- The Dec. 8, 2003 contract was negotiated
under the terms of the April 10, 1980 franchise agreement. According
to the original ordinance 1523 paragraph 7(B)1 pages 13 & 14 these
terms can only be negotiated during the negotiation window, every
5 years. The next opportunity to do this will be in 2005. Any terms
or agreement negotiated in 2003 are null and void, and unenforceable.
Therefore the 12/08/03 resolution is null, void and unenforceable.
Mr. Jaffee responded to this by saying the
deputy attorney decided to do it ten years early.
Why is this a rush job?
- Only the Rules and Regulations that were
approved in the 1983 Resolutions are enforceable. Any current TW claims
must be reviewed via a joint open session with the City of San Diego,
the cummunity, and all public access producers and associated persons.
This is to be noted in the permanent record of Time Warner as a complaint
to be reviewed during the next contract negotiatins.
When queried about public hearing, Mr. Jaffee
said there wasn't time.
- The original Franchise agreement that ALL
interested individuals throughout San Diego County
will continue to have the right to be CPC producers at Time Warner,
the right that has been enjoyed since 1980, until recently.
Mr. Jaffee says that each city must negotiate
their own contract.
- Any and all negotiations are to be publicly
noticed, for 30 days consecutive days in the community calendar during
normal viewing hours, and via a minimum of two emails to the producers
who have email and via US mail to those who do not.
Mr. Jaffee freely admits that in the haste
to proceed with this, none of the above was done, ie...
- no publice notice for 30 consecutive
days
- Where is the community calendar???
- No emails, not one, not two
- No US mail
- During a minimum of three open meeting, the
producers and community will have input into said negotiations, and
be fully privy, via written documentation, to all of the terms and
points of negotiation that directly affect them as they are proposed.
Mr. Jaffee agrees there were zero open meetings
and zero written documentation was made available to the producers.
- Beginners training for AVID to be offered
to all producers.
Yes, it is offered once every six months
to only 10 people at a time when most of us can't come anyway. If
you miss even an hour of the training, you must wait six months
and do the entire class over, including pay for it.
- Upgrade or refresher training for AVID offered
for all producers every month
see above
- Increased memory capacity for current AVID
system.
How much space is acturally there on the
computer for editing?
- Any significant changes in equipment by Time
Warner must result in Time Warner offering free training classes to
all current producers to bring them up to the level where the producers
can return to creating programming as they were prior to the changes.
Time Warner is currently charging for the
free training.
- Betacam and digital cameras available for
location shoots.
Mr. Jaffee expressed surprise that no field
equiptment is available.
- Re-instate the busiest times that are most
used: Friday nights, and all day Saturdays, both morning and afternoons.
Make the studio available all day Sunday, as well.
Mr. Jaffee expressed surprise that no field
equiptment is available.
- Re-instate the busiest times that are most
used: Friday nights, and all day Saturdays, both morning and afternoons.
Make the studio available all day Sunday, as well.
TW has arbitrarily taken over all the prime
producer times, forcing producers to to schedule times that are
not easily met and take off work to work on their shows. We all
agree that some compromises must be made, but we feel a producer
should not have to sacrifice thier livlihood to meet TW's whimisical
scheduling.
- The studio should return to being fully available
40 hours per week as has been the case for the last decade.
TW has let us know for the last few years
that they are trying to phase out the Public Access TV and its producers.
Why are we so surprised when they keep reducing the hours that we
can produce.
- Time Warner staff must stop taking over the
studio during public access times.
Mr. Jaffee did not understand that such
pre-empting is at best inconvenient, at worst the producer has lost
a show. Sometimes the producer might get a weeks notice, which is
still bad in terms of rescheduling, which must be next month, if
ever, or the producer may come in with his/her guests to find that
TW has taken over the studio. He did not seem to know that the guests
also must take off work to come it, and they won't do it twice.
- Time Warner must make studio additionally
available (beyond the 40 hours of recording time) for editing time
for those persons who lost editing ability.
See #s 6,7,8,9. In addition, since most
of the producers know how to do linear editing, they are useing
studio time to do editing. Few know how to do the AVID editing
due to TW's training schedule.
- Time Warner must make studio additionally
available (beyond the 40 hours of recording time) for editing time
for those persons who lost editing ability.
See #s 6,7,8,9. In addition, since most
of the producers know how to do linear editing, they are useing
studio time to do editing. Few know how to do the AVID editing due
to TW's training schedule. Apparently Mr. Jaffee did not realize
that we have only one editing bay and that is the AVID bay which
few know how to use. Mr. Jaffee suggested that since AVID cost only
$1,000.00, the produces should buy it and do their editing at home.
Mr. Jaffee also suggested that it is the trend for the public access
producers to edit at home. When asked why if it is only $1,000.00,
the studio couldn't buy another one. It would make things easier
because there would be two, then more people could train. Mr. Jaffee
then backed up and said, "But the computer to run it on costs $4,000.
- Once yearly open and recorded meetings with
Dan Ballister, and Studio Supervisor and all public access producers
and community members established on the first Saturday of every March
at 2pm. Results of said meeting to be made into minutes and distributed
to all interested personnel.
In the past we have repeatedly requested
meetings and even open forums where interested individuals could
freely express their opinions and what they would like to see or
produce. These requests have been ignored. We feel the requests
are only fair.
- Simultaneous digital recorder, beta recorder
and ¾" recorder in upstairs studio suite.
At this time, that is not the situation.
- Digital roll-in option in upstairs studio
suite.
Don't we wish. Currently that is not an option.
- Written response to complaints from both
Time Warner and Mark Jaffees office within 10 days.
Currently we get no response, oral or written.
- No retaliatory suspensions. A penalty to
Time Warner for any suspensions that are established as retaliatory
after a hearing with an independent arbitrator. There must be recourse
and resolution.
Currently, if you complain, you are suspended. There is no recourse.
The supervisor is God.
- Mark Jaffee's office must enforce regulations
when Time Warner violates them.
Unfortunately, that has not happened yet. Regardless
of contract, the Deputy attorney "decided" to renew the contract
ten years early, without public hearings, without producer input,
and never notified anybody until it was a done deal. A flagrant
deregard for the law. Is this how our City represents our interests?
Is Mr. Jaffee's job to smooth things over when they are done illegally
or does he represent us?
- According to FCC regulations, the contact
information for all public access producers is public information,
yet Time Warner refuses to release this information.
Mr. Jaffee equivocated on this question.
He did say, after being pressed, the the producers probably could
not get that from the city either.
- Time Warner is to cease broadcasting commercial
& for-profit radio programming on community calendar on non-commercial
public access channels. This is a direct violation of the original
franchise contract. This is the third time this has been noted in
recent years, yet Mark Jaffee's office refuses to enforce this provision
of the contract. This should be made a permanent part of the record
of Time Warner's violations for review during the next contract negotiations.
Mr. Jaffee agreed that they should not do
this, but it was unclear whether he intended to inforce the law
or not.
- Require a written response from Mark Jaffee's
office as to specific reasons for any suspensions, and verification
that these are legitimate warnings and violations. If a producer is
unfairly suspended, the original suspension time must be reversed,
and the number of missed dates to be doubled as a replacement.
We feel this is fair and reasonable. Mr.
Jaffee said he would discuss it with TW.
- Co-producers cannot be suspended if a producer
is suspended. This is a violation of basic civil rights.
Mr. Jaffee didn't seem to think this was
so unreasonable. Are we in the United States yet? In the United
States, one person does not expect to be presecuted for anothers
persons sins. When did this change?
At this point, a Political Science student
interupted the proceedings because she had to leave. She said she
found such flagrant disregard for the law and for a written contract,
by the city attorny's office, Mr. Jaffee's office, and Time Warner
to be frightening.
Are you with the national media?
Click here for a prompt response
wizard188@juno.com
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