Access Tucson Elimination: Calling All Access Tucson Producers, Viewers and Supporters to Action
Access Tucson is being threatened with
elimination.
This is the recommendation of the City's Core Tax Committee and Ward 6 City Council member Steve Kozachik. At the moment, the recommendation would stand whether or not the Core Services Tax (Prop 400) is passed by the voters in November.
The Committee is also suggesting Tucson
12 be eliminated but there a deal
is in the works for Tucson
12, the government voice, to merge with Arizona Public Media (AZPM). The City would pay AZPM $600,000 to
operate the City channel. No such deal exists for Access Tucson and the public voice.
Core Tax Committee (city webpage)
Core Tax Fact Sheet (pdf)
August 26 Elimination recommendation (pdf, last paragraph on page 2)
August 31 AZ Daily Star Article
September 2 AZ Daily Star Editorial re: merger
CALL AND EMAIL MAYOR AND COUNCIL (see below)
We ask you to tell the Mayor and Council these important points:
1. Preserve community media
because it's the only remaining means for citizens' access to television as an outlet for
free speech.
2. The Access Tucson budget has been
systematically cut since 2002. This is part of the methodical dismantling of Tucson's public voice.
3. Cox subscribers still see
PEG Access fees on their bill. Where is this money going if not for PEG
services? At best this is misleading, at worst it's a bait and switch tactic.
ATTEND TWO IMPORTANT EVENTS
1. Tuesday, Sept. 7th--Attend the Access Tucson Community Meeting
at 6pm.
We will mobilize to stand and fight together.
2. Wednesday, Sept. 8th--Come to City Hall (255 W. Alameda) for the Mayor and Council Study Session Meeting at 10am.
We'll be paying attention to what Council decides on the
following items:
Agenda item 1 at 10am: Partnership
Opportunity Between Arizona Public Media (AZPM) and Tucson12
Agenda item 3 at 11am: Core
Tax and Permanent Override Review Committee Recommendations
After this Mayor and Council Study Session, we'll meet at Access
Tucson at 3:00pm to rally, make signs
and then march down to the City
Council chambers at City Hall (255 W. Alameda) to participate in 'call to audience' (sixth item on the agenda). The City Council meeting starts at 5:30pm.
Please bring sign
making materials. And definitely bring your voice. We will be standing up for free speech!
MAYOR AND COUNCIL CONTACT INFORMATION
You can call the Mayor and Council comment line at 791-4700 which
gives callers a menu to reach the individual offices of City
elected Officials. Please stay on the line and designate the office you
wish to leave a message with by entering the Ward number (i.e., 1, 2,
3, 4, 5, or 6). Please note that you will need to make seven phone
calls to leave a message for each council member and the mayor.
Or you can try emailing them all at once by clicking
here
(may not work with all email programs). If you use Outlook as your
email program, you may have to change the commas into semi-colons. Also, a blank webpage may open. If it does, just close it and your email window will be there.
See the information below if you would like to just talk with your own City Council representative.
Individual Mayor and Council contact information:
(520) 791-4201
(520) 791-4040
(520) 791-4687
(520) 791-4711
(520) 791-3199
(520) 791-4231
(520) 791-4601
If needed, you can go to
City Scan to find out which City Council member represents you.