also gets a lot of info from the local papers. Otherwise, it's press releases that people have sent that he sometimes follows up on.
Posted by: edgeywood Sep 6 2008, 02:17 PM
wow from what I understand, Stephanie Oberlie does not even live in the County
She's ex-officio so she must serve based on another position...
Posted by: edgeywood Sep 6 2008, 02:29 PM
Really? I mean, I like Ron and all, but some of what he reports sounds more like an editorial than actual news. Plus, he also gets a lot of info from the local papers. Otherwise, it's press releases that people have sent that he sometimes follows up on.
I don't like when he (or any newsperson) injects their view, but he does show up at the various meetings.
The news organization should be separate from the commercial side to prevent conflicts of interest. Small stations don't have the luxury of big staffs.
Trouble is that good news coverage is expensive. But in this market it's a huge differentiator. You can get all the Chicago stations and get a wide variety of programming. Local stations can't compete with that, but they can compete if they offer local news and info.
Posted by: Dave Sep 7 2008, 11:52 AM
wow from what I understand, Stephanie Oberlie does not even live in the County
Ex-Officio Board member? What office does Stephanie Oberlie currrently hold that would put her on this board?
from wiki:
By virtue of office or position; 'by right of office'. Often used when someone holds one position by virtue of holding another. A common misconception is that ex officio members of a committee or congress may not vote, but this is not guaranteed by that title.
The Vice President of the United States is ex officio President of the United States Senate.
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Sep 8 2008, 10:42 AM
yet another family on the MC family welfare plan
Posted by: southsider2k7 Sep 22 2008, 11:33 AM
One quick bit of bragging/fact pointing... This site got 21,000+ hits on Thursday. The point, nothing happened on TH and that many clicks still took place here. 17k in one day isn't that impressive. Our busiest day is over 25k hits.
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=17480&TM=48389.91
Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch
MICHIGAN CITY - Since the Michigan City Board of Public Works and Safety agreed to turn over management of public-access Channel 99 to Access La Porte County two weeks ago, transition details are still being worked out.
Bart Lombard, ALCo-TV Channel 97 director of operations, asked the city to combine station operations to expand capacity for live coverage of city and county government meetings.
One sticking point is with producers of weekly public-access programs, who are concerned their programs will be dropped. Among those who opposed the merger at the Sept. 2 Board of Works meeting were Al Austin of "City News and Views"; Dennis Metheny, producer of "Time to Blow the Whistle"; William Landing of "Interesting Individuals"; and Glen Wilson, producer of "What's Going On."
Program scheduling now is up to ALCo, and Lombard said he will meet with local producers "to see how something might work." Mayor Chuck Oberlie cited the need for a consistent program schedule as one reason the ALCo agreement was approved.
"We signed a contract with ALCo to have management responsibility," Oberlie said. "We tried to stay out of programming because we didn't want the liability."
Controversy has plagued Channel 99 in the past. Michigan City Public Library managed the station, formerly known as Channel 27, for 20 years starting in 1983. The station was located at the present ALCo studio, 301 E. Eighth St., and operating funds came from AT&T, the city's cable provider. Anyone in the community with a library card could use the public access studio and equipment to tape a program for Channel 27.
Competing interests and uncontrolled, provocative programming created problems for the library, according to Lombard, who served on the library board.
The library board decided to pull out of its management role in January 2003 because of potential damage to its reputation, as well as rising operating costs and mounting legal fees. The library board had been considering handing over the reins when Al Austin, "News and Views" producer, sued the library board for an alleged violation of the Open Door meeting law. The defense of that lawsuit cost the library $47,300.
Library Assistant Director Andy Smith remembers it as "a dark time."
"It was becoming almost a day-to-day argument with producers over content," Smith said. "When you're in the business of running a studio, you're using a lot of resources. It was beyond the scope of what we should be doing."
AT&T took over Channel 99 management after the library pulled out. Meanwhile, Lombard created a non-profit organization called Access La Porte County in 2003 to provide what he calls "gavel-to-gavel" coverage of local meetings on www.alco.org. Lombard said he always thought it was important for the community to see government bodies at work without media interpretation.
"It's the difference that makes a difference," he said. "People can actually see what's going on and decide for themselves."
According to Lombard, a government-access cable channel had been available to the community, along with the public-access channel, but no one took advantage of it. He forged a partnership between Michigan City and La Porte County to create the government access Channel 97, on the air since August 2005.
"After two years of planning and negotiation, we found out one day before we were going on the air," Lombard said.
Additional partnerships have been forged with the City of La Porte and other towns and townships in the county.
Channel 97 covers more than 65 county-wide government board meetings, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Programs also include community interest programs, entertainment and events, including high school sports. Channel 97 is the only media outlet offering gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Indiana General Assembly.
Closer to home, Lombard said, the live coverage of county-wide primary election results drew 17,000 hits on the Web site.
"If that isn't a strong show of public interest in getting information ... It's quite exciting," Lombard said.
For the latest information on Channel 97 programming, visit the new AlCo Web site www.alco.org.
Contact Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com.
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Sep 22 2008, 01:18 PM
If it is a fact, it is not bragging. Congrats, SSider.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Sep 22 2008, 01:53 PM
I could almost bet how this is going to play out...
MC/ALCO will come up with a plan that gives the governmental meetings all of the time slots that are now occupied by the loudest voices against the City. The City will then offer the producers odd time slots, which they will refuse citing other conflicts such as work schedule. The City will claim they did everything they could to accommodate the shows, the producers will continue the conspiracy claims elsewhere.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Sep 22 2008, 01:55 PM
Also wanted to throw this on here. I sent this to the ND weeks ago, and I don't know if it was ever printed or not because they seem to have quit publishing the Anvil Chorus letters on-line.
Thank You,
Michael J Gresham, Founder www.citybythelake.org
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Sep 22 2008, 02:00 PM
RIGHT ON!!!
Posted by: southsider2k7 Sep 29 2008, 11:07 AM
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=17635&TM=47011.48
Dave Hawk
The News-Dispatch
MICHIGAN CITY - David Werdine, one of the first city residents to have a regular public access show in Michigan City, has been prohibited from using Access La Porte County studios by ALCo Director Bart Lombard.
Werdine had proposed a new series of programs interviewing candidates for Michigan City Area Schools Board as a follow-up to his interview with Superintendent Michael Harding, which was broadcast recently on Channel 99.
But after Werdine confronted Lombard at an ALCo meeting Sept. 9, Lombard sent Werdine a letter dated Sept. 10 that told him "you are hereby forbidden to be on the premises or property of Access La Porte County."
Lombard went on to allege that Werdine made "repeated threats of physical violence" against him. Lombard is director of operations for Access La Porte County.
Werdine, asked this week about that statement, denied making threats or slurs, but admitted he raised his voice when he went to the ALCo studio, 301 E. Eighth St., to pursue his intention to continue public access programming.
Werdine said it amounted to him saying things like "What do you think you are doing here?" and "What do you think you are pulling," or "something to that effect."
But Lombard, ALCo director, said he felt a threat by Werdine to "kick his (expletive) ass" was serious enough to file a police report, as well as ban Werdine from using the ALCo studios to tape public access programs.
"This incident has been reported to the Michigan City Police Department and any further contact and or coming onto our property will be officially treated as harassment and/or criminal trespass," Lombard's letter to Werdine says.
One ALCo board member present, John Vail, said that after the board meeting Werdine approached Lombard. "He [Werdine] comes in Bart's face, he just got kind of wild. Bart said we'll talk about it in the hall and they did go out in the hall. Bart came back and said it's all settled.
Asked about Werdine making threats, Vail said, "I don't remember that he did. He might have in the hall, I didn't hear that."
On Friday, Lombard said he didn't want to comment on the incident, but said, "He's not been taken off the air." Like non-city residents who aren't allowed use of the facilities to tape, he can drop off a tape to be played on Channel 99, Lombard said.
Public access television has been a hot potato in the community for years. ALCo was given authority over Channel 99 by the city of Michigan City this month, and it appears to be near an end. In his interview Friday, Lombard made an assessment that in the future "there will not be public access."
Lombard requested and was granted the authority over the channel by the Michigan City Board of Works, saying ALCo needed more time slots than it has on Channel 97, the government channel, to carry broadcasts of meetings of government boards as it expands to include the city of La Porte as well as Michigan City and county government. It broadcasts some meetings live and plays them again several times a week, including, for example, meetings of the Michigan City Common Council and La Porte County Commissioners. Those two meet on Tuesday evenings, often overlapping, which created a need for two channels, Lombard said. Seven government entities meet on Tuesday nights, he said.
The city's transfer of Channel 99 to ALCo was opposed by other public access producers, including Al Austin, who has "News and Views," and Dennis Metheny, who has "Time to Blow the Whistle" on Channel 99. While their programs continue for the time being, they have been waiting for Lombard to inform them of what becomes of their programs. Lombard said he plans to meet with the four or five public access producers remaining to inform them of what his board's plans are for public access, but it hasn't been a priority. That will be in two or three weeks, he said.
"This is not about trying to get anyone off the air. Some have said I want certain individuals off the air," Lombard said, but he said he doesn't.
"I came from public access myself so I understand," Lombard said, saying he has been an advocate of public access.
But because of ALCo's need to have a regular schedule of government meetings, which would occupy the hours of 6 a.m. to midnight seven days a week, public access would have to move to the after-midnight hours, Lombard explained. He said he didn't want to mix public access commentary in during the hours of government meetings. Time between meetings is filled with a community calendar.
The authority he acquired from the city was not to manage local access, but to give priority to government meetings on Channel 99, he said.
Moreover, a concern of the ALCo board is the potential liability for what is said on public access programs, which in the past have created lawsuits or threats of lawsuits, and ALCo doesn't have the resources or desire to be in litigation.
To continue, public access producers might be required to have insurance to protect against libel lawsuits, he said.
Over the years local access programs have raised the ire of some local officials because of the pointed statements and allegations that have arisen from time to time, and were a concern to the Michigan City Library Board, which formerly administered Channel 99, before relinquishing it to cable company Comcast, which in turn handed its management over to the city.
The concern was over whether the library or the city would have legal liability for the content of the programs, something that may be a factor for ALCo as well.
But Werdine said his programs don't pose that problem.
"My programs were never that way. I'm not saying I was not tough, but I played it down the middle and made my best effort to be fair," he said. "No one ever threatened suit with me."
He said interview shows are important to inform the public because the viewers get to see the nuance the facial expressions and the pauses that reveal so much.
Werdine said he has hosted interview programs on the public access channel since 1987. "I believe I was the one who got people to watch public access," he said.
"People enjoyed it and were glad I explained how the city and the county ran, and the interesting people I have interviewed," said Werdine, who was a member of the Michigan City Library Board for 12 years before he started taping his public access shows. He said he has interviewed a number of public figures over the years, including congressmen, U.S. Sens. Richard Lugar, Evan Bayh and Dan Coats, ABC news anchor Charles Gibson and city mayoral candidates.
But local access television is changing everywhere because of advances in technology, specifically the Internet, Lombard said.
For example, in Porter County, a controversial host of a public access show no longer has a local cable program, but instead broadcasts on the Internet "and now has a worldwide audience," Lombard said. "He's more content now than ever."
Of Michigan City's local access, "That's what it would evolve to," he said.
Only four cities in the state have public access anymore, he said, and that doesn't include the state's largest city, Indianapolis.
Contact Managing Editor Dave Hawk at dhawk@thenewsdispatch.com.
Posted by: edgeywood Sep 30 2008, 12:17 PM
I could almost bet how this is going to play out...
MC/ALCO will come up with a plan that gives the governmental meetings all of the time slots that are now occupied by the loudest voices against the City. The City will then offer the producers odd time slots, which they will refuse citing other conflicts such as work schedule. The City will claim they did everything they could to accommodate the shows, the producers will continue the conspiracy claims elsewhere.
Good prediction SS!
Posted by: Dave Sep 30 2008, 12:41 PM
From above:
I mean really, what could be better programming for the midnight to 6 a.m. slot? That would have to be better than Sominex.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Sep 30 2008, 12:42 PM
Good prediction SS!
To be fair, you could see it coming a while away!
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Sep 30 2008, 02:39 PM
I actually alerted WIMS to this but got no on-air reaction. I hope that the relationship with ALCo did not squelch the story.
Posted by: Yokas Sep 30 2008, 03:07 PM
Good prediction SS!
I agree SS. You hit it right on! I have a personal question to ask you since you are so good at predictions: Will I be rich and famous in my next life?
Seriously, I am making my protest phone calls tomorrow.
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Sep 30 2008, 03:13 PM
Don't forget to call WIMS: 861-1632.
Posted by: edgeywood Oct 1 2008, 09:24 AM
I actually alerted WIMS to this but got no on-air reaction. I hope that the relationship with ALCo did not squelch the story.
I think that kind of stuff goes on a lot around here, at the N-D and WEFM, too. It seems that Talk of the Town catches a lot of heat for "personal attacks". I'd like to see a definition of that. I don't consider telling the public to vote against someone a personal attack.
That's why I'm in favor of public access.
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Oct 1 2008, 01:43 PM
Yeah, Ric, how about it? Johnny, let's hear from WIMS management. You are getting a little cred problem here.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Oct 1 2008, 02:02 PM
I think that kind of stuff goes on a lot around here, at the N-D and WEFM, too. It seems that Talk of the Town catches a lot of heat for "personal attacks". I'd like to see a definition of that. I don't consider telling the public to vote against someone a personal attack.
That's why I'm in favor of public access.
For me the line is when the person goes into name calling instead of calling out positions.
For example..
Don't vote for edgey because he supports xyz is fine with me.
Don't vote for edgey because he is an idiot and a drunk is not ok.
And for the first sentence, there has not been a single post (minus spammers) that has never been deleted or altered by the people who run this spot. Citybythelake.org is against censorship except in cases of name calling. If you can make an intelligent argument pro or con anything, I will let it stand, even if I don't agree with it.
Posted by: Michelle Oct 1 2008, 06:25 PM
Citybythelake.org is against censorship except in cases of name calling. If you can make an intelligent argument pro or con anything, I will let it stand, even if I don't agree with it.
In that case, thanks for overlooking all my inane arguments.
So what was the reason given for combining the stations? I must have missed that.
Posted by: Johnny Rush Oct 1 2008, 08:38 PM
Yeah, Ric, how about it? Johnny, let's hear from WIMS management. You are getting a little cred problem here.
Hey Roger,
I'm sorry, I don't follow exactly what you told us in advance...was it about the guy getting locked out of the station? As stated at the top of the thread, we talked about the consolidation the day it came out...and we were universally against it. We have also had Dennis on too many times to count. Ric gets deluged with "inside information" every day, so if he didn't run with it, maybe he went with something else, or there were guests or maybe he didn't think it was that big a deal, since it was obvious that Michigan City was getting the short end of the stick when it was announced? I really don't know. We truly do have an open phone line mentality to all of our live shows, so you could have felt free to call in and talk...just like EVERYONE did the day the news broke.
As far as a relationshiop with ALCO, there really isn't one to speak of at all. They air our 8:30 news segment on their channel for 15 minutes, just like they do with WEFM and the LaPorte stations. Ric and I just come from a broadcasting background where you promote what's happening at the station, so that even small things sound important. It sounds bigger when Ric mentions Bart and the crew and the (awkwardly named) "Triple Trifecta".
The thing I don't understand, is why we have to get less Michigan City coverage so that ALCO can broadcast the Crown Point City Council meetings? How is the hub of Lake County giving us some Access Laporte? Otherwise, I LOVE the archived meetings they have on their website and all the things that they do cover and broadcast. I STILL mantain that the more media outlets and information that there is out there, the more educated and engaged the community will become which will continue to drive people to find MORE local sources and more local information. That's the life blood for a local talk radio station, we need an informed listener base that is active and engaging if we are going to succeed.
http://www.post-trib.com/news/lake/1184382,cpworks.article
The board voted to accept a $3,000-a-quarter contract with Michigan City-based ALCo to broadcast city government meetings via the Internet and Comcast cable.
"We will have a dedicated channel," media relations and IT director Adam Graper said, so city meetings can be streamed live with only a 30-second delay.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Oct 2 2008, 06:12 AM
In that case, thanks for overlooking all my inane arguments.
So what was the reason given for combining the stations? I must have missed that.
Come on, if I edited other people's inane posts, how could I not edit my own
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Oct 2 2008, 07:36 AM
SSider, you have done a great job with this forum. You and others have mentioned it when I have überstepped a bound or two regarding namecalling, handled it, but never censored anything. I trust that this is everyone's experience. And just as a public service, I will continue to volunteer to correct grammar, spelling, and diction.
Johnnny, WIMS does indeed have the open mike/phone thing going, and I appreciate that and enjoy it. In fact, once time my son said to me, when he thought I was calling in too much, that I needed to be mindful of the difference being being a call-in guest and another host.
Regarding the consolidation of the cable access, Mr. Werdine was locked out, see the paper from Saturday (Was is 2 Saturdays?), and he and Mr. Lombard got some quotes into the paper. I guess that is as much as we will ever hear about this. Unless...Mr. W. calls your show...
Posted by: Tom Burns Oct 15 2008, 05:57 AM
WEFM does a credible job of covering local issues, but hey...Ron Miller can't be everywhere.
[/quote]
Thanks for observation. We do put a lot of effort and resources into news gathering as we do at the other stations we own. Having been a former assistant news director of a major Chicago station and in small market radio, we think this is important. Long ago I taught the radio news course at Valparaiso University although my principal assignment there was to teach management and marketing.
Keep your comments coming and let us know where we can add to our coverage of news. Tom Burns, President, Michigan City FM Broadcasters
Posted by: southsider2k7 Oct 15 2008, 06:48 AM
WEFM does a credible job of covering local issues, but hey...Ron Miller can't be everywhere.
Thanks for observation. We do put a lot of effort and resources into news gathering as we do at the other stations we own. Having been a former assistant news director of a major Chicago station and in small market radio, we think this is important. Long ago I taught the radio news course at Valparaiso University although my principal assignment there was to teach management and marketing.
Keep your comments coming and let us know where we can add to our coverage of news. Tom Burns, President, Michigan City FM Broadcasters
Welcome to the site, and thanks for the backround!
Posted by: Ang Oct 15 2008, 09:01 AM
Hey Tom! Welcome to the board, we're glad to have you here!
Posted by: Tom Burns Oct 20 2008, 06:58 AM
Welcome to the site, and thanks for the backround!
A major new development for New Buffalo was announced late last week in St. Joseph as part of the permit procedures. I wrote our story for airing Friday morning which we followed up on over the weekend. It is interesting other media in Michigan City only had the story this morning. Some weeks ago an executive in the local newspaper newsroom admitted they monitor WEFM for news. But since the news broke near the weekend it apparently caught them short staffed. Tom Burns
Posted by: Ang Oct 20 2008, 09:26 AM
We scoop the ND on a lot of stuff here too. We'll talk about something, then a few days later it appears in the paper. Don't know if they monitor us for "news worthy" discussions or not, but I find it funny that we talk about somethings here before they hit the papers.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Oct 20 2008, 11:12 AM
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=18223&TM=47680.47
home : local news : local news
10/18/2008 11:00:00 AM Email this article • Print this article
Show host can resume taping with ALCo
Dave Hawk
The News-Dispatch
MICHIGAN CITY - Public-access producer David Werdine's videotaping privileges have been reinstated by Access La Porte County Director of Operations Bart Lombard.
Werdine on Friday released a letter from Lombard dated Oct. 13 that said, "It has been roughly four weeks since your Sept. 9 incident prevented such videotaping privileges and you have offered a subsequent apology, so it is hoped you recognize and fully understand that any lingering concerns will only be resolved in a calm, respectful demeanor and manner."
Lombard concluded the three-paragraph letter by saying, "While recognizing that at no time physical violence and/or personal threats can be ignored or tolerated on these premises, as director of this organization I am confident the cooling-off period as well as this good-faith initiative is appropriate."
In September, Lombard banned the longtime producer, who only occasionally has taped his show "Perspective" at the ALCo studios on East Eighth Street in recent years, after a confrontation after a ALCo board meeting at which Lombard accused Werdine of threatening him. Werdine admitted engaging in a verbal confrontation, but denied making any threats.
Werdine sent an apology to Lombard, saying, "I accept full responsibility for not having chosen a proper venue for any such dialogue."
But in that letter, Werdine went on to tell Lombard "this whole affair stems from your recent unilateral changes of protocol at ALCo. Those proposals present serious roadblocks to the very existence of all local option programming and are unprecedented and unreasonable as to hours of program presentation and studio access times, not to mention any fees yet to be announced."
He called on Lombard to post ALCo board minutes and spending information on the Internet, and broadcast ALCo board meetings the way it carries so many government meetings on local cable television.
Werdine also released a copy of an earlier letter, dated Oct. 6, from attorney Edward Volk of Newby, Lewis, Kaminski & Jones, La Porte, who represents Lombard, in which Volk said his apology letter would be forwarded to the ALCo board.
But in the meantime, Volk wrote, "I admonish you not to engage in any further correspondence or harassment of Mr. Lombard."
Werdine also released an open letter in response to Volk and Lombard, remarking that Lombard "construed my letter of apology as harassment."
That led to this week's decision by Lombard to allow Werdine to resume using the ALCo studios for recording-public access programs to be shown on Channel 99.
However, Lombard, who was given authority over Channel 99 by the city of Michigan City, is developing new programming guidelines that could shift all public-access programming to the hours of midnight to 6 a.m. He gained city approval to manage Channel 99 and wants to have uniform schedules for all presentations of local government board and commission meetings on Channel 99 and the local government channel, Channel 97.
Werdine said he would like to record interviews with school board and county office candidates in time to present those shows before the Nov. 4 election. However, Lombard and co-host Donna Kavanagh already have prepared a scheduled of interviews for the coming weeks.
q
Contact Managing Editor Dave Hawk at dhawk@thenewsdispatch.com.
Posted by: Tom Burns Oct 21 2008, 04:50 AM
We scoop the ND on a lot of stuff here too. We'll talk about something, then a few days later it appears in the paper. Don't know if they monitor us for "news worthy" discussions or not, but I find it funny that we talk about somethings here before they hit the papers.
Long ago when I started out in radio in northwest Illlinois I was told by someone wiser that if I wanted the news I should go to a certain restaurant at mid-morning where anyone with an announcement would appear for coffee. One cup of coffee could produce more news than running all over the city.
That proved true, and I suspect City by the Lake is the present counterpart of that.
Tom Burns
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Oct 21 2008, 07:08 AM
Ang, not only do we discuss issues, we usually arrive at the best solution, if only that would be implemented!
Posted by: southsider2k7 Oct 21 2008, 07:21 AM
Long ago when I started out in radio in northwest Illlinois I was told by someone wiser that if I wanted the news I should go to a certain restaurant at mid-morning where anyone with an announcement would appear for coffee. One cup of coffee could produce more news than running all over the city.
That proved true, and I suspect City by the Lake is the present counterpart of that.
Tom Burns
I think we all bring a nice piece to the bigger puzzle. Its hard for any small organization to be able to cover the bases of rumor and news. I think each group has the niche they fit in, and they bring that bit to the whole. I have never viewed anyone else as competition or the enemy because I firmly believe we all compliment each other for the benefit of Michigan City. I really enjoy the spirit of cooperation and friendliness that I have experienced with all of the different media groups here in town. I think it makes for a better news experience for the town because is brings more info to the masses.
Personally I pay attention to both WIMS as well as WEFM and the News Dispatch. I also like to catch Dennis Metheny and News and Views when I can. Taking all of that information allows a person to really process the community around them.
Posted by: Ang Oct 21 2008, 09:09 AM
Ang, not only do we discuss issues, we usually arrive at the best solution, if only that would be implemented!
AMEN!
Posted by: Johnny Rush Nov 6 2008, 12:27 AM
At the Michigan City Common Council meeting tonight, Phil Jankowski twice called Bart Lombard's acts unconscionable and then proposed to prohibit all payments by the City of Michigan City to ALCO during 2009 if they fail to provide reasonable opportunities for public access television. It passed 8 to 1 and will be an amendment to the upcoming 2009 city budget. Jankowski is calling for Michigan City programming to have "reasonable opportunities" to be aired Monday thru Friday 6 to 9pmand also "reasonable opportunities" for studio recording during the week. The City Controller would be in charge of monitoring the situation.
Jankowski did also mention that Bart Lombard and his father are both on some sort of board that appropriates funds for ALCO? Did I hear that right? He said that someone from the Council should be serving on that board. If anyone knows what board that is, I would appreciate it...I'm going to have to go through my tape tommorrow morning to see if he named the specific.
I put the reasonable opportunites in quotes because I never understand how you can draft legislation with vagaries in the wording. How do you enforce that when I can gather any five of us...and we will come up with a different definition of "reasonable opportunities". Too bad this is coming down for ALCO after they did an AMAZING job with their interviews and information heading into November 4th. My hat's off to the job they did with all the candidates and forums...interesting to see where all this goes.
Posted by: southsider2k7 Nov 6 2008, 07:35 AM
Great info Johnny! I think it was pretty unanimous around here that we felt the City was trying to silence some of its harshest critics, and I am glad to see the Council felt the same way. The explanation of not having enough time space, so they were going to go to one LESS channel rang really hollow with me.
And I agree with you 100%. Because I had the TV on for coverage, I tuned into ALCO first and they did a GREAT job getting on guests, and having results as quick as humanly possible. I have always thought Bart Lombard was an excellent interviewer as well. Having done some radio a long, long, time ago, it isn't as easy as it looks to get someone to talk.
Out of curiosity, who as the voice of against this?
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Nov 6 2008, 08:03 AM
This really is a story that should be getting a lot more enk and ink. Openness of media is a big issue to anyone interested in the restoration and preservation of human rights.
Posted by: Johnny Rush Nov 6 2008, 08:47 AM
McKee voted against it...and to be fair to him...he gave a quick speech about not wanting to "shoot ourselves in the foot" and run the risk of losing access all together. He implied that ALCO could have the ability to take their ball and go home...nobody else seemed really worried about the aspect of losing ALCO, so I don't know if it's a legitimate threat.
Posted by: RedDevilMC Nov 6 2008, 08:58 AM
Our vote did not pull funding away from ALCO. All it did is put a few parameters around scheduling for public access programming. We are paying for it and I do believe it is a service to the taxpayers. ALCO is a self governing body (no appointments from the City or County). We are not blaming ALCO for anything we just need mechanisms in place if we are going to write the check. I think that is feasible. We don't have copies of the ALCO contract or financial records yet. This will also help. I think this vote was a step in the right direction. There hasn't been any changes to programming, that is a true statement but to ensure fairness we want specific timeframes allocated for our community producers.
Angie
Posted by: southsider2k7 Nov 6 2008, 09:02 AM
Good for you guys Angie! Its a step in the right direction. I am very happy to see it was pretty much unanimous as well, if you include the outside considerations. Thanks to you all for protecting our voices!
Posted by: lovethiscity Nov 6 2008, 07:47 PM
Ex-Officio Board member? What office does Stephanie Oberlie currrently hold that would put her on this board?
from wiki:
She also sits on the Michigan City Enrichment Corp. they decide how about a million dollars of Blue Chip money is spent yearly.
Posted by: Dave Nov 7 2008, 02:55 PM
She also sits on the Michigan City Enrichment Corp. they decide how about a million dollars of Blue Chip money is spent yearly.
Is she the "Stephanie Adams" listed on this webpage?
http://www.emichigancity.com/cityhall/boards/mccec/index.htm
I seem to recall hearing she doesn't live in Michigan City -- doesn't that preclude her from being appointed to Michigan City government -- or does being blood-kin to the mayor excuse that requirement?
Not to mention -- what is the purpose of the Enrichment Corp. to begin with? It just seems like another way for city insiders to give relatives a paycheck. Why couldn't that money be distributed by the City Council (who at least are answerable to the people every four years) instead of this additional layer of comparatively faceless bureaucracy?
Posted by: Roger Kaputnik Nov 7 2008, 04:49 PM
have they no shame?
Posted by: Johnny Rush Nov 18 2008, 09:19 PM
Very interesting Council meeting tonight, Bart Lombard was on hand and gave a 30 minute presentation/question answer session about ALCO, Channel 99 and the Council. He said he currently has NO control over 99, and it is still owned by the city...he has been working with the Mayor and the Board of Works on the process of running the station.
The midnight to 6am worries were caused because of a peliminary schedule that ALCO put together that showcased how they would be able to run an obscene amount of meetings. They had to block things out in 3 hour groupings because they didn't know how long the meetings would run...he also pointed out that while there was a City Council meeting tonight, there was also a county meeting starting a half hour later. They regularly have to decide if they are going to cut off the original meeting, join the second meeting in progress or just suddenly switch broadcasts. I guess that kinda answered my questions about how combining the stations would increase local content.
He seemed pretty upset that by providing information and scenarios to the Board of Works...he became the victim of threats and abuse by people. He was also concerned that his funding for the government run channel (ALCO) would be threatened by the content being played on the access channel (99) when he has no input on what is being played there. He said Channel 99 was a "newspaper with no publisher".
Posted by: southsider2k7 Nov 19 2008, 07:16 AM
So all of the reasons we were fed for this "merger" to happen, like we all thought, were total BS. The quality of the content of the two stations is going to suffer, all for the wanted objective of silencing the loudest critics around. That's a damned shame.
I feel bad for Lombard though. Why would anyone threaten/abuse him? This isn't his fault. Not to mention the idea of threatening/abusing someone over this stuff is just ridiculous and borderline high school bully. This isn't even his fault in the first place. Hopefully the Council keeps peoples feet to the fire to fix this.
Posted by: edgeywood Nov 19 2008, 05:37 PM
So all of the reasons we were fed for this "merger" to happen, like we all thought, were total BS. The quality of the content of the two stations is going to suffer, all for the wanted objective of silencing the loudest critics around. That's a damned shame.
I feel bad for Lombard though. Why would anyone threaten/abuse him? This isn't his fault. Not to mention the idea of threatening/abusing someone over this stuff is just ridiculous and borderline high school bully. This isn't even his fault in the first place. Hopefully the Council keeps peoples feet to the fire to fix this.
I agree, threatening or bullying is out of line, but Lombard certainly reaped the benefits when the contract was awarded to ALCO over the old Channel 99. If memory serves, there were some shenanigans surrounding that contract.
Last night, Lombard made the argument that there were now viable substitutes for Public Access. He suggested the internet and RSS were viable substitutes. First of all, I don't think it is a direct substitute. I think there are many people who have cable and view Public Access that are not internet savvy.
Secondly, if he thinks the internet and RSS are substitutes for Public Access, wouldn't they also be substitutes for the Government Channel? I mean...do we really need three re-broadcasts of government meetings? Couldn't we get by with the live feed and one re-broadcast? After all, they are available to download from the ALCO web site.
What I would like to see (or hear) is a radio broadcast of News and Views. It used to be broadcast on WEFM. Did News and Views move to Public Access or were they on both the radio and cable?
Posted by: kharris Nov 19 2008, 06:01 PM
I agree, threatening or bullying is out of line, but Lombard certainly reaped the benefits when the contract was awarded to ALCO over the old Channel 99. If memory serves, there were some shenanigans surrounding that contract.
Last night, Lombard made the argument that there were now viable substitutes for Public Access. He suggested the internet and RSS were viable substitutes. First of all, I don't think it is a direct substitute. I think there are many people who have cable and view Public Access that are not internet savvy.
Secondly, if he thinks the internet and RSS are substitutes for Public Access, wouldn't they also be substitutes for the Government Channel? I mean...do we really need three re-broadcasts of government meetings? Couldn't we get by with the live feed and one re-broadcast? After all, they are available to download from the ALCO web site.
What I would like to see (or hear) is a radio broadcast of News and Views. It used to be broadcast on WEFM. Did News and Views move to Public Access or where they on both the radio and cable?
news and Views was simulcast with WEFM Radio when the program was recorded at the old MCTV. I think it was first cable channel 48 and then 96. When MCTV did the program it as broadcast live with the simulcast and then replayed once or twice over the week.
Posted by: southsider2k9 Feb 27 2009, 12:04 PM
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=21309
Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch
MICHIGAN CITY - Can the city work out an agreement with Access La Porte County to take over Channel 99 public-access programs?
It's up to the Board of Public Works to decide if it wants to move forward. And the answer could be based on the bottom line.
Bart Lombard, AlCo director, recently presented the Board of Public Works with a $90,000 annual operating budget for what he calls MCchannel99. An additional one-time expenditure of $26,043 would be needed to upgrade equipment and create a Web site, Lombard said, bringing first year operating costs to $116,043.
"Channel 99 has been using equipment that was donated in 2003 and no additional money has been spent," Lombard said. "The old tape decks have failed over the years."
AlCo's annual operating budget ranges from $225,000 to $250,000. The city pays a portion of that budget in return for coverage of its government meetings on Channel 97, the government access channel. AlCo's contract with the city does not cover Channel 99 operations. The channel runs local access programs, and Lombard originally asked the city to combine the operations of Channels 99 and 97 to allow simultaneous coverage of government meetings with overlapping schedules. The Board of Public Works and Safety approved Lombard's request to take over Channel 99 in September, but details were not discussed.
Mayor Chuck Oberlie said changes to the city's contract with ALCo should be drawn up in a contract. Both parties agreed a formal contract was needed, but each side seemed to be waiting for information from the other.
Lombard said AlCo couldn't make an operating cost proposal until more was known about what the Board of Public Works wanted, and the Board of Public Works was waiting for an operating budget before making a decision.
To end the stalemate, the Michigan City Common Council called a workshop and invited both sides to weigh in on issues. AlCo Board President Bruce Steinke told council members his board didn't know what the city wanted.
The board had mixed feelings about taking on public-access programming, primarily because it didn't want to be liable for slanderous remarks made by any of the public access program hosts. Lombard said few companies offer liability insurance for pubic access stations because of a history of litigation.
Lombard said he was on the library board of directors when the Michigan City Library operated the public access channel. The board started purchasing broadcasters liability insurance in 2000, as lawsuits were filed. The liability insurance rose from slightly more than $1,500 in 2000 to more than $2,500 in 2002. The public access legal expenses climbed to a high of about $27,515 in 2001. Lombard points out that the total operating budget for public access in 2001 was $169,000.
Michigan City has a 29-year history of public access programming. Most states began dropping public access in 2001-2002, when liability costs were skyrocketing, Lombard said.
Who Watches Public Access
The city may have to spend more than $116,000 in the first year of operating public access station Channel 99 through an agreement with AlCo. The would be in the first year, as the operation is brought up to current standards. The public access channel offers programs by seven local hosts. No information is available on the number of viewers for various Channel 99 programs.
The News-Dispatch randomly asked people in the community if they were cable TV subscribers and, if so, whether they watched Channel 99. Opinions were divided between those who watch occasionally, those who haven't heard of the channel and those who think it should be canceled.
Larry Clifford, La Porte, said he watches Channel 97 but wasn't aware of anything on Channel 99. Pablo DeAnda, Michigan City, also wasn't familiar with Channel 99, saying he prefers the Discovery Channel. Marjorie Lawon, Michigan City, also likes watching other stations, and Mike Wolszczak, Michigan City, said he didn't know about the channel.
Ralph Herrbach, Michigan City, said, "I don't watch public access because I'm just not that interested in the opinions expressed. I don't watch that much TV."
Laura Bolton, Michigan City, said she watches Channel 99 "once in a blue moon," if she hits it randomly while flipping through channels. And then she'll watch only as long as it entertains her. Likewise, Cheryl Hester, Michigan City, said she sometimes watches if there's an interesting topic.
Sue Duncan, Michigan City, said she watches the station particularly to keep up on elections, and she likes "News and Views."
"It's not a channel I look forward to watching, but I will watch it," Duncan said.
Carl Hartman, Michigan City, felt the city should not support the station. "There's nothing on it, for one, and it's public access mostly for schools," Hartman said.
A man who would only identify himself as Rich said, "They ought to abolish it. I used to watch just to see the characters on it, but I have satellite and don't get it."
Posted by: IndyTransplant Feb 28 2009, 10:19 AM
From a new resident viewpoint, I have found channels 97, 98 and 99 to be very helpful to me. They list local events that are upcoming, including govt county and city events, also school events, etc. Because I would be interested in finding a local church home, I have watched some of the public access televised church services. I think that it is possible for some or all of these stations to be combined, but would hate to not have any public access channel at all covering Michigan City.
Posted by: southsider2k9 Mar 2 2009, 08:11 AM
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=50&SubSectionID=72&ArticleID=21332
City shouldn’t fund Channel 99
Editorial
Lively debate on public issues is valuable to a free society, but it's time for the city to deny funding local access television.
Pending before the city is whether to spend $90,000 a year, plus immediate one-time costs of $26,000, to maintain a cable television channel that carries only a few hours of local programming. Only seven programs air on Channel 99 on a regular basis, and there's no evidence it they have much of an audience.
Years ago local access television was popular in many communities, but over the years it has disappeared from most cities. Michigan City is one of the few remaining with local access, and the Board of Works, a three-member board consisting of Mayor Chuck Oberlie and two of his appointees, will have to decide whether to keep funding local access here.
Local officials often have worried about the liability for libelous statements made on public access shows, and part of the cost is insurance premiums to protect against lawsuit damages. That is a legitimate concern.
But the best reason to not use city money for local access die is that technology has advanced so that people who want to broadcast shows over the Internet can do that without a government subsidy or studio, producing shows at home.
With Michigan City facing budget cuts because of declining tax revenues, it really has no choice but to prune local access funding from its spending possibilities.
People who want to vent their opinion still have other avenues, and no one is shutting anyone up by pulling the plug on local access.
Posted by: southsider2k9 Mar 18 2009, 11:01 AM
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=21806
Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch
MICHIGAN CITY - Mayor Chuck Oberlie met with City Council members Tuesday to get their feedback on Access La Porte County's proposal to operate the city's public-access channel for $90,000 a year.
Ultimately, it's up to the Board of Public Works to decide whether or not to enter into a contract with AlCo and for how much. Before making a recommendation to that board, Oberlie said he wanted to get a sense for council members' thoughts and concerns.
The city already has a contract with AlCo to provide government-access programming on Channel 97. By taking over Channel 99, AlCo could air live broadcasts of two government meetings simultaneously, on those occasions when meeting schedules overlap.
AlCo Director Bart Lombard said the proposal includes another $26,043 to upgrade equipment and create a Web site. That would be a one-time expenditure and bring the first year operating costs to $116,043.
The mayor told council members he thinks AlCo is willing to negotiate, and some items could be dropped to reduce the annual cost to the city.
Council member Phil Jankowski has been the most outspoken critic of Lombard, calling him "uncooperative" and claiming he wants to run public-access shows between 1 and 6 a.m. Jankowski also considers the proposed operating budget for Channel 99 "unrealistic," considering it currently operates on a shoestring budget of $10,000.
"We've reached the point where I don't believe it's prudent to try to negotiate with AlCo," Jankowski said. "I recommend the Board of Public Works solicit proposals to provide public-access programming, and also solicit proposals for the government channel as well."
All City Council members expressed concerns about the high annual budget figure and favored the idea of having the Board of Works seek bids to operate Channel 97 and 99. But getting bids from alternative companies could be difficult because not many exist anymore, according to public-access producer Ruben Alexander, who attended the council meeting with the mayor.
"There's not as many producers," he said. "It's not like the old days when you could check out a camera at the library and you had an editing facility."
Alexander, owner of American Soundtrack Productions, said AlCo is one of the few operators of public-access programs left in the state. He produces three public-access programs on Channel 99: The Hit Makers, Artists and Models and the Municipal Band concerts. He spoke of the benefits to the community of having the public-access option and congratulated city officials for making it possible.
But as a producer, Alexander appreciates the challenges involved in a way that those on the outside cannot.
"This is complicated stuff because of the technical aspects," he said. "In most places, political people are just people like anyone else. They don't understand the technology."
Posted by: CaddyRich Mar 18 2009, 12:14 PM
"This is complicated stuff because of the technical aspects," he said. "In most places, political people are just people like anyone else. They don't understand the technology."
Get over yourself, Spielberg...
I saw your riveting bit of video about Memo's Restaurant.
Posted by: southsider2k9 Nov 4 2009, 07:57 AM
Bart Lombard announced on WIMS that channel 99 will terminate on December 31st.
Posted by: taxthedeer Nov 5 2009, 08:29 AM
Bart Lombard announced on WIMS that channel 99 will terminate on December 31st.
Since we can't afford Comcast I can't really say we're going to miss it.
Why can't the public access producers just go off on their own and put their shows on the internet?
Posted by: edgeywood Nov 5 2009, 06:39 PM
Since we can't afford Comcast I can't really say we're going to miss it.
Why can't the public access producers just go off on their own and put their shows on the internet?
One of our 2 radio stations should broadcast News and Views. It would reach a wider audience than either cable or the Internet. Radio stations are supposed to provide public interest programming as part of their licensing arrangement with the FCC.
Posted by: southsider2k9 Nov 5 2009, 07:15 PM
Really all it would take would be a You Tube account and publicity. They could then achieve the same thing on the internet.
Heck if they wanted, they could post anything they want right here. We take on all comers.
Posted by: taxthedeer Nov 6 2009, 11:07 AM
One of our 2 radio stations should broadcast News and Views. It would reach a wider audience than either cable or the Internet. Radio stations are supposed to provide public interest programming as part of their licensing arrangement with the FCC.
Al and Dennis already do their "Talk of the Town" thing on the radio Saturday mornings.
ALCO and MCAS really needs to tell Comcast to go fly a kite as well and make all their programming content web based. I'd say about 40% of the households in Michigan City are Comcast subscribers and only a small percentage watch actually local cable access shows, while everyone has access to the internet.
Really all it would take would be a You Tube account and publicity. They could then achieve the same thing on the internet.
Heck if they wanted, they could post anything they want right here. We take on all comers.
They could also all get together and just launch their on website. Pulling the plug on cable access is long overdue,
Posted by: IndyTransplant Nov 6 2009, 11:41 AM
Al and Dennis already do their "Talk of the Town" thing on the radio Saturday mornings.
ALCO and MCAS really needs to tell Comcast to go fly a kite as well and make all their programming content web based. I'd say about 40% of the households in Michigan City are Comcast subscribers and only a small percentage watch actually local cable access shows, while everyone has access to the internet.
Just curious as to why and how you think "everyone has access to the internet"? I understand we have free WiFi in many areas of town, but it still takes a computer to access and I assure you that I know many many MC people who do not have computers (and many have no idea how to run one). The library, which does provide free computer use for limited time periods (in order to accommodate as many people as possible), does not have enough computers or time available for everyone in town to use on a consistent basis either.
It is my understanding that public airwaves (radio and tv) are required to provide free public interest broadcasting, but I do not think there are hard and fast rules as to what form they must take. Perhaps others of you know more about this.
Posted by: edgeywood Nov 6 2009, 01:48 PM
Just curious as to why and how you think "everyone has access to the internet"? I understand we have free WiFi in many areas of town, but it still takes a computer to access and I assure you that I know many many MC people who do not have computers (and many have no idea how to run one). The library, which does provide free computer use for limited time periods (in order to accommodate as many people as possible), does not have enough computers or time available for everyone in town to use on a consistent basis either.
It is my understanding that public airwaves (radio and tv) are required to provide free public interest broadcasting, but I do not think there are hard and fast rules as to what form they must take. Perhaps others of you know more about this.
Agreed! Not everyone has access to the Internet. Some people cannot get broadband access, so You Tube or any kind of video is useless.
Radio and TV stations (and until very recently, cable companies) are required to provide public interest programming in exchange for their exclusive of the frequencies. There is no definition of what form, but they are supposed to serve the public interest.
From the FCC web site..."Broadcasters are considered public trustees, afforded their spectrum so that they may serve the needs and interests of their communities of license. The obligation to provide such local service is fundamental."
As Keith stated earlier in the thread, New and Views was broadcast on the radio at one time. Certainly, one of the stations could find an hour some time in the week to air the program. Both stations utilize reruns of their programs to fill time. Seems to me that an original broadcast serves the public in a better way than a rerun of an earlier program.
The News and Views guys should just ask....
Posted by: southsider2k9 Nov 6 2009, 01:51 PM
I would be willing to bet that both stations would offer them radio time for News and Views. It has a following, so the advertising they would make would pay for itself.
Like I said, they could do an internet based thing pretty easily, but I think people are right about the audience. I think they have an older audience (in general) who might not be very tech savvy.
Posted by: taxthedeer Nov 7 2009, 09:51 AM
Like I said, they could do an internet based thing pretty easily, but I think people are right about the audience. I think they have an older audience (in general) who might not be very tech savvy.
It's nice that an older non-tech savvy audience receive enough social security to pay a monthly Comcast bill.
Posted by: southsider2k9 Nov 7 2009, 10:14 AM
It's nice that an older non-tech savvy audience receive enough social security to pay a monthly Comcast bill.
I don't think it is an income thing, in this case, I think it is more of a fear of technology thing.
Posted by: taxthedeer Nov 8 2009, 09:40 AM
I don't think it is an income thing, in this case, I think it is more of a fear of technology thing.
Posted by: Upper Penn Nov 14 2009, 10:11 PM
Did anyone mention that the only reason that Bart is looking for more money to do the meetings is that he bought a bunch of equipment. Most of the cost is federally mandated expenditures by comcast. The funny thing is that the terms of the new contract and the old is only about 30 g's. Turn that water park off for 3 days and there is your money so the rest of the community can watch meetings on tv.
Posted by: southsider2k9 Nov 16 2009, 10:31 PM
Angie Nelson did mention pn WIMS Sunday night, on my show, that the City Council is soliciting bids from other groups to try to keep Channel 99 still alive. That was a very interesting twist.
Posted by: southsider2k9 Dec 8 2009, 10:25 AM
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=27498&TM=40963.19
Laurie Wink
The News-Dispatch
MICHIGAN CITY - La Porte County commissioners could take formal action on a cost-sharing agreement tonight to continue public access and government programming now provided by Access La Porte County.
Mayor Chuck Oberlie recently met with commissioners Barb Huston, Mike Bohacek and Ken Layton to discuss the idea. Layton said any agreement would depend on bid results as the city requests bids for vendors in addition to ALCo for providing the services.
Michigan City is seeking financial support because the City Council eliminated funding for government Channel 97 and public-access Channel 99 in the 2010 budget as a cost-saving measure. The council voted to have the city request bids for vendors in addition to ALCo for providing the services.
The city's Board of Public Works and Safety agreed Monday to extend the existing agreement with ALCo until the bidding process is completed and a vendor is selected. The Board of Works will seek proposals once the city knows the county's decision, Oberlie said.
"I requested a quote from ALCo for a month-to month-agreement to continue the two station operations," he said. "This short-term agreement would require Board of Works approval."
Bart Lombard, ALCo's director of operations, went before the Board of Works on Monday to ask for guidance on what needed to be done before the ALCo contract expires on Jan. 1. He was concerned about renewing vendor licenses and ordering insurance, which are done at the first of the year.
"We're more than willing to do whatever they want done," Lombard said.
If the County Council opts to retain its ALCo agreement, Oberlie said, the city would negotiate with ALCo for government programming and seek formal proposals to provide public access programs.
The county has a three-year contract with ALCo, signed last July, that would have to be renegotiated as part of a joint agreement with Michigan City. One advantage in doing so would be to give county-wide access to locally produced shows on Channel 97, which the county does not currently fund.
Contact Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com.
Posted by: Johnny Rush Dec 8 2009, 01:19 PM
http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=27498&TM=40963.19
This may be a minor point, but Marc Espar said that they did NOT in fact eliminate funding for running the channels, they just did not approve a contract with ALCO. In fact, they still have the original amount set aside and ready to go if/when someone is approved to run the channels. I know this is a tomato/tomato situation (pretend that I said them differently)...but from where I see it, the council seems less worried about budget and funding and more worried about who will be running the channels and what they will be playing on them.
Posted by: NDReporter Dec 8 2009, 05:54 PM
This may be a minor point, but Marc Espar said that they did NOT in fact eliminate funding for running the channels, they just did not approve a contract with ALCO. In fact, they still have the original amount set aside and ready to go if/when someone is approved to run the channels. I know this is a tomato/tomato situation (pretend that I said them differently)...but from where I see it, the council seems less worried about budget and funding and more worried about who will be running the channels and what they will be playing on them.
I agree that the council's concern seems to be about how much they are paying for the services, which is a budgetary concern since they are slashing the budget. I thought that was made clear when they asked for a bid to be put out. However, the meeting minutes from Sept. 15, 2009, clearly state it was an elimination of funds pending contract negotiations.
Posted by: southsiderMMX Apr 7 2010, 10:25 AM
http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/04/07/news/local/doc4bbab019ac54b294474943.txt
Published: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 4:18 AM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Access La Porte County’s contract to tape Michigan City government meetings and provide public access TV to residents has been extended another 60 days.
The Board of Public Works and Safety voted Monday to approve the extension. The contract expired March 31, but ALCo did not go off the air.
Posted by: southsiderMMX May 20 2010, 07:44 PM
http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/05/20/news/local/doc4bf214a69cdbe752112815.txt
Published: Tuesday, May 18, 2010 4:13 AM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — The city likely will sign another contract with Access La Porte County to continue operating government and public-access cable TV programming as it continues to look for a permanent provider, City Attorney John Espar said Monday.
Bart Lombard, ALCo director, asked the Board of Public Works & Safety on Monday about what will happen next since ALCo’s current contract expires at the end of the month.
“We’re willing to continue working under the current agreement, but we have to have some kind of assurance that we’ll get work that continues more than 60 or 90 days,” Lombard said. “It’s difficult to find staffing and plan long-term around meeting schedules when we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Back in March, the city received one bid for $275,040 per year for La Porte County Community Media Center Inc. to run Channels 97 and 99 for the city and La Porte County government.
“(It’s) an amount the local government finds prohibitive, so we are trying to find an interim measure,” said City Attorney John Espar. “We’ll look at something longer than a few months.”
ALCo didn’t submit a bid for the project because the bid requested a much larger scope of services than ALCo has been providing, Lombard said previously.
Without an extension, city government meetings no longer would be shown and the public-access channel would end. County government meetings, however, would still be shown.
Posted by: southsiderMMX May 26 2010, 09:23 PM
http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/05/27/news/local/doc4bfca84d973d5306863423.txt
[quote]City expected to continue its contract with ALCo
By Matt Field
Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 4:13 AM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — The city likely will continue contracting with Access La Porte County for government and public-access programming until the year’s end.
City Council President Marc Espar expects the council to take up an ordinance to fund the programming at its June 1 meeting. The ordinance still will need to go through a series of three votes, meaning the appropriation couldn’t be approved at Tuesday’s meeting.
ALCo’s short-term contract to cover Michigan City government meetings and other services ends May 31.
ALCo director Bart Lombard said he believes ALCo will continue working with city even before the ordinance is formally approved.
He will recommend that ALCo’s board agree to the contract.
The city pays ALCo $10,000 a year to rent studio space for the public-access channel 99 and between $60,000 and $75,000 to provide coverage of government meetings (Channel 97), both on TV and online, Lombard said. Michigan City gets franchise fees from cable subscribers, which are used to pay ALCo.
In a move to revamp services, the city had earlier asked firms to submit bids to provide government and public-access coverage. Back in March, the city received one bid for $275,040 per year for La Porte County Community Media Center Inc. to run Channels 97 and 99 for the city and La Porte County government. That amount was considered too high.
The city has extended its contract with ALCo twice this year.
“Technically, it was kind of hard without having some longer time frame in mind to plan coverage of special events,” Lombard said.
[quote]
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