L A City Channels 35 & 36 CENSOR Full Disclosure Public Access Cable Programming? (6 min Video Here)

Los Angeles, CA Will the First Amendment rights of independent television producers be jeopardized when city govenment controls all the public cable channels in January 2009? Is it possible that the political appointees serving on an oversight board will be disposed to protect those rights? .......Even if the programs cover issues not favored by government? You be the judge by looking at the record........

MAYOR'S HEAVY HAND?

For the past three years, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's four political appointees who serve on the Municipal Access Policy Board (MAPB) have steadfastly refused to investigate or hold a formal hearing into the unusual circumstances whereby Emmy Award-winning Full Disclosure Network® was removed from the LA City Government channel (Cityview 35) after having provided public affairs programming, to that channel since 1992, as a public service at no cost to the City. Now the City has adopted a plan developed by this same oversight (MAPB) body for the government to take control of all 14 public access channels and studios provided by Time Warner Cable for the past 25 years.

OVERSIGHT OR CONTROL?

Full Disclosure host Leslie Dutton and a number of citizens made a plea to MAPB oversight board, on July 27, 2006 during the "public comment" portion of the meeting. asking them to conduct a investigation and public hearing into the circumstances surrounding the removal of the program from Cityview channel 35. Here is a six minute video news blog of that meeting.

CORRUPTION CANCER SPREADS

Now, three years later, the L.A City funded Educational Channel, LA36, has removed Full Disclosure from their channel line up by claiming "technical problems", only on the Full Disclosure program, are preventing them from showing on the channel. In a series of meetings and exchange of correspondence, LA36 Channel refused to produce any "official" guidelines and technical standards for ALL content producers when requested by an Audio Engineering firm retained by the Full Disclosure program. However a recent "AUDIT" performed by the City Controller's Office released on December 17, 2009, claims that both channels are satisfactorily performing.

REVEALING VIDEO

Full Disclosure Network® is re-releasing a six minute Video News Blog featuring a chronology of events leading up to the abrupt termination of the Emmy Award winning public affairs program from the L. A. CityView Cable Channel 35.

COMMUNITY OUTCRY?

Appearing in this video news blog are community leaders who testified in support of the Full Disclosure Network® at the MAPB meeting. The video features clips of their requests for a full investigation and hearing.

• Don Schultz, past president Van Nuys Neighborhood Council, & Homeowers Association
• David Hernandez, North Hollywood Neighborhood Association
• Dave Bradford, Silverlake/Echo Park Resident
• Gil Wong, member Lakeview Terrace Improvement Assn.
• Leslie Dutton, Producer/Host of the Full Disclosure Network®.

PROGRAMMING PROVIDED AS A PUBLIC SERVICE

Since 1992 the Full Disclosure®. program has been featured on CityView Channel 35, without cost to the City, as a public service at the request of various City Departments, agencies and Council members. The Full Disclosure Network®. is an educational, non-profit organization. In 2002, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences presented host Leslie Dutton with a public affairs Emmy Award for the series entitled “L.A.’s War Against Terrorism”, featuring LAPD Chief Bernard Parks, LAPD Lt. Ken Hillman, L.A. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas and L.A. County Sheriff Leroy Baca, covering how government agencies would work together following 9/11.

CONFLICTING TERMINATION LETTERS?

This June 14, 2006 termination letter clearly states the immediate termination was due to “contentious content” while an Email sent by Councilman Bernard Parks to Producer Leslie Dutton contradicted the letter, stating he had not pulled his sponsorship of the program. The Full Disclosure Network™ can be seen on over 40 cable systems and the Internet. Billed as “the news behind the news” programs feature critical issues rarely addressed in depth on the regular news media.

VIEWERS URGED TO HELP

At the conclusion of this video news blog the Full Disclosure Network®. requests viewers to call the following people and ask why the program was removed from the channel.
Tony Ighani Station Manager at 213-485-7561
Bernard Parks, Council District 8 at 213-473-7008

RUSSIAN JOURNALISTS DISCOVER POWER OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT: Special Video Report (15 min)

Los Angeles, CA In a Special Internet Report entitled“Russian Journalists Discover The First Amendment”the Full Disclosure Network® presents a fifteen-minute video featuring prominent U.S. Political authorities and five visiting Russian journalists who questioned the Full Disclosure Network® if the independent network has experienced opposition from U. S. political authorities.

The Russian visitors were part of a tour sponsored by the United States Library of Congress “Open World”program and facilitated by the International Visitors Council of Los Angeles. Meeting with Full Disclosure producers Leslie Dutton and T. J. Johnston the journalists specifically wanted to know details about the relationship between government authorities and the independent Full Disclosure Network.

The video reveals the sincere and heartwarming reaction of the Russian journalists after they learned, from Full Disclosure of the reaction by authorities to specific programs where conflicts and failed public policies were exposed.

Video clips from those programs feature political authorities:

• Richard Thornburgh, Former U.S. Attorney General
• Ken Starr, Presidential Prosecutor
• Robert Woodward, Journalist-Author
• Steve Cooley, Los Angeles District Attorney
• Roger Carrick, Special Legal Counsel to LAUSD Office of Inspector General

Visiting Russian Journalists featured in video are:

• Ms. Mariya Ramazanovna Abubakarova, Chief Editor, Grozny City Newspaper
• Ms. Kseniya Aleksandrovna Anufriyeva, Editor, Commentator, Mir Television Station
• Ms. Tamara Bessmertnaya, Senior Editor Almazny Krai Television & Radio
• Mr. Dimitriy Leonidovich Sokolov, Deputy Chief Editor, Editorial Board Ryazan News
• Ms. Matalya Romanovna Volina, Correspondent, Vostochno-Sibirskaya Pravda News
• Ms. Irina Vladimirovna Shcherbinina, Facilitator for the Library of Congress

Some of the topics covered with the journalists:

• Is there any power (official) that you (fear) to cover?
• Do your programs report on events or do they foresee events?
• How do you cover Presidential politics?

The full length program covering this meeting is to be featured on 45 cable systems a complete listing of channels and airtimes, by community can be found on our Channels page.