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| 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.
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).
-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.
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
I congratulate QUQ for the work they have done in allowing marginalized people to have a voice in the community, but I don't feel the programming really represents the community at large. Much of the content is decades old, and not originated here at all. The topical live shows recently seem to feature someone brought in from San Francisco or somewhere else out of state to show the rurals how it's done.
ReplyDeleteI do not see quality as a perjorative term, I know that QUQ has broadcast standards that keep programs more or less family friendly, so I don't understand that argument, either.
I think you are ascribing motives to the winner of the bid that you may not have any way of knowing to be true, and until we see what they are presenting and how they treat unpopular points of view, then fairness would compel us to assume honorable intentions.
If the community is not well served, then that should be evident at the next contract period.
Not only that, but most of the people who run QUQ aren't even local people! Seems strange that the majority aren't native Burquenos, or even New Mexicans.
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