Friday, August 23, 2013

New York Citizens for Responsible Media

New York Citizens for Responsible Media was an ad hoc organizing group to pressure NYC and Time Warner to set up studios and proper access for community media. 


The above notes look like the handwriting of Martha Wallner.  The group researched what other cable access centers had. The top is about Austin, Texas, which at that time had one of the most active and successful access centers in the country.  We also looked at Chicago which hadn't started.  And the lower half are notes for making a flyer to enlist people to the struggle for access and better service from Time Warner.

Many public hearings were held, thanks to the pressure from Ruth Messinger's office.  NYCCRM showed up at every meeting with facts and figures and demands for access.


From Bob Devine:

One slight correction. Diana Agosta and I worked with the board and the Borough presidents office throughout 1990-1991 to put the organization in place.  I took the capital, policy and staffing plans to Albany to get the funding for MNN released and scouted locations. 
If I'm not mistaken, Alex Quinn (my recommendation) was hired well before 1994. 


Sunday, August 18, 2013

This is the letter from
Dan Coughlin
banning me from
Manhattan
Neighborhood
Network.

I never threatened
anyone at MNN. I
defended Papoleto
who was removed
from a "leadership
class" because he
tried to attend an
MNN board meeting.
MNN does not
want the public to
attend their meetings.
They
have
eliminated
the
community
media
grants
and
raised the
executive
salaries.

Public accèss
is our free
speech.

Free speech includes criticizing public institutions that misuse public
funds. I am being censored for trying to make MNN live up to the
utopian ideals for which we founded it. MNN was founded by NY
Citizens for Responsible Media: Paper Tiger TV, FAIR and several
other media activist organizations.  We worked for four years to
pressure the city council and the borough president (Ruth Messinger)
to use the city cable revenues to create a proper media facility for
the city. We marched in front of Time Warner; we testified at the
City Council; we held endless meetings and strategy sessions.
The current management has banned me from the channel and the
facility on trumped up charges. See the video on this blog which
Dan Coughlin claims is a threat to a staff member.
Judge for yourself.
DeeDee Halleck