ORi~~AL ORIGINAL Before the RECe\VED FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 [JAN .o:!.. \993 FEDERAL CQ.\MuroTlOOS C\MM1SS1~ cmtt (fT\\E SW\ETNW In the Matter of: ) ) Request by TV 14, Inc. ) MM Docket No. 92-295 ~ to Amend Section 76.51 of the ) RM-8016 ~ Commission's Rules to Include ) Rome, Georgia, in the Atlanta, ) Georgia, Television Market )
To: The Commission
COMMENTS and COUNTERPROPOSAL of the GEORGIA PUBLIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
The Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission (t1GPTCtI), licensee of noncommercial educational television Station
WGTV(TV), Athens, Georgia ("WGTV tI ), by its attorneys, hereby submits its Comments and Counterproposal with respect to the
Commission's Notice of Proposed Rule Making ( t1 NPRM" )11 issued in the above-captioned proceeding. In that NPRM, the Commission is proposing to revise Section 76.51 of its Rules and to redefine the Atlanta television market as the Atlanta-Rome market. For the reasons set forth below, the GPTC urges the Commission to add
Athens as a designated community in the market, such that the market is the "Atlanta-Rome-Athens" market.
No. of Copies recfr~"'--_--I-_ UstA Be DE' 11 FCC 92-536 (released December 8, 1992). I. STATEMENT OF INTEREST
The GPTC is an agency of the State of Georgia charged with providing public telecommunications services, including both public television and radio service, to the residents of the
State of Georgia. To fulfill that mission, the GPTC is the licensee of nine public television stations, twelve television translators, and eleven public radio stations located throughout the State. The various television stations operated by the GPTC
(including WGTV) form the Georgia Public Television Network, which provides instructional and public television service to school systems and residents in the State.gf During the school day, these stations broadcast in-school instructional programming and, during the evenings and on weekends they offer public television programming. The GPTC's flagship television station is Station WGTV, whose transmitter is located on Stone Mountain, immediately outside of Atlanta, and which serves the Atlanta metropolitan area, as well as Athens.
In these comments, GPTC asks the Commission to eliminate the long-standing marketplace anomaly in which the major ratings services place Athens in the Atlanta market and recognize WGTV as an Atlanta market station, although the station is not recognized as an Atlanta market station in Section 76.51 of the Commission's
Rules (the "Table of Markets") because Athens is not a designated community in the Atlanta market. This lack of Commission gf The noncommercial FM radio stations are operated as the Peach State Public Radio Network.
- 2 - recognition that WGTV is an Atlanta market station hampers the
GPTC's ability to generate underwriting contributions from both
Atlanta and from sources outside the State of Georgia. The loss of this potential revenue limits the GPTC's ability to make the maximum contribution to the educational and cultural services offered not only in the Atlanta metropolitan area, but also in the remainder of the state. The identification of Station WGTV as an Athens station, rather than one serving the entire Atlanta market, suggests that the station's reach and the potential audience size is limited to Athens alone, when in fact the station serves the entire Atlanta market and has done so for many years.
In the NPRM, the Commission proposes to change Atlanta's market designation in the Table of Markets from "Atlanta" to
"Atlanta-Rome." The Commission's proposal is in response to a
Petition for Rule Making filed by TV 14, Inc., licensee of
Station WTLK(TV), Channel 14, Rome ("TV 14"), which argues that it is necessary to add Rome formally to the Atlanta market in order for Station WTLK to be considered a local station in the
Atlanta area under the cable compulsory license. NPRM at ~ 2.
The GPTC does not object to this request, but believes that the market is more accurately described as the "Atlanta-Rome-Athens" market. The GPTC believes that the economic and public interest factors which justify adding Rome to the Atlanta market also
- 3 - support the addition of Athens to the Atlanta market.~/
Accordingly, as a counterproposal, GPTC requests that the
Commission accommodate TV 14 and WGTV by changing the Atlanta market designation in the Table of Markets from "Atlanta" to
"Atlanta-Rome-Athens."
II. WGTV IS AN ATLANTA MARKET STATION
In the NPRM, the Commission focused on a number of specific factors in concluding that TV 14 made a sufficient case to warrant commencement of a rulemaking proposing to add Rome to the
Atlanta market. Specifically, the Commission noted (a) that
Station WTLK and the stations licensed to Atlanta appear to have substantially overlapping coverage areas, (b) that Station WTLK and the Atlanta stations compete for viewership, (c) that
Arbitron already lists Rome within the Atlanta ADI, (d) that
Station WTLK's market-area program listings consider Station WTLK local in the Atlanta market, and (e) that, although Rome and
Atlanta are some 56 miles distant and the facilities of the Rome and Atlanta stations are not collocated, the Commission has already concluded that the relative location of the transmitters of the stations renders them unavoidably competitive. NPRM at
11 7.
~I Furthermore, addition of Athens to the Georgia market in this proceeding will obviate the need for the GPTC to file a separate rulemaking request, thereby facilitating an expedited resolution of the matter and relieving the processing burden on the FCC.
- 4 - GPTC submits that each of these factors apply equally to
WGTV and strongly favor the addition of Athens to the Atlanta
market. Athens is 66 miles northeast of Atlanta, and the major
ratings services include Athens in the Atlanta television market.
For example, Arbitron's market designation for Atlanta is
"Atlanta (Athens & Rome)", and Nielsen includes Athens in the
Atlanta DMA. Furthermore, WGTV operates from a transmitter
located less than 15 miles east of Atlanta on Stone Mountain. 1/
As a result, WGTV's city-grade contour covers all of the city of
Atlanta and most of the Atlanta Metro area (as defined by
Arbitron and Nielsen). WGTV's Grade B contour covers the entire
Atlanta television market, see Exhibit 1, and its coverage is
comparable to that of the Atlanta stations. See Exhibit 2.
By virtue of the proximity of Athens to Atlanta and the
location of WGTV's transmitter, WGTV is unquestionably perceived
as an Atlanta station and its programming competes for audiences
with the commercial stations in the market. Also, WGTV is
presently carried on 87 cable systems in the 56 counties
identified by Nielsen as inside the Atlanta television market.
To the best of GPTC's knowledge, WGTV is carried on the basic
service tier by all Atlanta market cable systems. In addition,
both the trade press and the Atlanta media have long recognized
WGTV's presence in the Atlanta market. TV Guide, for instance,
1/ One Atlanta radio station, WABE-FM, is collocated with Channel 8 on Stone Mountain. Most of the Atlanta market television stations operate from transmitter sites in or around the city of Atlanta.
- 5 - lists WGTV as an "Athens/Atlanta" station, while the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution lists WGTV as an "Atlanta" station in their weekly program guide. See Exhibit 3. The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution has also consistently provided news coverage of WGTV's programming. See Exhibit 4. WGTV's ratings performance also reflects its status as part of the Atlanta market. Thus, during the 1982-1983 season, WGTV achieved a weekly "cume" rating of 27% in the Nielsen ratings, meaning that 27% of all households in the Atlanta Metro area watched WGTV at least once a week, and, as of July, 1992, Nielsen indicated that WGTV averaged a 57% "cume" in the Atlanta Metro area.~1 The station's most recent audience analysis (November,
1992) shows that WGTV has achieved a 60% "cume", which translates into some 905,000 households and 2,353,000 persons in the Atlanta
Metro area who watch the station at least once a week. And, a large number of those viewers support the GPTC. As of December
29, 1992, the GPTC had 35,334 members in the Atlanta Metro area, more than half of the total number of public television members in the entire state of Georgia, and during the calendar year
1992, those 35,000 Atlanta Metro members contributed $2,248,300 to GPTC's operations, representing 64% of the State's public television membership dollars. GPTC therefore submits that WGTV
~I By comparison, the National Public Television Cume Rating (i.e., that for public television stations throughout the United States) is 53%.
- 6 - is at least as much an Atlanta market station as is Station
WTLK(TV) .
Moreover, while WGTV is a public television station, that fact does not affect the economic and other realities concerning
WGTV's presence in the Atlanta market. The Commission has in a number of contexts recognized that noncommercial television stations have local service obligations that are comparable to those imposed on commercial television stations, and that noncommercial television stations are therefore to be considered when determining how much television service is provided to a given market. For instance, the Commission counts noncommercial television stations when determining the "white" and "gray" areas served by commercial television applicants, noting that
"noncommercial educational stations now have an obligation to serve the programming needs of their communities and ... such stations cannot be excluded from the analysis of existing service." Channel 32 Broadcasting Company, 6 FCC Rcd 5188
(1992), recon. denied, 7 FCC Rcd 1694 (1992); see also Valley
Broadcasters, Inc., 5 FCC Rcd 2785, 2788 (1990). The Commission similarly counts noncommercial television stations when determining whether an applicant seeking a waiver of the
Commission'S duopoly rule has met the "TOp 25 Markets/3D Voices" test. See,~, Susquehanna Radio Corp., 6 FCC Rcd 6547 (1991).
Prior to passage of the 1992 Cable Television Consumer
Protection and Competition Act (the "1992 Act"), the Commission counted noncommercial television stations when determining
- 7 - whether a cable system was subject to "effective competition" and therefore exempt from local rate regulation. See 47 C.F.R.
§76.33(a)(2). And, under Section 615 of the 1992 Act and any
Commission rules promulgated pursuant thereto, noncommercial television stations will have mandatory carriage and channel positioning rights similar to those of commercial television stations. Hence, both as a factual and as a legal matter, WGTV is a part of the Atlanta market, and should be formally recognized as such in the Commission's Table of Markets.
III. THE ADDITION OF ATHENS TO THE ATLANTA MARKET WILL ENHANCE WGTV's ABILITY TO PROVIDE NONCOMMERCIAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING.
Arbitron currently ranks Atlanta as the 10th largest television ADI, with 1,119,700 television households in the
Atlanta Metro area. 1992 Broadcasting & Cable Market Place at
E-21. By contrast, Athens is located in Clarke County, which is outside the Atlanta Metro area and only has 33,400 television households. Id. Since the Atlanta Metro area has a much larger population and consequently a much larger economic base than
Athens, WGTV must target the Atlanta Metro area for underwriting contributions, contributions which the Commission has recognized are "an integral part of the Congressionally mandated scheme for financing public broadcasting." Noncommercial Educational FM
Broadcast Stations, 69 F.C.C.2d 200, 218 (1978). Indeed, during the year ending June 30, 1992, WGTV received over $500,000 in program underwriting contributions from businesses in the Atlanta
- 8 - Metro area. Those contributions represented 100% of WGTV's program underwriting dollars for the period.
The GPTC believes that formally adding Athens to the Atlanta market, would facilitate its ability to obtain underwriting support both in Atlanta and from national entities with
facilities in Atlanta. The formal identification of WGTV with the Atlanta market will enhance the station's identification with that growing and prosperous economic area. That identification with Atlanta should improve the GPTC's ability to obtain underwriting contributions from businesses seeking to strengthen their association with educational and charitable entities in
Atlanta.
Formal identification with Atlanta will also improve the
GPTC's ability to raise underwriting contributions from national corporations with a substantial presence in the Atlanta area.
The GPTC's experience has been that often these larger businesses control their charitable and public relations expenditures from their corporate headquarters, and are reluctant to contribute to the GPTC because WGTV is licensed to Athens and is not formally identified as an Atlanta station. Expanding the market definition to include both communities will those strengthen the
GPTC's position in demonstrating that supporting WGTV will benefit the residents of the Atlanta area, as well as those in
Athens and thus improve the corporation's identification with socially beneficial efforts in Atlanta.
- 9 - CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the GPTC requests that the
Commission adopt its counterproposal in this proceeding and amend
Section 76.51 of its Rules to change the designation of the
Atlanta market from "Atlanta" to "Atlanta-Rome-Athens."
Respectfully submitted,
Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission
Robert D. Primosch ARENT FOX KINTNER PLOTKIN & KAHN 1050 Connecticut Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036-5339 (202) 857-6016
Its Attorneys
Date: January 6, 1993
- 10 - EXHIBIT 1 01-06-93 05:10PM FROM Ga Public TelevIsIon P02 EXHIBIT 2 GEORGIA 10 II 12 13 i H
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LEG EN0 -. p f p GEORGIA '---@--S-'O-'-.-CopitoID.CoUnlYSeats Scal. of Milea BARROW County Nom.' o 20 40 60 POPUlA nON KEY ~ Q ave-r '00,000 e 10.0001020,000 Q AMERICAN MAP CORPORATION {t' 50,000 to Joo,ooo (I) 5.000'0 ]0.000 @ 25.000 /0 50.000 e 2,500 '0 5.000 @ 20.000 10 25,000 o 1,000 '0 2.500 a Under J,000 R
and Statio. Coverage Atlas Map 25 EXHIBIT 3 89¢
,WSTDOY• ANSWERS Channels Listed in the Atlanta Edition (II) Black-and-while (tzJ Colorized version ______-aBroadcast Stations"'------
-Atlanta- -Athens!Atlanta ~hattBnooga- a WSB (ABC) 02" D WGTV (PBS) 08,18 rn WRCB (NBC) 03,11 (11 WAGA (CBS) 05 (]) WTVC (ABC) 09,02 WXIA (NBC) 11 -Athens- W WDEF (CBS) 12,05 at @!tWNGM (Ind.) 10 m WTBS (Ind.) 17 (6I) WDSI (Fox) 61,36 @1i) WPBA (PBS) 3D -Rome!Atlanta --Mac~ @D WAn (Fox) 36 m WTlK (Ind.) 14 (D)WMAZ (CBS) 13,05 WGNX (Ind.) D4 m ~ WGXA (ABC) 24,02 ~ WVEU (Ind.) 69 ~hatsworth (D) WCLP (PBS) 18 lJIlWMGT (NBC) 16,11 Though not listed in this edition, WHSG, Ch. 63 in Decatur, broadcasts religious programming seven days a week. In addition to the listings herein, Chs. 5, 15 and 30 schedule instructional classroom programs during the school year. ______-lCable TV"'------
(!iI) Arts & Entertainment (OIl) The Disney Channel 53 CJaK) Nickelodeon 38 Network 39" m The Discovery (II!D) Showtlme 41 ~ American Movie Chennel37 00SportSouth Network 4D Classics 35 (8H) ESPN 34 (lie) Tha Movie Channel 58 (lEI) Black Entertainment (fM) The Family Channel 47 crtfi) Tha Nashvile Network 49 Television 57 (HID) Home Box Office 33 (IHIJ Turner Network Television 52 _ USA Network 44 Cable News Network 42 (Il£)Ufetime46 Comedy Central 50 (MKl Cinemax 45 _ WGN (Chicago; Ind.) 55 I C-SPAN 56 m Music TeleVision 48 a WWOR (New York; Ind.) 60
"VCR Plus + Instant Programmer~. The numbers that appear above next 10 each broadcast and cable channel, as well as Ihe PlusCode ~ numbers on most daily listings, are for the convenience of viewers who own VCR Plus + ~ devices for VCR taping. In addition to the instructions in the owner's manual, some VCR Plus + o. owners need to make an additional one-time-only adjustment. If two numbers appear above next to any of the channels you receive, you'll need to follow the instructions for Step 4 in the owner's manual for each of the two numbers listed. Call 1-8D0-4321-VCR for further intormation. VCR Plus + ~ and PlusCode o. are trademarks of Gemstar Development Corporation. PlusCode ~ numbers copyright 1992 GDC. All rights reserved.
The following channels are also offered by some cable systems. American Christian Television System (ACTS). Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). Tha New Inspirational Network. Trinity Broadcasting Network and Vision Interfaith Saleillte Network are religious and family-entertainment channels. Tha Box and Video Hits One (VH-1) consist primarily of music videos. Cable Satelilte Public Affairs Network (C·SPAN) and C-SPAN 2 cover House and Senate sessions, respectively, as well as Congressional hearings and public-affairs programming. Check listings for details on C-SPAN. CNN Headilne News offers continuous news capsules. CNBC offers financial news, lifestyle and talk shows. EI entertainment Television highlights various aspects of the entertainment industry. Home Shopping Network and avc are shop-by·phone services. Tha Learning Channel offers educational programming. Tha TrlMll Channel provides information on business and leisure travel. Tha Weather Channel reports on national , and local weather. Cable Viewers: As aresult of FCC rules on Syndicated Exclusivity, you may find programs Or' out-of·town stations either blacked out or replaced with altemative programming provided by your cable system.
Symbols far hearing-Impaired v11lWefS (CC) Closed-captioned (OC) Open-captioned (Sl) Interpreted in sign language (Special decoder needed) (Visible without decoder) (Interpreter appears on screen)
'lIanta Edition TV GUIDE/39 AThe Dangerous Tour' Sony's $50 million man, Michael Jackson, has his first full-length TV concert. THE ATLANTA JOURNAL / THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION Satlrday • 8 ,...
ARunning Mates' ARediscovering America' Diane Keaton and Ed The Smithsonian's Roger Harris juggle their hot Kennedy revisits the romance on the cowboy era and debunks campaign trail in cable's some common aptly timed political misconceptions on "The satire. Real American Cowboy." Sunday HID 8 p.m. Monday Discovery Chamtel 8 p.lI. INSIDE TV WEEK
.l!!'" o! Contents, October 4-October 10
~ Seven-Day Forecast ...... 4-5 Wednesday listings ...... 31-38 How ~ Broadcast Movies ...... 6 Wednesday Movies ...... 38-39 u t Sunday listing...... :...... &-13 Thursday Ustings...... 4()..4.4 to locate ~ i g Sunday Movies...... 14-15 Thursday Movies ...... of4-.45 :i c:: Monday Usting ...... 16-22 Friday listings...... 46-49 S Ii .2 channels ~ c:: g Monday Movies ...... 22-23 Friday Movies ...... 50-51 :::> I it E ~ Tuesday listings ...... 24-29 Saturday listings...... 52-57 I ::l on your ~1 i -e J B Tuesday Movies...... 29-30 Saturday Movies ...... 57-59 j TV Talk ...... 54 cablelV !.I! I ~ ~ J %.. ~ Ii Ii TV Week staff service i i t; i t; is II I i Ustings: Leigh Ann Miller. Layout: Jean Tyson. Cover design: § i !J § ~ ill I I ~ I ~ Ike Hussey. Phone: 526-5+41. Ustings: Tribune TV Log. Glens Falls, I N.Y. Magazine advertising manager: Hugh Gardiner, 526-5710. ATLANTA Yellow Pages sales representative: Leslie F. Owens, 526-5858. WSB12 18 3 3 2 8 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 Write TV WEEK, P.O. Box 4689, Atlanta. Ga. 30302. WAGAJ5 19 4 4 5 10 4 6 5 6 4 6 4 WGTV/8 20 11 8 8 2 8 8 8 17 33 8 5 TV Week symbols WXJAI11 21 7 12 11 12 6 12 11 12 6 12 6 Closed-captioned programming is designated with t;1 or cc. WTBS/17 17 12 7 7 7 7 4 7 4 7 7 7 Reruns are denoted by an R. Movies are shaded in the grids and car- ...... 1ft.... ry the film's theater rating and Clitia' 5t3f' listing. AO indicates 22 8 13 13 5 5 10 13 10 5 2 8 adults only. V means a film is 0l,It on videocassette. WATL136 23 9 6 3 9 9 9 3 11 9 4 9 WGNXl46 24 10 9 4 6 10 13 4 13 10 13 10 Where to check for updates WVEU/69 25' 14 33 6 11 - 11 6 18 - 5 11 TV Week is printed a week in advance and schedules are sub- CABLE ject to change. Sunday updates appear in the Sunday Reader section of today's paper. Check the daily listings in The Atlanta Journal and AMC 51 46 37 37 31 - 42 37 29 - - - The Atlanta Constitution for other changes. ME 45 25 34_ £1.§ 35 36 45 28 35 39 37 BET 41 JO 4C 44 -- 12 41 44 38 - 43 - Atlanta stations CNN 29 27 23 41 20 31 25 41 31 2 23 21 • WSB (ABC) -160 I West Peachtree St. 30309...... 897-7000 Headline 28 28 24 36 29 2 26 36 35 31 30 34 U WAGA (CBS) 1551 Briarcliff Road N.E. 30306...... 875-5555 CNBC 44 26 46 47 - 13 24 47 32 29 - 36 OWGTV (PBS) 1S40 Stewart Ave. S.W. 30310...... 756-4700 - 53 44 43 48 37 48 44 30 m WXIA (NBC) 1611 West Peachtree St. 30309...... 892-1611 CSPAN 1 9 18 28 21 4 99 21 22 37 24 - - m WTLK 200 N. Cobb ParkWay, Marietta 30062...... 528-1400 CSPAN2 31 37 22 22 36 ------m WTB5 I050 Techw~ Drive N.W. 30318...... 827-1717 Discoverv 27 35 29 35 24 23 38 35 33 23 - 25 Ell) WPBA (PBS) 740 Bismark Road N.E. 30324...... 827-8900 ESPN 48 36 11 30 33 17 33 30 25 17 26 17 mWATL (Fox) I Monroe Place 30324...... 881-3600 Family 39 41 17 40 22 19 17 4.() 20 19 40 23 m WGNX 1810 Briarcliff Road N£ 30329...... 325-4646 Ufetime 50 29 44 53 34 21 29 53 27 21 33 29 (!i) WHSG 1550 Agape Way, Decatur 30035...... 288-1156 M1V 26 40 5 55 17 20 30 55 37 29 28 28 em> WVEU 2700 N.E~ Expressway 30345...... 325-6929 VH-1 10 39 32 32 30 - 35 32 -- 32 31 Nickelodeon 32 34 27 "34 14 22 27 34 34 22 25 26 SoortSouth 31 37 31 50 28 33 45 50 15 36 - 40 Sot. Channel - -- 43 - 36 43 43 - 14 -- VCR Plus+ numbers TLC lLeaminal 4* 31 41 42 - - 39 42 - - - 39 TV Week listings include program numbers needed for VCR Plus +. Here are the channel guide numbers re- TNT 42 45 10 51 35 16 32 51 24 8 31 22 quired to set up your VCR Plus +. If you need setup or TNN 38 42 36 33 19 32 23 33 36 32 27 33 other assistance, call 800-432-1827. For general informa- USA 47 38 26 52 21 30 31 52 26 30 24 19 tion, call 800-258-4827. Univision 7 32 42 46 40 46 39 2/WSB 2 ME 39 Ufetime 46 Weather 49 33 25 31 15 29 28 31 30 18 34 35 5f\NAGA 5 BET 57 TNN 49 WGN 15 6 35 9 13 15 21 9 23 13 9 2 8/WGTV 8 Cinemax 45 Nick 38 VNlOR II/WXIA II CNN 42 Showtime 41 14 13 21 10 14 20 10 16 12 13 14/WTlK 14 Discovery 37 SptSouth 40 PREMIUM 17!WTBS 17 Disney 53 THC 58 Cinemax 30 52 19 18 27 26 18 18 26 22 16 30/WPBA 30 ESPN 34 TNT 52 Disnev 37 48 22 15 26 24 22 15 21 24 21 14 36/INATL 36 Family 47 nc 51 HBO 46f\NGNX 4 Comedy 50 USA 44 40 50 15 16 3 25 716 7 25 20 15 63f\NHSG 77 CNBC 73 WGN 55 TMC 52 51 18 19 32 27 19 2 27 17 20 69f1N\/EU 69 HBO 33 WWOR 60 Showtime 46 47 14 14 25 28 16 14 5 28 19 18 AMC 35 MTV 48 *The Learning Channel is not carried inside Atlanta city limits. 3 EXHIBIT 4 THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4,1992 Gee Mom all I want :"~W; ", ' .~' from Santa is a dinosaur~t , ...... :. By Maureen Downey STAFF WRITER
This holiday season, nobody's asking, "Where's Waldo?" Ev eryone wants to know, "Where's Page lJ.. Barney?" The purple and green dino~ saur, who stars ina children's emerged as a kiddie nat,jona(' anthem. ,,,,' . ,~_ show on the Public Broadcasting , "I've. been all'ove}' trying to " System, is turning into the jingle ~ bell ringer of the retail season. find oneorthese,'J-'said Na:PcY." "We can't keep him on the Jackson of Snellville, who finally:': , ver~:: shelves," says JCPenney spokes discovered a $19.99 plush woman Carol Edwards. sion at the "Barney Shop" in the, He arrived with a reaay JCPenne{ store at Northlake: made market. Nearly 2 million MalL -=, homes tune in to "Barney & Barney has been a Tyranno> " Friends" daily, making him the saurus-rex-sized hit since :his Elvis of the sippie-cup set. PB~ debut in April. When Geor-:: :' As a teacher, Laura Man , gia . Public Television built a. trone, 36, monitors what her 15 pledge drive. around Barn~y, it month-old son watches on TV, brought in $611 a minute. Chil and she_ gives Barney high dren's'shows typicaily raise $75 : marks. There are no quick cuts a minute. . or flashy video techniques, just "Barn~y,& Friends"airs at,S, a.m. and 5:30 p.m. weekdays and.' , ... \: ' JORNNY-Cl\AwFORD I Staff Barney being silly with four or ~ach '7:30 a.m. Saturdays on"Channel " y~ar? five children. And, show What's hott!tis Barney the dino ends with a song ~ full of love, 8 and at 8:30 a.m. Sundays on ' saur,~t kid~': ,,:~.' the top' of n:tany gift lists. kisses and hug(, - that has Channel 30. ' ':, .0-, (). ~ I I \., ~ \ ATIANI'A JOURNAL-CONSI'ITUTION
December 11, 1992
Serving country and mankind 'Liberators' chronicles :, black soldjers' heroism
.;- ':". By Drew Jubera TV CRITIC
"Liberators" is a shockingly profound docu mentary of two stories twined around one mo-· "mep.t, a moving piece of unearthed history that':~': singles out heroism in a time of dual, separaieZ'.': societies. . ':~'(''*~'''';;~' " :; .. Narrated by Denzel Washington;'tliete:lsthe,'t,:';' tale ofthe 183rd Combat Engineer Corps and of . the 761st, an African-American tank battalion' known as the Black Panthers. They spearhead- ed Gen. George S. pat . '. PBS across:,Eu~ ,TV REVIEW ton's charge .World War II veterans from the 761st rope,and finallyliberat "Uberators: Fighting .,tank battalion, known as the Black Pan- on Two Fronts in ed victims of::.another ~heb, World War II" brand of persecution' in meet on Long Island, N.Y. . Part of the "American concentration campS at Experience" series, tonight Buchenwald and Dachau. "Yet their reward came - not from their at 9 on WPBA/Channel 30 There is also the tale countrymen. but from the French they de- (3966) and 9:30 on of the segregated country fended and especially the Jews they freed. WGTVlChannel 8 (26558), and armed forces those "F th fi .I bl k f " ' . ' same soldiers served."" '. or e r~t time, saw a. ac "ace,. says, "We wore the same uniform, we were there fof' ,~r:one ~ncenn:atlon,camp survIvor. For me,. I the same reason," says one black veteran"'''but'.:,;1i~wasI1:,.t su11lnsed. Becau~e I was told ,th~re"wa,stJ we couldn't do the same,things," ...• ":,': :·:q~\Y!.~ ~o~t;Y.pame? ~enca, that was part of, a:~ . Still African-Americans s rt d th . ·;:~_,,1~~rea.p1ofliberation, part of a dream of redemP':" , ,. "., . uppo.e e war, !:~;.. 'tion ~ a different planet." :, ','. though theIr duty was rarely repaId.vWhenat7:'i':(~'; ";'11 r,; " . ",. .' , last s~nt' into combat, black 'troops were ever;.:.;'~ ...Itwas ~e return ofthese soldiers that really' aware oftheir contradictory circumstance. One:"'fdid re~ake the American "planet" "Home was, " . recallsliis.angei'8fter seeing a carnageofblack~e'same/'~r.:Washington says, "but the meri'" bodies:~'I,wasangry:atmycountryforusingine~~\Vh~l.bad.seen:,~ar and the face o( deathwere,r .. to.fig~V9~.~hts and privileges'l was~'t\gOQd,~';,r:~ ~'l~~,r.?r(~~.~', . ,',. . eno~~h t.~:~llJoyl~~ ho~e;~\,r"'L ,1 :.:,~~,~:~~: ;. '" .~'!h~~co~~ would follow:'~,;. .,;/~ ~' ...;Z~ ,; I" ..~ ...uL1t:~;;..;.~irfic,f . l~.\~,fi1·_)~·-:·~~~."·;~'."· I. ~ ATIANTA JOURNAL-CONSTlTUrION
October 13, 1992 What role did race playC--: in the Thomas hearings?: By Drew Jubera TV CRITIC tv PREVIEW ,. - . Frontline's "Public Hearing, • The season premiere of PBS's Private Pain" "Frontline" heads to the one cor 9 tonight on WPBA/Channel 30 (58961) and ner oflast year's Clarence Thom 10 p.m. on WGlV/Channel 8 (13508). as confirmation hearings left largely untouched by the main stream media and political es Mr. Thomas's love/hate relatiort~ . tablishment: race. ship with his own people. .'~-', . According to the president, "It's not that he came febiil' the media and the all-white Sen the wrong side of the trac~s,'.' ate panel that conducted the says one person, "but from: ~u( hearings, that circumstance had wrong side of the black tracks," ~ little to do with anything, The tension between black' But to many African-Ameri women and white feminists also' cans, whose voices often were is plumbed, with many biacl{' drowned out by white commen women revealed as resentful of' tators, analysts and feminists, the feminists who captured ,!h~ race was a central theme that debate during the hearings, :.. :;,:' prompted a river of troubling "No way do they understaM and conflicting issues in the some of the subtle nuances''of black community. race, gender and class, because: "Public Hearing, Private [the feminist] movement is~di Pain" distinguishes itself, a year rected by middle-class \\;Jx1t¢' after the hearings, by making women," says one.·,~· .:' those voices and issues the real ~ ,,) . hook that kept Americans glued But the conflict felt most: to their TVs. deeply by many black women,..jn·, "The white community has no eluding students at Atlanta~s idea what's going on," sums up Spelman College, came from.the~ one black woman who watched tenet drummed into them "since the hearings. "My white friends birth": Never betray the blaak· were outraged, and I was, 'Hon man, which Anita Hill often.w4ls ey, I won't discuss it.' " accused of doing. ;:->',:'., The issue has many sides, and "When do I speak up for~p~:' Emmy-winning filmmaker Ofra and when do I segregate my'- de-. Bikel looks at them all. She ex sires for the good of the ra~r plores the white guilt that para says one black professip~p1 lyzed many Democrats and liber woman. "What do I tell iny als during Mr. Thomas's hearing, daughters? That no matter what and Mr. Thomas's ability to ma your ambitions are ... you must 'nipulate it - a tactic he had sacrifice your mental health and. claimed to abhor until his nomi physical well-being for the bet..' nation began to slip away. terment of the race?" ,;; -,' ,,' She explores racism in the black community, raised by Mr. With issues as comple~.·,~. Thomas's memories of his dark these, answers are hard to come skin causing taunts from lighter by. But raising the issues, even'iI.' skinned blacks, a circumstance year too late, is a start, and credit that many blacks see as forming for that goes to "Frontline."',' ".>': ATLANTA JOURNAL-CON$TITL"'TION
October 2, 1992
,Pl3.S panel's loud" wrangling reflects. problems when 'The Issue Is Race~.,~ By Stephanie Schorow --~~~-~ ASSOCIATED PRESS TV REVIEW "The Issue Is Race" Boston - The concept . 9 tonight on Channel 30 (89666) and 19;-:, seems so progressive, so PBS. tonight on Channel 8 (70802). t;/ . Collect eight articulate, di vergent panelists - ranging from rap artist Sister Souljah to penetrating. /. Boston University president Ultimately, the panel's loU9 John Silber - to talk about the wrangling does more to illuini.. issue of race in America. nate the dilemma of rare rela Get the talkmaster himself, tions in America than would a Phil Donahue, to call the shots feel-good forum that ends ~ith r .f J and let them go at it. After the easy answers. J1 fireworks, reach a consensus. Panelist Jonathan Kozol, ali~ Instead, in the taping of "The thor of "Death at an Early Age" Issue Is Race" by PBS-affiliate and "Savage Inequities," reflectr WGBH-TV in Boston, the sparks ed the somber mood, concludiPg! didn't die. The dialogue went llU "I've sat on panels on televisioo clear (some tape had to be edited 2S years ago and heard exactly out because of the shouting) and the same debate between white hopes for a traditional liberal and blacks and within the ranks consensus vanished like the of black people and that unq~r.· Great Society. lines what's on my mind today., All this makes the two-hour . .. I just think to myself nothing public forum both painful and has changed." 01-06-93 05:10PM FROM Ga PublIC TelevIsion P03 nn Ol-06-9j Gj:15 PM FROM ARENt FOX K1NTi~ER ?U~
Dcd.ratloD
Frank D. Bug, Jr. hereby declares under the penalty of perjUry:
1. I am Deputy Director of the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission (GP'I'C) and have been employed by the GPTC and ita predecessor agencies in various capacities for over fifteen years. I am familiar with the operations of the GPTC, including those relating to Station WGTV{TV')J Athens, Georgia.
2 I have read the foregoing Comments and Counterproposal of the GPTC and the factual assertions contained in that document are tnle and correct.
Date: January 6, 1993
ORIGINAL DECLARATION 'IO BE FILED LATER