LAKE COUNTY ? The Clearlake City Council is facing decisions concerning material allowable for broadcast on the PEG Channel. Decisions will ultimately determine whether or not a candidate forum will be allowed for broadcast.
The local public, educational, governmental (PEG) cable television channel is jointly administered by the City of Clearlake and the County of Lake with the city acting as the lead agency. Following a Sept. 25 discussion of the matter, the council decided to continue the item to allow for further consult with county representatives.
City Attorney Mala Subramanian presented the council with an informative report describing the perimeters in which the public access television channel is permitted to operate. The discussion detailed concerns including use of public funds and definition of “obscene” material.
Subramanian informed the council that the city may not spend public funds on any political view or purpose. However, it may spend public fund to provide “informational material” on election matter in an unbiased manner. Should the city allow broadcast of a candidate forum it must be conducted in a fair and unbiased manner.
“A fair and unbiased candidate forum would consist of a forum where all candidates are invited and where all candidates, who choose to attend, are given an equal opportunity to answer questions and explain their positions,” Subramanian said. “For example, the city could ask the exact same question to each candidate and give each candidate a limited time period to respond.”
Subramanian continued saying that a live broadcast of a candidate forum would be feasible as long as specific rules and regulations are set in advance. She further noted that a fair and unbiased forum would be allowable under current law; however, the Supreme Court is currently reviewing a case that is likely to redefine what qualifies as “informational material.” She added that the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has suggested that it may change its regulations to create a stricter definition of what qualifies as “information materials.”
“It is difficult to estimate what the California Supreme Court and/or the FPPC may do and, as such, the most conservative approach to ensure that the city is not later deemed to be in violation of these decisions is to not allow the forum on the PEG Channel,” Subramanian said.
“Obscene” material was also included in the discussion. Pursuant to federal law, programming which is “obscene” or otherwise unprotected by the US Constitution cannot be broadcast on the PEG Channel at any time.
According to the report, public access channels are regulated by the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act of 2006. Public Utilities Code section 5,870 provides that PEG channels must be for the exclusive use of the local entity. The channel cannot be used for any commercial purpose, with the exception of that any advertising, underwriting or sponsorship recognition may be carried on the PEG Channel for the purpose of funding PEG-related activities.
Subramanian recommended that should the city allow public access to the PEG Channel that is should confirm that the program is neither commercial nor obscene. “Should the city desire to edit or limit the content submitted for the PEG Channel, the city should ensure that it has adequate written policies in place that are content-neutral, except for the restrictions on commercial and obscene speech,” Subramanian said. “Examples of content-neutral restrictions include limiting the use of the PEG Channel to Clearlake and Lake County residents, restricting the amount of air time that any particular producer/programmer can use and prohibiting programs that do not meet technical standards for airing.”
City Administrator Dale Neiman said that he has met with County Administrator Kelly Cox and that the two plan to have the existing agreement with the city and county regarding operation of the PEG Channel reviewed by county counsel and the city attorney. The item is expected to return before the council within a couple weeks.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com.
