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Local producer says Missoula public-access TV funding at risk as cable subcommittee considers reallocating support
Summary
On a recorded Missoula program, host McCarthy Coyle said reports show the Missoula City Council cable TV subcommittee is proposing to cut funding for Missoula Community Access Television and redirect the money to public safety departments; no formal council action was described in the recording.
Missoula public-access television funding may be at risk, the host of a locally recorded program said, after he received reports that the Missoula City Council cable TV subcommittee is proposing to shift money that supports Missoula Community Access Television to the fire and police departments.
"They would like to destroy Missoula Community Access Television, and that they would like to, take the money that supports our work here in Missoula ... and put it into the fire department, the police department," said McCarthy Coyle, the program host. He said reports were "now pouring in" about the subcommittee's plans.
The host told listeners he had invited the cable TV subcommittee to use the community access studio and named Bob Hermes and Elaine Shea in that context, saying the subcommittee had declined to broadcast its meetings. "We offered them that 2 months ago," Coyle said on air, and he urged the subcommittee to hold meetings on public access so "the public [can] know what you're doing." He also framed the issue as one of free-speech rights, saying viewers' "rights to free speech under, the federal law, the policy" underpin community access usage.
Coyle did not report a specific ordinance, motion, or formal vote; in the recording he characterized the information as reports rather than a finalized council action. He also did not provide a timeline, dollar amounts, or documentation of a formal proposal in the City Council or its cable TV subcommittee.
Public-access channels typically carry community-produced programs, local meetings and a range of civic and cultural material; in the recording Coyle said the access channel covers "Christian religion to atheism to sports to kids in school to old folks," and urged officials not to "destroy the very essence of the First Amendment in Missoula, Montana." The program did not include a response from the cable TV subcommittee, the City Council, or identified council members.
No formal decision or vote on funding was recorded in the broadcast. The host said he would return to the issue on future programs; beyond that on-air remark, the recording did not identify follow-up steps by city officials or provide documentation of any formal proposal.
