Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
A Times Editorial
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 5, 2000
Dunedin city officials, faced with the possible loss of professionals to film and broadcast their city meetings on cable television, are studying the possibility of using high school students instead.
Time Warner Inc., which holds a franchise to provide cable television service in the city, wants to get out of its obligation to provide city government programming. Time Warner now produces and broadcasts the Dunedin City Commission's meetings twice a month as well as a weekly community talk show, Spotlight on Dunedin.
That programming schedule shouldn't be a great strain for a company as big as Time Warner, but regardless, the company wants out of it and has found a way to put the city over a barrel.
Nielsen Media Research, the city's largest employer, needs to expand its headquarters but must acquire some land to do so. The city desperately wants Nielsen to stay in town.
Near Nielsen is property owned by Time Warner that contains the television studio where Spotlight on Dunedin is produced. Time Warner says it might be willing to sell the land but in exchange wants the city to release it from its obligation to produce government access programming for Dunedin residents.
No doubt about it, this is an example of Time Warner paying more attention to the bottom line than the needs of the community. But Dunedin, handed lemons, is trying to make lemonade.
The city has scrambled for some alternative to having Time Warner do that programming and also free up land for Nielsen's expansion. Officials hit on the idea of inviting Dunedin High School students to help out. Spotlight on Dunedin could be moved to Dunedin High, and students could have the experience of producing a weekly television show, officials said. The idea has won the enthusiastic support of Dunedin High principal Mildred Reed.
Several area high schools produce in-house shows for broadcast on closed-circuit television. Some even have television studios and give students real-world experience in the technical aspects of broadcasting. Dunedin High students probably could benefit from such a program.
The city has not yet decided what to do about either the programming or the Time Warner property next to Nielsen, and it is still in negotiations with Time Warner over renewal of its franchise. We suggest the city hang tough in those negotiations. The awarding of a cable franchise is a gift of great value to the company that receives it, and there is nothing wrong with requiring the company that wins the franchise to provide government access programming or pay for that programming. It is done in communities everywhere.
But if that doesn't work, being partners with the local high school could be part of the solution. The city also might want to study the option of operating its own government channel, on which it could do much more than just broadcast commission meetings and one talk show. The city of Clearwater's Channel 15 is a good example.
The priority should be to keep the government programming on the air. Many people cannot or will not attend nighttime government meetings but will watch them on TV to stay informed. It is one more way government can connect with the people it serves.