In a "not so well" researched decision the Board at URTV hires Pat Garlinghouse. Supposedly unbeknownest to the BOD this woman had been forced to resign her position at Houston Media Source approximately 18 months earlier.
A lot of background on this controversery can be found by Googling "Garlinghouse + Houston Media + Wiseman + $800,000"
MediaSource has 8 new board members
All but one city council member OK replacements
By MATT STILES Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 31, 2005, 9:52PM
The City Council approved eight new board members Wednesday to oversee Houston MediaSource, the city's embattled cable public-access channel.
The new members, approved by all but one council member, will replace those on the 15-member panel whose two-year terms expired at the end of last year.
The terms of the seven remaining board members expire Dec. 31.
The newly composed board must deal with two months of controversy over the channel airing a few programs earlier this summer that had nudity and profanity.
The council repeatedly has delayed the renewal of MediaSource's $800,000 contract, which the panel is set to consider next week.
The programs also sparked a debate about whether the city could regulate the channel's content without inviting First Amendment lawsuits.
In response, Mayor Bill White proposed shaking up the board with new members who could offer fresh ideas.
Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs called the new board "a whitewash" that would do little to change the underlying issue: questions about content on the channel.
"I don't see this as any real change," she said, casting a "no" vote.
"That's not really what the citizens of Houston deserve."
Councilwoman Addie Wiseman, who first raised the issue and has been the channel's chief critic, voted for the new board members.
"I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do when they all get together," she said.
"I'm willing to give them a chance."
Wiseman also has submitted a plan to amend the nonprofit's contract with the city, which spends fees collected by cable users to provide the channel.
She said the changes would offer safeguards to keep "obscene" material off the air.
The mayor has suggested that new leadership might be needed.
However, on Tuesday MediaSource Board President Garth Jowett said it would be "unfair" for new board members to vote to replace Executive Director Pat Garlinghouse without first hearing her accomplishments.
Jowett praised Garlinghouse for overhauling the channel's procedures, improving community education programs and increasing participation by citizen producers.
matt.stiles@chron.com
Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl//3334001.html#ixzz1P7N9ikQU
No comments:
Post a Comment