QUQ granted a judicial hearing in District Court

Word just in, QUQ was granted a judicial hearing!


On June 19th, a hearing has been scheduled by the Honorable Alan Malott, District Court Judge, Division XV. Judge Malott granted Quote-Unquote, Inc.'s lawyers an opportunity to argue in court the many different reasons why QUQ deserves the issuing of an injunction and the chance to plead its case. An injunction would put to halt the transferring of contracts to the other operator while a more elaborate lawsuit is brought against select City Officials, City Departments, and other parties involved in this case of perceived legal irregularities. We hope fair and just decisions take place in the court of law. We got our foot in the door, this is positive news.
Next stop...let's get this injunction!



The specifics are as follows:
Tuesday June 19th at 9am
Courtroom of Judge Alan Malott
District Courthouse, Courtroom 716
400 Lomas BLVD NW, 7th floor
Albuquerque, NM 87102

Let's recap here. The Albuquerque Free Speech Update.

QUQ staff Steve Ranieri, Alden Bruce and volunteer Lara Dale all work together to  
hang the "Free Speech is not For Sale Banner" (April 2012).

The Albuquerque Free Speech Update
May 16, 2012
by Erica Jones, Community Outreach Coordinator, Quote-Unquote, Inc.

---

Since October 2011, there has been a lot of information dispersed to the public about what is happening with the Public Access TV station here in Albuquerque. The major news in October was that Quote-Unquote Inc. (QUQ) was subjected to a completely fraudulent RFP process. A self-appointed ad hoc committee with no authority in the matter went behind closed doors and determined that the contract to operate the Public Access channels would be recommended to a higher bidder with no experience operating a station. In the process they also bypassed the Cable Franchise and Hearing Board, the sole authority for advising the City and making recommendations on these matters.

Because of this and numerous other irregularities that occurred throughout the entire RFP process, between October 2011 and May 2012, QUQ did painstaking research into this matter, and launched an impassioned campaign to educate the community about the major issues. They are as follows:

-the legal irregularities pertaining to how the City of Albuquerque handled their procurement process

-the Comcast Cable proposal, also submitted behind closed doors, to buy 6 of the 9 allocated Public Access channels from the City of Albuquerque for $250,000. Estimated market value per channel is approximately $1.3M!  

-spreading awareness about a national campaign to destroy Free Speech, and, as a result of this battle, more than a hundred Public Access centers in the US have been shut down. (For the larger back-story on the national issue to save Public Access, read this blog).

The bottom line is that May 7th, 2012, the City Council, in a 5 to 4 partisan vote, with all 5 Republicans in favor, approved the ad hoc committee’s recommendation to award the contract to run Public Access services to a less experienced, more costly competitor. It is important to note that the Cable Franchise and Hearing Board, once they wrested back control of the proceedings, voted unanimously for QUQ, but their recommendation was completely ignored by the administration. Among QUQ’s numerous objections to the City’s mishandling of the RFP process are the following:

-that our competitor’s proposal indicates there will be no live programming

-that their organization will be the executive producer of all shows

-that they indicated on their website they will censor “objectionable content”

-that marketing and slick production values will be a greater priority than diversity and community participation.

What we have described here is a commercial model, not a model for Public Access. That said, for the past several months QUQ has been consulting with our legal team and is pursuing all necessary avenues for achieving justice. As we have already made clear during numerous City Council meetings, TV shows, radio shows, PSAs, articles, blogs and other outlets, there is a laundry list of legal irregularities that need to be investigated. We believe the courts are now our best opportunity to demand transparency from our local government and hold the City accountable to the will of the people. In addition to strong legal action, we are compiling a comprehensive and incriminating group of IPRA (Inspection of Public Records) documents that the State Auditor’s office will review to determine if there was any misconduct by the City of Albuquerque.

To bring everyone up to date, where we stand presently is that QUQ’s attorneys have filed a request for an injunction. This will potentially put a halt to the transferring of the contract as QUQ prepares its larger lawsuit (listing all legal irregularities, citing specific City officials, providing evidence of unfair bias, etc). This injunction is awaiting a judge’s review, and the outcome will determine much of QUQ’s future direction in mobilizing our supporters.


We ask that you be patient and keep revisiting this blog for updates, as much will be decided over the next few weeks. Our grassroots educational campaign has been largely successful because of the countless dedicated community volunteers, free speech advocates, community media producers, and the QUQ staff and board, so many thanks to everyone for fighting the good fight!

---

“The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government.” -FDR

SAVE Quote Unquote Community Media Center

Are you a community media supporter? a community media producer? a partner organization? a public access TV lover? 

Then demand that media justice happens for Quote Unquote, Inc. 

Please write your message here: a testimonial, a quote, a story, whatever it is, please let your voice be heard so we can convey just how important it is that Quote Unquote continue to operate our channels. Thank you.


Thank you,Quote Unquote Staff