The Baltimore City Council approved yesterday, June 24, 2010, an ordinance that will restore $481,681 for operating expenses to the Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications which runs the government channel, Channel 25. According to a letter from the city's budget office to the City Council, the money will fund four positions. An earlier version of the budget had cut all operating funds for the MOCC. Its employees received pink slips on June 1, 2010, and their last day was to be June 30, 2010.more...

Apparently employees of the Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications (MOCC) received pink slips on Tuesday, June 1, 2010 as part of Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake's spending cuts, and their employment with the city is scheduled to end at the end of the month which is also the end of the city's fiscal year. The MOCC runs the city's government cable channel, Channel 25, the G part of public, education and government (PEG) cable access. The city has not disclosed it's plans for continuing functions of Channel 25 nor what will happen with the MOCC office facility which the city's public access channel, Channel 75, (the P part of PEG) also uses to upload it's programming to Comcast.

City Council battles over budget
Council member calls hearing 'a bad situation'
May 11, 2010 By Julie Scharper, The Baltimore Sun

Baltimore City Council members railed against Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake's spending plan, complaining of a lack of transparency, in the first of what could prove to be a series of contentious hearings on the budget proposal.

A Monday afternoon hearing on the budget for the Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications stretched on for more than two hours — four times longer than originally scheduled — as council members griped over a plan that would essentially eliminate salaries for all employees of the office with the hope that they would be funded through other sources of revenue.more...

Troy Johnson, Interim Executive Director of Community Media of Baltimore City (CMBC), the non-profit organization that runs the city's public access television channel, announced today that he is reaching out to existing or potential producers of shows on Ch. 75 — recently branded "People 75" — to join him for a very informal meeting about what's going on with with the channel and to have dialogue and give feedback. The meeting will be tomorrow, Thursday, July 9, 2009 at 2:30 p.m. at CMBC's office in suite 400-B at 326 Saint Paul Place. Johnson can be contacted for questions at 410-528-0340.

The board of Community Media of Baltimore City (CMBC), the organization that runs public access channel 75, voted Thursday night, March 5, 2009 to appoint board member Troy Johnson as interim executive director for a period of six months. Johnson gives up his position on the board, where he served as ombudsman, and will begin working for CMBC out of their office at 326 St. Paul Place effective March 16. Johnson is also host of "The Troy Johnson Show" on WHFS 105.7 FM and president of the Baltimore chapter of the Association of Black Media Workers.

A hearing in the Maryland House of Delegates Ways and Means Committee is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009 on a bill that threatens public access television stations throughout the state.more...

The December board meeting for Community Media of Baltimore City (CMBC)—the organization that oversees the operation of public access TV Ch. 75—will be Thursday, December 4, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. at the workplace of board member LaNette Davis: the SunTrust Building at 120 East Baltimore Street. The meetings are open to the public except periods when the board enters into executive session to discuss matters privately.

The operating agreement between Baltimore City and Community Media of Baltimore City (CMBC) is on the agenda (pages 33-34) for this week's Board of Estimates meeting on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. at City Hall.

After canceling last month's meeting, the board of Community Media of Baltimore City (CMBC) will be meeting tonight, Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 6:00 p.m., to discuss the status of the contract between CMBC and Baltimore City, which has been delayed yet again. The meeting will be held at a new location: the workplace of board member LaNette Davis on the 25th floor of the SunTrust Buildiing at 120 East Baltimore Street. Attendees should be prompt so Ms. Davis can meet them downstairs and escort them to the conference room.

Tonight's 6 p.m. meeting of the board of directors of Community Media of Baltimore City, the organization that will oversee public access TV channel 75, has been moved to City Hall in the Reeves Conference Room on the 4th floor. Usually the monthly meetings are held at the Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications (MOCC). The reason for the last-minute change has not been announced, although there has been speculation that the move may have something to do with the city's delay in officially transferring control of the public access channel and it's funds to CMBC.

After six days of a black screen and then color bars, programming was restored to Ch. 75, Baltimore City's public access channel, this afternoon.

Today's Democracy Now! dealing with the first anniversary of the bloody crackdown on striking school teachers in Oaxaca, Mexico and Michael Moore's new documentary "Sicko" on the nation's health care system will play at 6 p.m., its regularly scheduled time.

Baltimore's public access channel, Ch. 75, has been out since around 3 p.m. Friday, June 8 because of a flood originating from the floor above the offices of the Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications (MOCC). Electrical equipment was shut down to avoid damage when water from a broken air conditioning pipe on the third floor started rushing in and effecting the entire back end of the MOCC's second floor offices.

The MOCC's staff public access operator was told not to come in today, and public access producers and viewers are being told to call the MOCC at 410-396-1100 if they have any questions. The MOCC hopes to have Channel 75 opperating by Tuesday, June 12.

Update Thu., 6/14/07 11:50 a.m.: Channel 75 still down, showing only color bars.

Community Media of Baltimore City (CMBC) is seeking nominees for two Board of Directors vacancies due to the departure of board members Alyson A. McFarland and Melissa Baal. CMBC is the corporation that will run public access TV channel 75 when it moves out of the Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications. The deadline for nominations is Sunday, July 1, and the board nominating form can be found at the CMBC website.

Baltimore City's public access channel 75 was down—showing a black screen—from sometime Tuesday, April 24, 2007, until around midday on Wednesday, April 25.

According to the website for Community Media of Baltimore City (CMBC)—the organization that oversees public access TV channel 75—there is an opening on the Board of Directors. The 13-member board has been meeting since Feb. 1, 2007. The deadline for nominations for interested candidates is Tuesday, May 1, 2007. More information is available on the CMBC website.

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that Verizon Communications Inc. and Baltimore County officials have reached an agreement that allows Verizon to offer cable services in competition with Comcast. There is no mention in the article of any public access or other public, education, and government (PEG) channels being included in the deal. The agreement, negotiated on the government's behalf by Councilman Kevin B. Kamenetz, still needs approval of the County Council with a vote scheduled for March 5. Comcast has 220,000 subscribers in Baltimore County—almost double its number in Baltimore City—but Baltimore County does not have any public access channels.

Former Baltimore City Council President Sheila Dixon—who technically became the city's mayor yesterday when Martin O'Malley was sworn in as Governor of Maryland—ceremonially became mayor today inside the War Memorial Building across the plaza from City Hall. It is now her Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications (MOCC) which operates the government channel, TV25, and is temporarily running public access TV, channel 75, until a public access facility is available.

At their December 14, 2006 meeting, the Board of Incorporators of the organization that will oversee public access TV in Baltimore City finalized its selection of the 13 individuals who will make up the initial board of that organization, to be called Community Media of Baltimore City. The list of board members will be posted here as soon as it is officially available.

Update: According to Board of Incorporators member Greg Whitehair the nominees selected to make up the CMBC board are: Melissa Baal, V. Lee Brady, Lanette Davis, Jayfus T. Doswell Ph.D, Maresa L. Gold, Michael A. Gray, Crissa Holder Smith, Helen Holton, Sandra Long, Denise M. Lowery, Alyson A. McFarland, Edgardo Nieves and Bonnie Raindrop.

On Wednesday, December 20, 2006 the Federal Communications Commission ruled 3-2 along partisan lines that telephone companies seeking to enter the pay-TV market will not be bound by the same regulations as the cable companies. While the telcos claim that the ruling will lead to better services, more choices and lower prices, local municipalities will be restricted in their ability to negotiate franchise agreements that provide for public access channels and institutional networks or require extending service to all houses.more...

According to the Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications (MOCC), Baltimore City's public access TV channel, Ch. 75, will be down Friday, November 24, 2006 for technical repairs. The office will be open, but no programming will be broadcast that day. The schedule should resume on Saturday.

The Board of Incorporators for Baltimore City's soon-to-be public access corporation has reopened the nomination process to find additional board members for Community Media of Baltimore City (CMBC)—the organization that will oversee Channel 75. At the time of this posting the nomination form was not available on the CMBC website, so it is being posted for download here (this form does not show the correct deadline—it should be Wednesday, November 15, 2006).

Video of the statewide candidates forum at the 66th Annual Convention of the Maryland State NAACP Conference, produced by Baltimore Grassroots Media for NAACP Report, a weekly TV show hosted by Baltimore City NAACP branch president, Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, will be broadcast in the city on public access cable Channel 75. The forum, videotaped on October 28, 2006 at the Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore hotel, includes candidates for Governor: Ed Boyd (Green), Christopher A. Driscoll (Populist), Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. (R) and Martin O'Malley (D) and U.S. Senate candidates: Benjamin L. Cardin (D), Michael S. Steele (R), Lih Young (D, write-in) and Kevin Zeese (Green; also nominated by Libertarian and Populist parties).more...

According to an article in the November 2, 2006 Baltimore Sun, a city auditor's report shows that between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005 the Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications (MOCC) did not obtain the proper financial records to verify that the franchise fees owed by the cable companies to the city, as specified in the cable franchise agreements, were received.

With its 6 p.m. broadcast on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 Baltimore City's public access Channel 75 became the first—and so far only—TV channel to televise any debate among the candidates for Maryland's next U.S. Senator: Benjamin L. Cardin, Michael S. Steele and Kevin Zeese.

The debate, which took place October 3, 2006, was hosted by Greater Baltimore Urban League and conducted by Charles Robinson of Maryland Public Television and Doni Glover of BMORENEWS.com. The broadcast was produced by Baltimore Grassroots Media. Click below on "Read more..." to watch the video.more...

Baltimore City's public access TV Board of Incorporators (BoI) will likely reopen the nomination process for three to five positions on the board for Community Media of Baltimore City, the organization that will run public access, according to an email dated October 10, 2006 from Bunnie Riedel, a consultant hired to facilitate the proccess of forming the organization, to the BoI members.more...

The candidates for U.S. Senate in Maryland (from right to left) Ben Cardin (D), Michael Steele (R) and Kevin Zeese (G)

Baltimore Grassroots Media (BGM) will be videotaping the first Maryland U.S. Senate candidate debate since the September 12th primary. The town hall forum will include the nominee of the emergent Green Party as well as those of the Democratic and Republican parties.more...

Wednesday, September 27, 2006 at 6 PM, executive director Marilyn Harris-Davis and two other staff members of the Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications (MOCC) held an informational meeting for public access TV producers in Baltimore City that was attended by six producers - a low turnout possibly affected by gridlock in the area from the filming of the Bruce Willis movie Live Free or Die Hard.more...

Sometime before 6 PM on Tuesday, September 19, 2006, Channel 75, Baltimore City's public access TV channel, became available once again for Comcast subscribers with digital cable boxes. The channel had been unavailable for these subscribers for about two weeks.

The government channel, Ch. 25, also broadcast out of the Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications, was not affected by the disruption.

Some Baltimore City Comcast cable TV subscribers are reporting that for about two weeks they have been unable to receive Channel 75, the public access channel, which is included with all cable packages, even the most basic $10/month package.more...

The Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications (MOCC) has posted a message on the Community Media of Baltimore City (CMBC) website announcing an informational meeting for producers of public access TV shows.more...

The Baltimore City public access Board of Incorporators meeting scheduled for Friday, August 11, 2006, 1 p.m. at the Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications (MOCC) has been cancelled because the air conditioning is not working, according to an email consultant Bunnie Riedel sent to board members, some MOCC and city staff, and others on Wednesday. The meeting has been rescheduled for Friday, September 15, 2006 at 1 p.m., also in the MOCC's conference room at 8 Market Place, suite 200.

See www.saveaccess.org and www.alliancecm.org for details.

The Baltimore Sun reports that the pending franchise agreement for Verizon to provide cable TV in Anne Arundel County would provide five public access channels (this probably means PEG channels), 5% of cable revenue to the county, and free cable service to schools, libraries, fire and police stations, and for other municipal uses.

Nominations for the initial 13-member Board of Directors of Community Media of Baltimore City (CMBC), the organization that will run public access Channel 75, must be delivered to the Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications by Wednesday, May 31, 2006. The nomination form and details are posted at www.cmbc.tv.

The initial CMBC board will be chosen from these nominations by the public access Board of Incorporators, which has been meeting monthly since the fall of 2005.

According to an article in today's Baltimore Sun, the phone company Verizon has reached an agreement with Baltimore County to build a fiber-optic network and potentially offer cable TV to county residents in direct competition with Comcast, but the Baltimore County Council still has to approve the deal with a vote scheduled for May 15, 2006, and a cable franchise agreement must also be worked out between the County Council and Verizon. Councilman Kevin Kamenetz negotiates franchises for the council. There is no mention in the article of provisions or funding for public access channels.

Update 5/4/06: Tom Peddicord, secretary and legislative counsel to the County Council confirmed that there is no public access channel in Baltimore County and added, "I never get any questions about it. Maybe there's a lack of interest."

Peddicord said Verizon has been invited to submit an application to provide cable TV services, but they have not responded. Perhaps they are waiting for the COPE Act to go through.

The euphemistically named Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006, a federal bill backed by the telecom industry, passed in the House Commerce Committee 42-12 and is being fast-tracked for a full House vote as early as the week of May 8, 2006! This overhaul of telecommunications law could be more devastating to community interests then the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

To take action now and get more information, go to these sites:
www.saveaccess.org
www.mnn.org/saveaccess

The bill text, formally introduced May 2, 2006 as HR5252: Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006

File Your Comments with the FCC by Feb. 13th. Very Important!

Your community cable channels (Public, Educational, Governmental) are under threat by pending legislation in the House and Senate. Take Action!

Please take a brief moment to go to the following FCC web page and fill out the comment form, making sure to type a message in item 7 that Public Access TV is important to you and you want the FCC to protect “local video franchising”:

http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/ecfs/Upload?hot_docket=1010700930%7C05-311%7CImplementing%2BCommunications%2BAct&Send=Continue

If you would like more information or talking points go to:
http://mnn.org/saveaccess/



When: 4/15/2005 7:30 PM - 4/15/2005 9:00 PM
Where: Unity United Methodist Church, 1433 Edmondson Ave., Baltimore, MD 21223

Amy Goodman, Un-Embed the Media! tour in Baltimore

Friday, 15 April 2005
7:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Organizers: Baltimore Grassroots Media & Unity United Methodist Church

Amy Goodman, internationally acclaimed journalist and host of the nationally broadcast daily radio/TV news hour Democracy Now!, brings the Un-Embed the Media! tour to Baltimore.

She will be discussing the role of the media in the context of a nation at war, comparing corporate-owned media with the work of independent media. She presents a compelling argument for the importance of independent media to foster dialogue that is vital to a healthy democracy.

Democracy Now! is an award-winning, national, daily radio and TV news hour, pioneering the largest public media collaboration in North America. It is broadcast on Baltimore cable TV Public Access Channel 5, Monday-Friday at 6 p.m. (and repeats the next day at 8 a.m.) as well as nationally on over 300 radio and TV stations in North America, including Free Speech TV, channel 9415 of the DISH network (satellite TV), Link TV, channel 375 Direct TV and channel 9410 DISH network. The show also can be viewed at www.democracynow.org.

A frequent and dynamic guest on shows such as MSNBC's Hardball and on CNN, Goodman is also the author of the best-selling book, The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media that Love Them (Hyperion Press, paperback release April 2005). Part first person on-the-ground reporting, part old-fashioned muckraking, the fast-paced 350-page expose chronicles the lies of politicians and the corruption of media monopolies.

Goodman has clearly struck a nerve with the American public. Last year, she spoke to sold-out crowds during her 100-city tour that swept the country. The Exception to the Rulers has appeared on many bestseller lists, including in the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Book Sense National, and Amazon.com. The editors of Publishers Weekly chose The Exception to the Rulers as one of the Top 50 Nonfiction books of 2004, and Booksense.com chose it as the top non-fiction book of the 2004 Election Season.

Goodman's reporting has won rave reviews:

"Hard-hitting, no-holds barred brand of reporting...fierce and tireless."
-Publishers Weekly

" [W]hen National Public Radio sounds as safe as a glass of warm milk, Democracy Now! retains a jagged and intriguing edge. "
-Washington Post

"Amy Goodman has carried the great muckraking tradition of Upton Sinclair, George Seldes, and I.F. Stone into the electronic age."
-Howard Zinn, historian and author, A People's History of the United States

Location:
Unity United Methodist Church, 1433 Edmondson Ave., Baltimore, MD 21223

Cost: free

Deal revealed on Board of Estimates agenda, December 22, 2004

In yet another example of media consolidation, Comcast is absorbing Flight Systems, the only other cable TV company serving Baltimore City residents. Flight Systems (www.fscv.net) serves an area around the Inner Harbor.

Baltimore Grassroots Media had referred to Flight System's cable franchise contract with Baltimore City as an example of a city negotiating for more than the 5% franchise fee for public, educational and government (PEG) access opperational expenses. Under the contract Flight Systems was required to pay an additional 2% of their revenues for PEG. BGM provided this as evidence against the city law department's claim that it was not possible to do this with the recently negotiated Comcast contract.


From Board of Estimates' Agenda - December 22, 2004 (page 5):

"Mayor's Office of Cable and Communication - Consent Agreement

ACTION REQUESTED OF B/E:

The Board is requested to approve and authorize execution of a
consent and agreement for the transfer of ownership of the
Flight Systems Inc. d/b/a Flight Systems Cablevision (Flight)
cable franchise to Comcast of Baltimore, L.P. (Comcast).

AMOUNT OF MONEY AND SOURCE:

N/A

BACKGROUND/EXPLANATION:

Flight no longer desires to operate its franchise and has
enterered into an asset purchase agreement with Comcast pursuant
to which Comcast will acquire Flight's franchise (subject to the
Board's approval). Comcast will also assume all of Flight's
liabilities under its franchise, irrespective of when such
libilities might have arisen.

Comcast will operate the franchise as part of its own franchise,
which was recently renewed and which covers the area currently
served by Flight.

The agreement has been reviewed pursuant to FCC regulations and
the provisions of the City Cable Franchise, which require
Comcast and Flight to submit financial and legal documentation
to the City to assure that the transferee (Comcast) is capable
of meeting its requirements under the City Franchise granted to
Flight Systems.

(The consent and agreement has been approved by the Law
Department as to form and legal sufficiency.)"

SunArticleFinalComcastVote12-7-04.doc.PDF

12-year deal provides some funding for public access, but has major flaws

Monday night, December 6, 2004, as expected, the Baltimore City Council voted overwhelmingly 16-1 with two abstentions to approve a new 12-year cable television contract that allows Comcast use of city rights of way to continue making huge corporate profits by providing cable television.

Councilman Kwame Abayomi called for a special "roll call" vote, where the actual votes of the council members are given one-by-one, and was applauded by the capacity crowd for his lone no vote. The final decision was met with loud hissing from the audience prompting Council President Sheila Dixon to exclaim, "Excuse me! We will not be disrespected."

With the contract the city turns over four of its available public channels, worth an estimated $77,000,000, to Comcast in exchange for a $570,000 "training grant." In a letter to Baltimore Grassroots Media, copied to council members earlier in the day, Anthony Riddle, the new executive director of the Alliance for Community Media, reveals that this is an even bigger loss in terms of bandwidth now that Comcast is digital.

The training grant is part of a side agreement with Comcast, which the language of, community television advocates warn, contrary to claims of elected officials, does not guarantee any money for public access. There is no money in the actual contract for public access operations or hiring of staff to run public access.

The contract does add a 50-cent per month "pass-through" fee to cable subscriber's monthly bills to fund equipment for public, education and government (PEG) access channels, one third going to each. However, the amendment that specifies the thirds is unclear about what will happen to the public access portion before the public access corporation is formed. The 50-cent charge is expected to total $705,000 per year with about $235,000 for public access capital expenses.

In a letter to council members, Richard Turner, executive director of Montgomery Community Television, has pointed out a false assumption made during the negotiations, that this pass-trough could only be used for capital expenses. In fact it could have been used for operational expenses as well (see chart: Public Access Funding Forecast).

And a last-second amendment added to the bill without opportunity for public scrutiny specifies that the mayor will appoint a 13-member board to form the public access corporation. This was an abrupt change from the Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications' oft-stated plan to allow citizen groups, such as Baltimore Grassroots Media, to submit proposals for running public access.

The mayor already controls the government access channel, 21, which can be used to promote his agenda, and according to Marilyn Harris Davis, executive director of the Mayor's Office of Cable and Communications, which runs channel 21, the channel has a $1,700,000 annual budget.

Council President Dixon had critical words for public access supporters who don't get cable, "The frustrating part for me in doing all the battling is that the people who came to testify don't even have cable, and so in order to increase that fifty cents beyond the seven hundred thousand you got to make a commitment to having cable in order for you to pay into it...I'm not marketing...'cause you know they're competing with - what is it? - Direct TV and a whole host of things. You know I already told my children they might not even have cable...sorry that I got so emotional on that point."

However many of the public access supporters who testified do get cable, and anyway, public access channels where people can show their own programs, is something Comcast is required to make available for all citizens, not just cable subscribers, in return for the hundreds of millions of dollars Comcast is allowed to make in the city. 

According to state board of election data, Dixon has received at least $5,350 from Comcast and its executives this election cycle.

With the council meeting still going on, smiling and laughing Comcast executives were seen exiting a room adjacent to the council chambers where they were meeting with city negotiators, presumably to formalize the agreement.

National public access experts to warn city council to delay vote

Monday, December 6, 2004, at 5 PM, the City Council is scheduled to take its final vote on the Comcast cable contract, bill 04-1504. Many insiders have said it is a done deal. Community television and free speech advocates are trying to delay the vote so critical shortcommings can be addressed.

Friday, Baltimore Grassroots Media (BGM) received, for the first time, the text of a side agreement between the city and Comcast for a $570,000 training grant, the source of promised public access operating funds. However, the agreement letter does not indicate that the $570,000 will go to public access, only that it will go to the City, where it could be used for the Mayor's Government channel 21 that already has a $1.7 million annual budget. Currently the public's channel 5 has no budget. The letter is pre-dated December 6, 2004 and is not signed.

What the letter does clearly spell out is that the $570,000 is in return for the city turning over four cable access channels to Comcast and putting strict limitations on the activation of the remaining four available channels. Why the loss of the four channels is even mentioned in the letter begs explanation, since this is already part of the proposed contract. Ken Crooks of Comcast has said his company wants to avoid setting a precedent where they are seen as giving too much to community television. But what BGM has heard from experts around the country is that Baltimore is about to set a precedent by agreeing to one of the worst deals for public access anywhere.

When the city of San Jose, California tried to get more cable access channels, Comcast refused arguing, "each channel is worth approximately $21.6 million over a ten-year franchise term." Adjusted for Baltimore City, the value of the four lost channels over the 12-year contract is $77 million, or 135 times $570,000.

Friday night, BGM held a public forum on the public access situation in Baltimore. In attendance were several experts on public access from around the country who are sending a letter to City Council President Sheila Dixon to urge her to delay the vote on Monday. They are Richard Turner, Executive Director of Montgomery Community Television, Anthony Riddle, former Executive Director of public access facilities in Atlanta, Minneapolis and New York City, and former National Chair for the Alliance for Community Media, and Steve Ranieri, Executive Director of Community Cable Channel 27 TV in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Turner also raised the important point that the 50-cent pass-through, that the proposed contract stipulates can only be used for capital expenses, need not have been limited to capital expenses. In fact it could have been designated for operating funds. There is currently no provision for operating funds for public access in the contract. Without operating funds public access cannot hire any people to run public access.

Also in attendance was Tom Kiefaber, owner of the Senator Theatre, who offered to put a message up on the marquee of the theater and send a mass email out to 10,000 supporters. The marquee reads "STOP THE COMCAST CABLE CONTRACT! BILL 04-1504 NEEDS PUBLIC SCRUTINY CONTACT YOUR CITY COUNCIL PERSON."

The League of Women Voters has also sent a letter to Sheila Dixon and the other council members urging them to reject the contract.

The missing memorandum of understanding (MOU) Council President Dixon and Councilman Curran delayed the previous vote over has still not been issued by the Mayor's finance department. It is supposed to guarantee that $430,000 would be directed from the city to public access.



Letter of agreement between Comcast and Baltimore City:

December 6, 2004

Ms. Marilyn Harris-Davis
Mayor's Office of Cable Communications
8 Market Place, Suite 200
Baltimore, MD 21202

Dear Ms. Harris-Davis:

This letter is to confirm the agreement that has been reached between Comcast of Baltimore City, L.P. ("Comcast") and the City of Baltimore (the "City") with respect to Public, Educational and Governmental ("PEG") Access. The term of this agreement shall be twelve years, beginning on January 1, 2005 ("Effective Date").

As you know, Comcast and the City have discussed their mutual interest in improving the quality of PEG access programming available to Baltimore City cable subscribers. Currently, only four channels of the twelve that have been available to the City are used for PEG programming. We have jointly concluded that if Comcast were to provide the City with a technology training and development grant to assist it in training members of the public in using facilities and equipment for television production and for developmental purposes, the City and the Mayor's Office of Cable Communications ("MOCC") could more effectively focus on the creation and provision of robust and attractive programming on a reduced number of PEG channels, particularly with regard to enhancement of public access programming.

Accordingly, Comcast agrees to provide the City with a technology training and development grant in the amount of $570,000. In exchange, the City agrees to accept a reduction in the number of PEG channels it is entitled to program from twelve to eight and to limit the activation of additional PEG channels above the currently operating four channels to one in any twelve month period. The technology training and development grant is payable as follows: $80,000 in the first year of this agreement, $70,000 in the second year of this agreement, $60,000 in the third year of this agreement, and $40,000 each year for the following nine years of this agreement. Annual payments will be made in quarterly installments, simultaneously with Comcast's quarterly franchise fee payments to the City, beginning with the first quarterly payment due following the Effective Date. These payments made pursuant to this letter agreement are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other commitments, fees or taxes owed by Comcast to the City, whether pursuant to the Franchise Agreement between Comcast and the City or otherwise.

If this letter correctly reflects your understanding of the agreement we have reached, please countersign the enclosed copy in the space provided.

Sincerely,

COMCAST OF BALTIMORE CITY, L.P.

By________________________________
Name:
Title:

Agreed to and accepted by:

THE CITY OF BALTIMORE

By_________________________________
Name:
Title:
Date: _________________

cc: Robert Jacobs
Michael Parker
Rosetta Kerr-Wilson
Angela Patrick
Ralph Tyler
Donald Huskey
Elizabeth Harris
Ernest Crofoot
Linda Barclay
Cedric Crump
Barbara Adams

Urges council members to consider delaying vote on Comcast contract until fixes are made.

LetterFromTurnerRiddleRanieriToCityCouncil.pdf

Highlights problems with Baltimore City's proposed contract with Comcast.

TonyRiddleLetter.pdf

Tom Kiefaber, owner of the Senator Theatre, graciously put a message up on the marquee of the theater before the City Council's Dec. 6th vote.

Comcast will provide a $570,000 training grant in exchange for the City giving up four cable access channels worth, by Comcast's estimates, about $77 million.


December 6, 2004


Ms. Marilyn Harris-Davis
Mayor's Office of Cable Communications
8 Market Place, Suite 200
Baltimore, MD 21202

Dear Ms. Harris-Davis:

This letter is to confirm the agreement that has been reached between
Comcast of Baltimore City, L.P. ("Comcast") and the City of Baltimore
(the "City") with respect to Public, Educational and Governmental
("PEG") Access. The term of this agreement shall be twelve years,
beginning on January 1, 2005 ("Effective Date").

As you know, Comcast and the City have discussed their mutual interest
in improving the quality of PEG access programming available to
Baltimore City cable subscribers. Currently, only four channels of the
twelve that have been available to the City are used for PEG
programming. We have jointly concluded that if Comcast were to provide
the City with a technology training and development grant to assist it
in training members of the public in using facilities and equipment for
television production and for developmental purposes, the City and the
Mayor's Office of Cable Communications ("MOCC") could more effectively
focus on the creation and provision of robust and attractive programming
on a reduced number of PEG channels, particularly with regard to
enhancement of public access programming.

Accordingly, Comcast agrees to provide the City with a technology
training and development grant in the amount of $570,000. In exchange,
the City agrees to accept a reduction in the number of PEG channels it
is entitled to program from twelve to eight and to limit the activation
of additional PEG channels above the currently operating four channels
to one in any twelve month period. The technology training and
development grant is payable as follows: $80,000 in the first year of
this agreement, $70,000 in the second year of this agreement, $60,000 in
the third year of this agreement, and $40,000 each year for the
following nine years of this agreement. Annual payments will be made in
quarterly installments, simultaneously with Comcast's quarterly
franchise fee payments to the City, beginning with the first quarterly
payment due following the Effective Date. These payments made pursuant
to this letter agreement are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any
other commitments, fees or taxes owed by Comcast to the City, whether
pursuant to the Franchise Agreement between Comcast and the City or
otherwise.

If this letter correctly reflects your understanding of the agreement we
have reached, please countersign the enclosed copy in the space
provided.

Sincerely,

COMCAST OF BALTIMORE CITY, L.P.
By________________________________
Name:
Title:

Agreed to and accepted by:
THE CITY OF BALTIMORE
By_________________________________
Name:
Title:
Date: _________________

cc: Robert Jacobs
Michael Parker
Rosetta Kerr-Wilson
Angela Patrick
Ralph Tyler
Donald Huskey
Elizabeth Harris
Ernest Crofoot
Linda Barclay
Cedric Crump
Barbara Adams

www.baltimorechronicle.com/113004Floyd.html

Final vote held up one week to get city guarantee of Public Access funds

At the Monday, November 29, 2004 Baltimore City Council meeting a motion was passed to postpone voting on the 3rd and final reader of the proposed Comcast cable TV contract until the following Monday's meeting to give the city more time to meet the council's demand for a memorandum of understanding committing an additional $430,000 over 12 years for Public Access operating revenue.

Councilman Curran put forth the motion saying, "I'm going to make a motion to hold for one week so we can get etched in stone the agreement between our financial department and this body concerning the funds that's going to go to cable access. The intent is there and we just need to have the language reflect the intent of the council to make sure that cable access gets the needed funds, the additional [$430,000]. So the intent is there. We just need to have it done in a timely fashion. So I'm going to give the administration the benefit of the doubt. So I'm going to make a motion that we hold [Bill 04-]1504 for one week."

By "cable access" it is assumed he meant "public access."

The motion was seconded by council Vice President Stephanie C. Rawlings Blake (according to a 11/8/04 Sun article, Rawlings Blake has the support of the mayor and, "Under the city charter, the council appoints the vice president. But the council typically defers to the mayor, approving his choice for the post. That's because the vice president traditionally serves as the mayor's floor leader, drumming up support for his legislative agenda.")

SunArticleMayorDefendsContract11-17-04.PDF

SunArticleCablePanelUrgedMayor11-16-04.PDF

Barring an unlikely reversal at next Wednesday's Board of Estimates meeting the final decision now rests with the City Council where they will vote the contract up or down at a meeting the following day

Yesterday was a rough day for public access TV advocates in Baltimore City. The Board of Estimates voted to approve the proposed Comcast contract, with some last minute amendments slipped in, ignoring compelling testimony about serious flaws and a written request from Baltimore Grassroots Media (BGM) to postpone the decision one week so the amendments could be considered by BGM and others and so that a request by City Council President Dixon to BGM for a sample public access budget could be fulfilled and considered by the board.

Barring an unlikely reversal at next Wednesday's Board of Estimates meeting the final decision now rests with the City Council where they will vote the contract up or down at a meeting the following day, Thursday, November 18, 2004, at 12:30 PM in the council chambers.

One of the last-minute amendments would totally restructure the way public access would be managed. In an abrupt switch from the city's oft-stated plan to issue a request for proposals from independent groups to run public access, the amendment specifies that the mayor would appoint a 13-member board to work with his administration to form the public access entity. The Mayor already controls the Government Access channel with its $1.3 million budget. Why should he also be given control of the Public Access channel?

In another weird twist Comcast agreed in a separate document, not made available, to pay an additional $430,000 to Youth Works Summer Employment Program with the understanding that the city would direct this same amount to public access. This would bring the total training grant to $1 million to be doled out over the proposed 12 years of the contract. However, the mayor later said that he could not guarantee directing the $430,000 to public access.

We were told Comcast insisted on this shell game so as not to set a precedent where they would be seen giving too much to public access. This is ridiculous. There is already a precedent in Washington, DC where their 2002 cable contract directs 1.33% of Comcast's gross revenue, in addition to the 5% franchise fee, to the public access corporation. In Baltimore this would amount to $1.15 million per year for public access.

Comcast is acting like their agreement to give a relatively tiny amount is so wonderful, but it is not even in the contract, and it was negotiated in exchange for the city giving up four of our current 12 cable access channels to Comcast. Comcast's own estimates put the value of these four channels over the 12 years of the contract at $77 million! Why would the city give up these valuable public assets for so little?

Please write letters to newspapers, call in to radio shows and email or call your council members (http://www.baltimorecitycouncil.com/members.htm) to tell them to vote this proposed contract down because:

1. The contract does not even come close to providing adequate funding for Public Access as other cities have. DC public access had 2003 revenue of $2 million, most of it from the cable contract.
2. The proposed contract gives four of our current 12 cable access channels to Comcast, who values these channels at $77 million over the 12 years of the contract, in exchange for almost nothing!
3. The length of the contract is too long in this rapidly changing industry and according to Jeff Chester, Director of the Center for Digital Democracy, there have been calls for a "nationwide campaign to advocate for a new federal policy that ensures that communities can effectively benefit from the digital age, and that monopolies like Comcast are required to operate in a more open and democratic fashion."
4. At their October 13, 2004 meeting the Mayor's Cable Communications Advisory Commission unanimously voted to oppose the proposed contract.
5. There is no mention of a facility for Public Access. Other municipalities, for example Arlington Co. Virginia, specify this in the contract.
6. The proposed structure of the public access corporation shifts control from the public to the mayor.
7. The mayor's channel has a $1.3 million annual budget. It should not be more than the public channels budget.
8. Public Access needs more than one channel.
9. There has not been a fair opportunity for the public to comment on the amendments.
10. Comcast gets an exception where their failure to meet minority business goals cannot result in termination of the contract as it does with other contracts with the city.

Please CC any letters to the editor or emails you send to info@baltimoregrassrootsmedia.org and contact us with any ideas you have. Join us at our next meeting: Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 7 PM at Unity United Methodist Church, 1433 Edmondson Ave.

Baltimore Grassroots Media
www.baltimoregrassrootsmedia.org
Info@baltimoregrassrootsmedia.org
410-779-2184

Last-second amendments to the cable contract made just before Board of Estimates approved contract without oportunity for public scrutiny:

FINAL Amendments to Council Bill 04-1504 -Comcast Cable Franchise

November 10, 2004
 
1. On page 35 in line 6, after City's insert "statutes, ordinances and"; and on the same
page in line 7, after '("WBEs")' insert "as if it were a contractor receiving funding from
the City provided that enforcement of this Section shall be exclusively by way of
liquidated damages and in no event shall the City seek to suspend or rescind the
Franchise for any violation of this Section."

2. On page 32 in line 33, after Capital Support for Equipment and Facilities for PEG
Channels. insert "A" and on page 33 after line 7 insert the following:

"B. Upon the enactment of this Ordinance, the City agrees to select and convene a
Board of Incorporators (the "Board") to work with the City to create a public access
entity to be responsible for the management of public access cable television
programming. This Board shall consist of thirteen members appointed by the Mayor. All
members of the Board shall be City residents. It shall include at least three members of
the public access broadcasting community, at least two members of the Cable
Communications Advisory Commission, one representative from MOCC, one
representative from the Department of Law, one representative from the Council selected
by the President of the Council, and five additional members as determined by the
Mayor.

The Board shall develop the structure of a tax-exempt organization under section
501 of the Internal Revenue Code (the "Corporation"). The Corporation shall be created
by the City, and upon creation shall operate independently thereof. It shall generally
serve as the public access entity for the citizens of Baltimore. It shall receive and disperse
the public access portion of the PEG capital support provided for in this Section, as well
as any grant for PEG purposes Franchisee may provide in connection with the grant of
the Franchise, and such other funds (if any)made available to it from time to time by the
City. The Corporation shall enter into an agreement (the "Operating Agreement") with
the City in accordance with all standard City contractual requirements, including but not
limited to provision for regular City audits, the use of generally accepted accounting and
auditing principles, and an acceptable budgeting process prior to the receipt of funds from
the City.

Subject to the conditions above, the City shall pay to the Corporation, or to any
successor entity thereof, or to third parties on the behalf of the Corporation, one-third
(1/3) of the monies collected as capital support for PEG purposes pursuant to this
Section, if, as, and when collected by the City. These funds shall be extended only for
capital costs for public access purposes. Prior to receipt of any funds for capital support,
the Corporation (i) shall have entered into the Operating Agreement in accordance with
this Section, and (ii) shall be and remain in good corporate standing with the State of
Maryland. The Corporation shall apply all funds received from the City in accordance
with the terms and conditions of this Franchise and the Operating Agreement."

By Edward Ericson Jr.

A months-long campaign by advocates of public-access television bore fruit last week when the City Council agreed to delay action on a new cable-television contract with cable provider Comcast...(click here for rest of article on City Paper website)

Public hearing regarding the Comcast franchise renewal
Over 40 people testified, most of whom made it clear that the "P" -- the People -- in PEG TV must be protected by including specifically allocated, yearly renewable funding for public access operating expenses.
Judy Lombardi, an enthusiastic public access supporter, wrote the following about what took place on 10/13:
"Baltimore Grassroots Media, as well as the majority of the people present and testifying at City Hall at the Public Hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 13th, made it clear that the "done deal" -- the new cable franchise contract that has been negotiated between the City of Baltimore and Comcast Corporation -- is not done yet!
The presentation of the facts by Baltimore Grassroots Media regarding what other jurisdictions have been able to negotiate in terms of funding for the "P" -- the People -- in PEG - was fantastic, and must continue to be a central focus of Baltimore Grassroots Media's position.
In addition we must demand -- yes demand! -- that specifically allocated funding for the "P" in PEG be part of the Comcast/City of Baltimore agreement. This is fundamental, since we know that without specifically allocated funds, public access television, which represents the People, is doomed to failure.
Democracy is dependent on access to social, political and economic facts. Yet in this age where, as so eloquently stated by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!, "there is so much mass media and so little news," the facts are harder and harder to access. This is why the People -- including the people of Baltimore -- are demanding direct access to televised media, so that their voice will be heard. This is why the "P" in PEG must be fully and fairly funded. A decision to do anything less than this will hurt the City of Baltimore and its citizens, and they deserve much, much better."
Baltimore Sun coverage of the Oct. 13th Hearing
Baltimore Indymedia piece, "Oct 13: Final Hearing on Public Access TV" (many thanks to Jim George)
PowerPoint Presentation to the City Council at Oct 13th Public Hearing (requires MS PowerPoint)

When: 10/13/2004 4:00 PM - 10/13/2004 8:00 PM
Where: In front of City Hall (free food will be served)

Rally to Save Public Access TV followed by City Council Hearing on Cable Contract

The Baltimore City Council hearing on the proposed Comcast contract will follow the rally at 5 PM. At the hearing the city, Comcast and Public Access advocates will give presentations before the floor is opened for public comment.

After suffering a flawed 20-year cable contract, this is our opportunity to finally secure funding for non-commercial, non-governmental, free speech TV where we can create and show our own programs.

Come out to show that the people of Baltimore know how important Public Access is and that we won't be denied what other cities have.

The City's proposed contract does not provide any funding specifically for Public Access. The cable contracts of other cities provide millions of dollars for Public Access TV.

Since the City Council cannot modify the contract - they can only vote it up or down - they must reject it!

It's up us to educate and embolden our council members to do the right thing for their constituents.

Put the P in PEG! Support direct funding for Public Access TV!

More Info:
Public Access TV, cable channel 5, is the only channel covering the League of Women Voters City Council candidate forums, showing "Democracy Now!" and Baltimore's own "ROCing 'D' VOTE voter education show. It also shows local youth-produced programs, religious programs, music concerts, art exhibits, people fighting back to improve their communities, etc.

You may hear that there is funding for Public Access in the proposed contract, but this is not true. It is for Public, Education and Government Access (PEG). The Government Access (G) channel, which currently has a $1.1 million per year budget, will get to decide how the PEG money is divvied up, and are on record saying they will probably use most of it for the Government channel. In contrast, cable contracts in municipalities with vibrant public access facilities specify ongoing funding and facilities directly for the independent organizations that manage Public Access (P).

Some other problems with the proposed contract are that it reduces the number of channels available for public access and does not provide a percentage of digital bandwidth, there is no "signal input point" specified for the public access facility, and the length of the contract, though
reduced from 20 to 12 years, is still too long given the rapid changes in the cable industry.

Contact your City Council representatives (http://www.baltimorecitycouncil.com/members.htm) and ask them to vote NO to the proposed Comcast contract (Bill 04-1504).

For more info contact: 410-779-2184

Show the City Council there is a broad base of support

We are calling for City Council members to reject the proposed cable contract with Comcast (Bill 04-1504) because it lacks provisions for public access TV. We're also calling on City Council and Board of Estimates members to require that any cable franchise agreements for Baltimore City guarantee a dedicated, ongoing revenue stream to be paid directly to the non-profit organization that will manage public access TV – the Public (P) part of Public, Education and Government (PEG) Access – as well as facilities, equipment, multiple activated channels and other provisions equivalent to or exceeding those provided to the best public access TV facilities in the nation.

We need to show the Council that there is a broad base of support for public access in the community. Please print out this position and get as many supporters to sign as you can!

BGMPetition9-30-04.pdf

http://baltimorechronicle.com/090904BradCarlton.shtml

BGM04-04-16LetterToMarilynHarris-Davis.pdf

http://www.thewbalchannel.com/entertainment/2962727/detail.html

http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=4800