The Continuing Public Access TV Debacle in Boulder

     Currently $1,000,000 per year comes in from the cable franchise fee, a portion of which is to be dedicated to funding public access (as well as government [Ch. 8] and educational [Ch. 63] access TV operations).  It was the attempt, beginning in 1999, to drive out the public, freeing up time for commercial productions and the fees that come from them (a hefty potential "revenue stream") that led to the documented bylaws violations, contract violations, policy violations, secret meetings, malfeasance and mismanagement that started what Boulder is still hearing about today.

     From 1996 through early 1999, the facility was full of activity, with brand-new shows weekly on dance, arts, music, alternative healing, talk shows, environmental programs, candidate forums, anything anyone wanted to televise on Boulder cable TV.  Now it's a very few mostly poor-quality shows, or imported programs, repeated endlessly.

     In 1998 many complaints started coming in about the "Hostile" staff, Andy Bergey and Dona Alexis, and like most people in a hostile situation most of the producers and volunteers stopped using the facility.  By the end of 1999 the equipment had been left inoperable in a blatant effort to drive out those remaining, there were less than a dozen producers stubborn enough to stay, a "paid producer" (rather than an engineer as specified in the strategic plan) had been hired to create content-controlled programs, and then the banning of producers began with internationally-renowned pianist Frank French, Jann Scott, myself - Guy Errickson, and Donna Marek.  Every one of the six or so remaining people who had complained to the city about the apparently willful mis-management was banned.  Thus, Donna's terrific presentation to the city council in 2006, "Deja Vu All Over Again."

     During 1998 we (the CATV board of directors) were being told, and it was true, that facility usage was so high and original, locally-produced program volume was so great that we were going to have to look at opening a satellite facility and second public access channel.  That's when the wheels started to come off, or be intentionally dismantled.  Within 4 months of being elected to the board in mid-'98 I had received complaints from three dozen regular facility users about staff hostility, which the board and management not only refused to deal with, but repeatedly refused to even listen to.  By late 1999 the facility was virtually empty.  This is when the unapproved policies allowing content control were implemented, the budget turned up without ever having a Finance Committee meeting or the required public hearing - CATV was a "quasi-governmental agency" according to the city, that existed primarily as an "arms-length liability shield" and was designed to create a layer of management to prevent the city from exercising editorial control or censorship.

     In my opinion, CATV's funding was disconnected from the Franchise Fee (FF) in 2000 in large part due to documented bylaws violations, numerous and serious contract violations, policies and procedures (P&P) violations, and civil rights violations by access management.  I believe it may have also been partially a result of the council's lack of patience for hearing the complaints, and their starting to intentionally create the need for "self-funding" that would require commercial rentals - of the facility, equipment, and volunteers, creating the "private club" CATV was well-known as.

     Benita Duran was the assistant city manager in charge of the contract implementation since CATV was founded through the year 2000.  Her husband, Brad Gilbert, runs 'people productions' which is a video production service but lacks a studio of it's own.  Brad Gilbert in 1994 formed a non-profit with Jean Dubofsky (also mentioned a recent Daily Camera article arguing against the new state ethics law), and Gilbert was employing two of the board members at the time, who now operate 'boulder digital arts.'  Duran is now board chair of the 'community foundation' which gave Perri a grant in the past year.  She was also the Registered Agent for CATV, and added herself to the 2000 contract performance review panel which - oh boy - included Dubofsky, and they would not allow the presentation of the then-current documented contract violations to the panel.

     There were seven or eight significant conflicts-of-interest I know of on that panel, and numerous ones involving city council and management board members throughout the history of this debacle.  Current conflicts-of-interest include Shaun McGrath and his 'buddy' Tony "The Phony" Perri, as well as Crystal Gray and Robin Beeck.  Dubofsky was also one of the ones brought in recently to ensure Richard "Smokin' " Polk and his critical fifth vote remained on council to keep everything Perri's, and out of the hands of the public.  I filed a conflict-of-interest complaint about Polk voting to bring the equipment and city-funded rent subsidies to the building directly across the Pearl St. Mall from Polk's business - there is a 600-foot exclusion rule in the ethics section of the municipal code.

     Additionally, with new telecommunications franchises trying to come into Boulder at that time and increased demand for cable broadband, the Franchise Fees were rising well above anticipated levels.  Both CATV's 40% for public and educational access [note: the existing one is Ch. 63; Ch. 22 is a second "educational" channel], and the 60% intended for government access Ch. 8 were cut below the promised levels when the fees were originally approved.  I have not researched the legality of these cuts, and personally believe they were intended to "encourage" a return to honest, open and competent management, or at least make CATV do enough right to stop the complaints.  Instead, I guess to demonstrate the 'hostility' toward the public mentioned in the "White-Wash" 2000 performance review, the board promoted the staff member, about whom half of the complaints were about and who physically assaulted me in April 2000 (this and everything else herein is documented), to be the new executive director just a few months later.

     The performance reviews about public access TV (CATV / BTV / BCM), the reports, documents, and financial books are horrific for an ethical person to look through, as I and others protesting what appears to be willful and intentional mis-management by Tony Perri under the direction of the city council, have noted.  Documented allegations include:  charitable fraud, embezzlement, harassment, theft of city property, malfeasance, misappropriation of city funds and equipment, and a host of lesser charges.

     The current city council has insisted on repeatedly giving Perri no-bid "sole-source" contracts, despite his complete lack of public access or non-profit experience, even over the objections of city staff.  The most recent performance review, a short one, was submitted to council in the September 6, 2007 WIP (Weekly Information Packet):  Item 2. A. Performance Review of Boulder Community Media Contract, and thus likely conducted in mid-August at the same time the couple of new board members were being first seated.  The paper got it wrong (surprise, surprise) - Ch. 54 is being shut off so that BCM cannot fulfill their contractual obligations and the current contract can be terminated, and McGrath has been a huge opponent of open public access.  McGrath has worked to only allow a content-controlled channel and facility available for patronage jobs and the personal enrichment of his buddy Perri and their friends.

     To punish Perri for his transgressions, they are now giving him $70,000 for himself (including $10,000 for legal fees!?!), Ch. 22 county-wide, and all the remaining public access production equipment.  This is a violation and illegal - that equipment was paid for by a $0.25/month fee dedicated for public access on subscriber's cable bills, and cannot be shifted at the council's whim.  Perri also incorporated "Boulder Valley Educational Television" as yet another for-profit LLC mid-August.  The council members point fingers at the new board, who have re-instituted the first vestiges of public access in years, started an investigation into the financial irregularities, and finally begun to operate as an actual non-profit corporation.  To reward the new board for for it's attempt at proper actions, the council has voted to strip them of the funding, channel, and equipment and give these once again to Perri.

     Quite disingenuously, the process was and is being manipulated:  Create mis-management, then use it as the reason to cut funding and privatize the equipment and channel.  Corrupt, self-fulfilling, and self-serving.

     Personally, I trust the people of Boulder, I was born and grew up here, and I saw as a volunteer and board member a blossoming of community through the irreplaceable forum of local public access television.  Because some individuals in the community hate one producer so much, they are willing to violate the civil rights of everyone in town.  These individuals include Barry Satlow and Judd Golden, who I wasted a year as an elected member of the ACLU board with in 2001 while they primarily fought against the 'dastardly' Boy Scouts.  The Jann-haters found willing help from people in the commercial video industry who want near exclusive access to the facility and equipment for their own enrichment, and control-freaks who want to censor the content of the channel.

    Claims that the internet (which has billions of sites) is the same or better than public access television (local to the community, on cable with a few hundred channels at most, no censorship - supposedly) are wrong.  Ask the internet users in China and Burma.  Ok, so there is no current difference between the censorship they face and what residents wanting to use public access in the "People's Republic of Boulder," Colorado experience!

Comcast hinders file-sharing traffic
Sat. Oct. 20, 2007 (AP report)
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2007/oct/20/comcast-hinders-file-sharing-traffic/