How Public Access TV controls public speech

The original mission of Public Access TV was to provide "first-come nondiscriminatory (FCND) access to the medium of television". This was the mission because it was believed that FCND would guarantee uncensored free speech which the pioneers of public access television believed was essential for the wide dissemination of a diversity of ideas throughout society. This widespread diversity of ideas, it was also believed, was essential for a viable democracy.

That pipedream of course was before corruption and mission creep subverted public access into a tool of the government to control public speech through a more subtle form of structural discrimination to prevent the widespread diversity of ideas.

Sure anyone can go down to their local public access station (mine is Ho`ike on the island of Kauai Hawaii) and "put something on TV and say anything you want." After this bold declaration and some other pompous blather about "promoting free speech" the institutionalized structural discrimination kicks in.

One soon learns onerous "operating procedures" have been put in place. For starters one learns about the two week delay between the time a program is submitted and the time it will be broadcast. Say goodbye to anything that needs to be said in a timely manner.

Next you learn that the program will be broadcast no more than four times in one year. This falls short of the well known advertising truism that a message must be received at least six times before it sticks. The public access gatekeepers can of course make exceptions or what they call "an executive decision on a case-by-case basis', i.e. standard less discretion, i.e. discrimination. If the gatekeepers like you or your message they will play the program until the cows come home. If they don't like you or your message expect to see a two week delay, four plays a year, and the door.

That in a nutshell is a sample of a just a few of the many institutionalized tools of discrimination used by public access at the behest of government to control what ideas are (and are not) spread diversely throughout the community.

To compare and highlight the inequitable treatment the public receives it is worth noting that government access gets their programs (county council meetings for instance) captioned for the hard of hearing, broadcast within 24 hours and repeated seven times in a week. These Kauai County Council meeting programs typically run four to six hours long.

The bottom line is that this public access structural discrimination and special facilitation of government entities robs the public speaker of resources, drowns the public voice, and limits the diversity of ideas to those ideas the government and their public access gatekeepers find acceptable.

Hypocrisy gone wild!

"Lingle calls Superferry special session" blurted todays front page above-the-fold headline in Kaua`i's The Garden Island Newspaper. This headline proved to be totally misleading if one is to believe Governor Lingle's own guest viewpoint, "Special session won't be all Superferry" on page A8 of the same paper.

According to Lingle the special session will deal with 103 items who's importance "goes far beyond resolving the current Superferry situation." That was the Governor's only mention of the Superferry in her entire viewpoint! This would lead one to conclude that the Governor really called the special session because she believes there are 103 items whose importance goes far beyond the Superferry.

The Governor's belief is either the height of hypocrisy, or a sign of delusional thought processes that fails to hear the overwhelming opinions of the thousands of citizens who cared enough to exercise their franchise and speak in opposition to the Superferry operating prior to and environmental assessment at public informational meetings held on Kaua`i, Maui, and Hawai`i. Citizens with opposing views do not hold those viewpoints strongly enough to exercise their franchise and express themselves in a public forum.

The media reports the Governor called the special session because of the Superferry issue. The people believe the Governor called the special session because of the Superferry issue, but the Governor believes she is calling a special session because there are 103 more important issues that "goes far beyond" resolving the Superferry issue. Can you say "out of touch with reality?"

Pardon my analysis but I don't believe Governor Lingle. I have not heard any public outcry on any of these other 103 issues, nor have I seen any comparable coverage in any of the mass media outlets on these 103 vital issues.

Even the most causal observer would correctly conclude the Governor is a hypocrite, delusional or both.

Confront the war president

RALLY TO END WAR

AND STOP GLOBAL WARMING

Saturday, October 27, 2007 4:00-5:30 PM

At the Kapaa Public Library

SUPPORT THE TROOPS

BRING THEM HOME NOW!

Organized by the Kauai Peace 'Ohana

in Solidarity with United for Peace and Justice

Planned Speakers and open mic

Kauai Superferry Protest 8-26-2007

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Standardless Discretion

Years of standardless discretion (formerly known as "an executive decision made on a case by case basis") by State of Hawaii Government bureaucrats are coming home to roost on the shores of Kauai and in a Maui Courtrooms.

From the illegal Superferry exemptions granted by the Department of Transportation, to the Department of Commerces and Consumer Affairs multi-year violation of state procurement laws by granting sole source no-bid contracts to non-profit corporations they created (`Olelo, Ho`ike, Naleo, and Akaku) it is obvious to the most casual observer that an entity that watches itself tends to be short-sighted when it comes to approving their own actions.

Lack of transparency, accountability, and oversight allow self interested parties to do their deeds in the dark, and out of public sight. Sure Hawaii has Open Records and Sunshine laws, but as anyone who has appealed to the Office of Information Practices will tell you, OIP is a toothless tiger that can opine all it want about government entities violating the law, but OIP lacks the enforcement authority to do anything about it.

Scofflaw rogue subdivisions of the state like the County of Kaua`i would rather take the OIP to court rather than disclose minutes from long past executive sessions. Ironically the state legislature created the OIP to prevent subdivisions of the state from suing each other with the unintended consequence of being sued itself.

What the Superferry?

Hawai`i Governor Linda Lingle advised residents to obey the laws as they now exist.

Easy for her to say.

She can just call for a special legislative session to have the law changed if it's not to her liking. Lingle asserted any proposed legislation must be agreed to by the Superferry.

The legislature is there to lend support. Senate President Colleen Hanabusa said Superferry environmental law compliance will be left to Lingle.

But Wait! Lingle has already said the Superferry must agree to any proposed legislation. This puts the Superferry in the catbird seat with the power to essentially write laws using their ultimate power of agreement.

The Superferry saga is a shining example of a corporations writing our environmental laws based on their corporate interests. Our elected Governor and legislature have been reduced to an advisory role to the corporate "Decider".

Who elected these guys?