Council approves new MediaSource board members
The Chronicle's Matt Stiles reports that City Council has approved Mayor White's appointees to the Houston MediaSource board:
The new board members, approved by all but one council member, will replace those on the 15-member panel whose two-year terms expired at the end of last year.
The newly composed board now must deal with two months of controversy over the channel airing a few programs earlier this summer that had nudity and profanity. Council has repeatedly delayed renewal of MediaSource's $800,000 contract, which the panel is set to consider next week.
The programs also sparked a debate about whether the city could regulate the channel's content without inviting First Amendment lawsuits.
In response, Mayor Bill White proposed shaking up the board with new members who could offer fresh ideas.
Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs called the new board "a whitewash" that would do little to change the underlying issue: questions about content on the channel.
"I don't see this as any real change," she said, casting a "no" vote. "That's not really what the citizens of Houston deserve."
Councilwoman Addie Wiseman, who first raised the issue and has been the channel's chief critic, voted for the new board members.
It's Mayor White's style to work issues behind the scenes, wait for any controversy to die, and to act exactly as he intended all along. Appointing new board members to replace members whose terms had already expired is about the weakest response one might imagine. It's the equivalent of staying the course and still being able to say "I did something about this!"
The Mayor and his political staff knew well that critics of MediaSource wouldn't be able to sustain criticism and slow other city business for a long time. Mayor White simply outwaited the critics. Councilmember Sekula-Gibbs' solitary "no" vote was more opposition than I expected.
The contract vote itself could still be interesting, but the bet here is that Mayor White will find a way to include language that neutralizes Councilmember Wiseman politically, even if it doesn't truly address her concerns.
PREVIOUSLY: Mayor trying to save MediaSource contract.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 09/02/05 03:59 PM | Houston Media | Print | Comments (0)
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