Plewacki cites Bloomington as evidence that this can be done successfully. In fact, it has effectively silenced diverse opinion in the city of Bloomington. It will do the same here.
In Plewacki, we have a former cop turned TV news reporter. Given that, should we expect such a merger to result in 15-second sound bites and/or more government propaganda and less free speech? I fear so.
In her presentation to the city's budget committee, Plewacki talks of the cost savings (potentially $350,000 annually, she says). She also cites the difficulty in targeting the city's increasingly diverse audiences.
Guess what? MTN has been reaching these audiences for years via volunteer producers from the community. For example, there are nine weekly Somali shows on MTN. The volunteer producers are not paid (good for city) and they know their audience (good for city). How many Somali immigrants are working in the city's communications office, I wonder. How many people of color? How many artists? How many musicians? How many senior citizens?
I urge anyone who values free speech, is a public access supporter or producer, to contact Mayor Rybak and their council member to voice opposition to this heavy-handed money grab (note: Plewacki has not discussed this with MTN staff or board members).
For those who think MTN gets too much money, consider this:
--MTN staff compensation/benefits are much less than city staff.
--MTN receives 33 percent less funding in 2004, not accounting for inflation, than it did in 1991. Meanwhile, cable fees have tripled over time.
Even if most of MTN programming was of the Wayne's World genre, what would be wrong with that? After all, you can't get Viva and Jerry on the Dish or on Time Warner channels. I think it's safe to assume that Viva and Jerry better represent city life than reruns of Leave it to Beaver.
Mark Engebretson Field Neighborhood 8th Ward MTN Board Member
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