Strangled by cable?
Can't live without that HBO, but steamed that cable rates seem to keep rising?
Tough.
Thanks to the effectiveness of cable lobbyists and the weak spines of those in the last Congress, the cable industry managed to manipulate their way to erase most of the last iotas of control that local governments had over their operations.
At the most recent city council meeting, wannabe mayor Mark Worrell raised pointed questions about upcoming revenue problems the city might be facing and he asked about cable franchise fees and the potential impact of recently weakened cable legislation.
Mayor Al dropped the bomb that made me want to press rerun on the TiVo. He said it's conceivable that the city could lose about $225,000 if cable companies decided not to be charitable. He then told a story of a past cable fee increase where he was told by the cable representative that a increase in customer fees probably would be forthcoming. Because the cable company had settled on the increase, the mayor figured it was fruitless to raise the issue before council.
Note to the mayor: You may be powerless in this, but you should wield the power you have. In the past, council concerns about cable have gotten the attention of cable companies fairly quickly. If no one complains about the concerns and makes them uncomfortable, they'll run over you like a steamroller. At least use the power of your public meetings to beat them up so even though they get fatter and richer, they end up with bruises and a public image that they really can't repair with money.
Maybe then, citizens will do more than sit on their butts in front of the TV and start writing legislators about it to get some of the wacky free rides for cable reversed. If someone doesn't take a stand or raise some hell, before you know it even your council meetings won't be televised anymore.
On second thought, maybe that's not such a bad idea.
Tough.
Thanks to the effectiveness of cable lobbyists and the weak spines of those in the last Congress, the cable industry managed to manipulate their way to erase most of the last iotas of control that local governments had over their operations.
At the most recent city council meeting, wannabe mayor Mark Worrell raised pointed questions about upcoming revenue problems the city might be facing and he asked about cable franchise fees and the potential impact of recently weakened cable legislation.
Mayor Al dropped the bomb that made me want to press rerun on the TiVo. He said it's conceivable that the city could lose about $225,000 if cable companies decided not to be charitable. He then told a story of a past cable fee increase where he was told by the cable representative that a increase in customer fees probably would be forthcoming. Because the cable company had settled on the increase, the mayor figured it was fruitless to raise the issue before council.
Note to the mayor: You may be powerless in this, but you should wield the power you have. In the past, council concerns about cable have gotten the attention of cable companies fairly quickly. If no one complains about the concerns and makes them uncomfortable, they'll run over you like a steamroller. At least use the power of your public meetings to beat them up so even though they get fatter and richer, they end up with bruises and a public image that they really can't repair with money.
Maybe then, citizens will do more than sit on their butts in front of the TV and start writing legislators about it to get some of the wacky free rides for cable reversed. If someone doesn't take a stand or raise some hell, before you know it even your council meetings won't be televised anymore.
On second thought, maybe that's not such a bad idea.
posted by The Observer at 1/09/2007 02:10:00 PM
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