[Kzyxtalk] Restoration of Safe Harbor at KZYX&Z

Sun May 8 17:06:03 PDT 2016

Thanks for the tip, Beth.  "Prior Restraint" is often used when analyzing the Free Speech protections of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  Alas, those protections only apply when a "state actor" is involved, i.e., the government at any level, like the FBI in the situation you describe.  However, the California Constitution provides even greater protections for free speech.  It was used in the Pruneyard case to require the private owners of a shopping center to allow petitioning and other free speech activity on private property.  So there may be a legal basis for a challenge in Superior Court if the Safe Harbor is not restored.  A publicly chartered membership nonprofit corporation that is a steward of the public airwaves should be even more subject to the law than private parties, yes?

Denny

--------------------------------------------
On Fri, 5/6/16, nsi at mcn.org <nsi at mcn.org> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [Kzyxtalk] Restoration of Safe Harbor at KZYX&Z
 To: dennisobrien at sharejerusalem.com, kzyxtalk at lists.mcn.org
 Cc: gm at kzyx.org, pd at kzyx.org, "Meadows UDJ" <udjkcm at pacific.net>, "Willits News" <editorial at willitsnews.com>, "Ft. Bragg Advocate-News" <advocatenews at mcn.org>, "Kzyx News" <news at kzyx.org>, "Bruce Anderson" <ava at pacific.net>
 Date: Friday, May 6, 2016, 1:02 PM

 Thank you Dennis, for
 pursing this. This policy may also fall into the
 category of 'Prior Restraint'.

  Mary Aigner restrained Norman
 deVall from interviewing Laura Hamburg,
 days
 before the Measure B election that restricted Mendocino
 County
 residents from growing more than 6
 cannabis plants no matter their medical
 needs. (Until the California Supreme Court
 ruled elsewise shortly
 afterwards).
 Mary's  reason was  that  Laura was the organizer of
 the
 resistance to the Measure. That's
 how convoluted it got at KZYX after
 Aigner
 dug in.  Every First Amendment right was superceded by
 the
 restrictions imposed by the major grants
 that paid Aigner's salary for a
 position
 the station hardly needs.  

 Early on in the station's history, during a
 period when I provided the
 only daytime
 public affairs programing on a 2 hr. weekly show called
 4th
 GAte GAzette, I used the 'Prior
 Restraint' doctrine when the FBI sent 2 men
 to the Philo studio and told the General
 Manager KZYX could not broadcast
 any news
 reports about the bombing of Judi Bari's car that did
 not
 originate from the FBI news releases.

  A Notice was posted on the window re the
 prohibition (people from Oakland
 were
 regularly phoning in reports after Judi was bombed) the DJ
 at the
 console at the time called me and I
 told him it was an act of 'Prior
 Restraint' and to tear the notice down,
 throw it away and continue putting
 callers
 on the air.  He did and that was the end of the FBI's
 resistance to
 KZYX's coverage of the
 attempted assassination of this brave, local woman,
 leader of a Movement intent on keeping standing
 the last remaining 2% of
 California old
 growth redwoods, who after she was bombed was chained to
 a
 hospital bed, charged by the FBI and
 Oakland Police with carrying the bomb
 that
 was placed under her driver's seat set to blow her to
 slivers when she
 made the first sharp turn
 on her way back home from an organizing trip to
 California college
 campuses.   --beth bosk

 On
 Fri, 6 May 2016 17:37:21 +0000 (UTC), <dennisobrien at sharejerusalem.com>
 wrote:
 > Lorraine and
 Raoul,
 > 
 > Thank you
 very much for putting time and energy into implementing
 KZYX's
 > Programming Policy,
 including the Program Advisory Committee (PAC). 
 This
 > letter is a formal
 request to restore the station's Safe Harbor hours
 > pending a review of the policy by the PAC
 and, perhaps, the Board of
 >
 Directors.
 > 
 > In
 late 2015, just before her retirement, the former Program
 Director
 > announced the elimination of
 the "Safe Harbor" for free speech at the
 > station.  "Safe Harbor" is a
 period from 10:00pm to 6:00am when language
 > that might otherwise be considered profane
 can be used, in accordance
 with
 > Federal Communications Commission
 regulations.  Programmers will now
 lose
 > their positions if they either use such
 language themselves, play a
 > recording
 that uses it, or allow any caller, be they members or the
 general
 > public, to use
 such language.
 > 
 >
 This change has a chilling effect on programmers, members,
 and the
 public.
 >
 Allegations that programmers have allowed profanity on their
 shows have
 > been used to remove
 programmers whose shows encouraged dialogue with the
 > members and the community.  There are a
 lot of recordings - music,
 comedy,
 > commentary - in which one of the
 "seven words" can be found.  Our
 > programmers have been able to play them
 freely during Safe Harbor, and
 our
 > listeners have benefited.  That has all
 been changed.
 > 
 > A
 few days ago I was listening around 10:30pm when the song
 "Big Old Jet
 > Airliner" by
 Steve Miller came on.  There is a line about "funky
 shit
 going
 > down in the
 city."  The programmer had to turn the volume down and
 up at
 > that point.  I just sighed in
 disappointment.  If even a top 40 song has
 to
 > be bleeped, how are we
 ever going to hear recordings that are even less
 > restrained in their expression?  The
 late-night programmers will have to
 >
 shelve half their material.  Will we never again hear
 George Carlin's
 > magnificent
 commentary?
 > 
 > I do
 not believe that the Program Director has the authority
 to
 eliminate
 > the Safe
 Harbor hours.  This is not just a day-to-day
 administrative
 > function.  Nor is it
 the hiring or firing of a programmer, or even the
 > selection of a genre or type of
 programming.  This is the elimination of
 > free speech during one-third of the hours
 of operation.  That is a
 policy
 > decision that cannot be made by any one
 person.  It requires extensive
 >
 discussion and feedback from the members and the public. 
 This might be
 > accomplished by the PAC,
 but any decision to eliminate the Safe Harbor
 > would need to be confirmed by the Board of
 Directors, as it is a policy
 > decision,
 perhaps more than any other decision that a public
 community
 > radio station can make. 
 Indeed, it is so important that it should be
 put
 > to the members for a
 vote before our Safe Harbor for free speech is
 taken
 > away from us.
 > 
 > Some will question
 that approval by the members is necessary.  But I
 don't
 > think anyone can
 question that the former Program Director acted
 > arbitrarily and capriciously, placing her
 own morality and personal
 > preferences
 above any group process, excluding the public, the
 members
 and
 > even the
 programmers from the decision while creating an atmosphere
 of
 > oppression that has diminished
 creativity and promoted self-censorship. 
 > That is not the mission of public
 community radio in Mendocino County. 
 >
 That is how totalitarian regimes operate.  KZYX is a
 steward of the
 > airwaves, not a
 dictator.
 > 
 > Please
 immediately restore the Safe Harbor pending a review of
 the
 policy
 > by the PAC
 and perhaps others.  You have the authority to do so.  It
 is
 in
 > the best
 interests of the station and the community, rather than
 an
 > projection of one persons
 restrictive morality.
 > 
 > Because this is a policy matter of great
 importance to the members and
 the
 > community, I am copying this request to
 the KZYXTalk email listserve and
 > other
 media.
 > 
 > Thank you
 very much for your time and attention, and for your efforts
 to
 > improve the governance at KZYX. 
 Please have faith in the members, the
 >
 public, and our diversity of expression.  If pubic radio in
 Mendocino
 > County will not allow freedom
 of speech, then who will?
 > 
 > Sincerely,
 > 
 > Dennis O'Brien
 >
 Member 
 > 
 >
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