I’ll admit, at times my columns can be a little dry. When it comes to expounding on government it can be difficult to make the subject matter palatable to the average person. Government affects every one of us, but, boy, can it ever be boring. People can only hear so much about how government works, where it is broken, and how it can be fixed.

As dry as it may be, analysis of government has a place in print. Someone can hold that newspaper in hand, read the article in its entirety, skim through it in search of highlights or just plain skip over it if he’s bored (and maybe come back to it at a later time). Most folk look at the newspaper as an educational tool and we know how people approach that…few people have a stomach for education.

But, it seems that everyone has a stomach for television (just look at the couch potato physiques). That’s because TV, unlike newspaper, is as much entertainment as it is education. The stimulation to eyes, ears, and mind drag us into the medium and keeps us there: According to Nielsen Media, the average person watches 4 hours and 35 minutes of TV per day, while only fifty percent of people over 25 read one newspaper in a week’s time.

That being said, television, above all other mediums, can be the perfect place in which to get people involved in civics. The viewers (voters) are there, you just have to bring them in. CNN, unlike watching-the-paint-dry CSPAN, does a fair job of this, bombarding us with multiple hosts, informative snippets, and a variety of styles that makes the layperson find interest in the way our country is run. They can make education entertaining.

And, that’s what Tom Christy did, up until two weeks ago when his popular show "Legislative Journal" was shelved after a decade of good TV. Most of the arguments based on this issue (and there have been many!) have focused on the silencing of the freedom of speech. LCTV says it acted in good judgment, citing censorship laws that it could follow. Those on the other side claim bad judgment, saying the organization had no right to do so and that the censorship was political. I’m not here to address that. Most everyone in the County has. Let’s instead let’s talk about the importance of Tom Christy as an educator.

An educator, you ask? Yes.

Think about some of CNN’s most popular hosts, like Glenn Beck and Lou Dobbs. They’re engaging because the know how to deliver a message and more importantly, they wear their hearts on their sleeves. Better yet, think back to your childhood and your favorite teachers. They succeeded because they filled your mind with life lessons while making a lively classroom experience that had your brain begging for more. Boredom was not an option to them.

Tom is – or should I say, "was?" – like those people. Tom is Tom. He’s unique, maybe a little flamboyant and over the top, and that, along with their sense of civic duty, is what brought the viewers to LCTV to hear about what their legislator is and is not doing for them. Regular Average Joes and Janes, the salts of the earth, tuned in to the show because Tom’s entertaining style made government talk user-friendly. And, in the realm of politics, there is no more important "user" than the common citizen.

These people were anywhere and everywhere. I’ve always been amazed at who tells me they watch Tom’s show, people who otherwise care less about government and normally choose American Idol, sports, and cop shows over news and commentary. They dig what Tom did and, because of that, learned how the world around them works.

The very same sort of people came out of the woodwork every time Tom and I would be out and about. Men and women that he didn’t know would approach him, showering him with hugs, handshakes, and praise. These weren’t people looking to rub elbows with a local celebrity. How do I know? In every one of these encounters the fans would say two important and telling words, "thank you."

They thanked Tom for giving them three hours of his time every week when he brought THEIR elected officials into THEIR homes and delivered the word of government in a way that THEY could understand.

Because of this educational and civic importance, LCTV should reconsider their stand and bring back WNY’s most popular – and meaningful – talk show host. He is an asset to the community, just like LCTV is, and they, like every one of us, would be better off if both parties got back together again.