90's Channel Press Release

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

> From: robg () halcyon com (Rob Glaser)
>
> Thought this would be of interest.  Feel free to forward/report.  For 
> further information, please contact John directly.
>
> Open Platforms, anyone?
>
> Rob
>
> > X-Sender: schwartz () cscns com
> > Date: Fri, 20 Jan 1995 23:42:47 -0700
> > To: robg () halcyon com
> > From: schwartz () usa net (John Schwartz)
> > Subject: 90's Channel Press Release
> > Content-Length: 4511
> > X-UIDL: 790716089.002
> >
> > Rob:  This press release (or varient thereof) went out to a considerable 
> > range of trade, progressive, and consumer press today.  I also posted it to 
> > the telecomreg and roundtable mailing lists, to which I subscribe.  I would 
> > appreciate your help in getting it posted widely.  Please feel free to 
> > re-post it.  If you would prefer, I would be pleased to post it in 
> > additional locations you suggest.  
> >
> >                                     John
> >
> >
> >                              PRESS RELEASE
> >
> > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                          FOR FURTHER INFORMATION


> >                                               CONTACT:   
> >                                               JOHN SCHWARTZ 
> >                                               (303) 442-2707
> >                                                               
> >
> >
> >            TELE-COMMUNICATIONS, INC. EXCLUDES LIBERAL NETWORKS
> >                    FROM NEW POLITICAL PROGRAM PACKAGE
> >
> >       Gingrich Stars, But the Liberal 90's Channel is to Get the Ax
> >
> >
> >     BOULDER, COLORADO, January 20, 1995.  The 90's Channel---the nation's
> > only full-time liberal television network---today charged that
> > Tele-Communications Inc. is shaping its recently-announced political program
> > package to favor powerful right-wing interests.
> >     "Just look at this biased line-up," said John Schwartz, president of the
> > Boulder-based 90's Channel.  "There is National Empowerment Television,
> > starring Newt Gingrich and the National Rifle Association; The American 
> > Conservative Network; and two non-partisan channels---C-SPAN2 and the American
> > Political Network.  TCI also has long carried Pat Robertson's Family Channel,
> > and owns part of it."  
> >     Denver's Rocky Mountain News recently published details of the new
> > political programming line-up.  
> >     TCI has made no arrangements to carry a liberal network.  
> >     Since it went on the air in 1989, the Boulder, Colorado- based 90's
> > Channel has carried a diverse mix of controversial programs with a liberal
> > point of view.  The network has criticized the Persian Gulf war, revealed
> > inhumane prison conditions, reported on President Bush's Iran-contra ties,
> > championed the rights of gays and lesbians, backed trade union organizers and
> > exposed corporate polluters.  
> >     Ironically, part of The 90's Channel's cable carriage now comes from TCI,
> > which runs the network on seven of its more than 1,000 systems.  "Far from
> > adding us on more systems, all indications are that TCI plans to delete the
> > channel when our current agreement expires later this year," said Schwartz. 
> > "We have received no response to our repeated inquiries concerning continued
> > carriage, or inclusion in the new political programming package."  
> >     "There is, however, a published account that TCI 'absolutely' will not
> > keep the channel once the current contract expires," Schwartz added.  
> >     In August, 1992, TCI informed The 90's Channel of its intention to drop
> > the network on all its systems.  The channel took TCI to court and negotiated
> > an agreement for carriage through October 31, 1995.  
> >     TCI is the world's largest cable operator, and serves approximately
> > one-quarter of all cable subscribers in the United States.  
> >     "The public needs to be concerned about TCI's monopoly control over
> > information," said Jeff Cohen, the executive director of FAIR, the New
> > York-based media watch group.  "While cable often offers 50 channels or more,
> > the cable company has almost absolute discretion over what is carried and what
> > isn't.  The fact that TCI is using its control for ideological purposes is
> > very disturbing."   
> >     "This is not the first instance where a cable company has  abused its
> > monopoly power," observed Jeff Chester, executive director of The Center for
> > Media Education, a Washington-based public interest group.  "For instance, it
> > has been widely reported that TCI and other cable operators have even blocked
> > the plans of other media giants like NBC and Fox to create all-news channels
> > which would compete with the Cable News Network because CNN is owned in large
> > part by cable companies.  But here we have a blatant instance of a cable
> > company's thwarting the competition of ideas, and favoring one ideology over
> > another.  This control over political communications is a direct threat to
> > American democracy."    
> >                             
> > Copyright 1995 Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium, Inc.  
> >
> >
> > This press release may be freely reposted, as long as its entire contents are
> > transmitted.