Tri-State’s Practices in Question … Again
It truly saddens me to see Tri-State Public Communications in control of two out of three of our local media sources. More distressing is the fact that the other sources cover for this corporations actions.
In our northwest corner we have two public access television stations, two radio stations, and two newspapers which serve as our sources for news and information.
Tri-State controls both television stations and one of the radio stations. Unfortunately the other radio station is broadcast from an outside source and features little local content. Both newspapers (even when presented with facts concerning Tri-State’s less than honorable actions) shy away from the story and tend to paint a picture which would make you believe that Tri-State is the best thing to happen in this corner since the creation of media outlets. I should also note that these newspapers host weekly programs on Tri-State’s non commercial radio station.
It has been some time since I have posted about Tri-State Public Communications’ practices (go back on my blog posts to last year when I was personally screwed by said organization), however I was reminded of their questionable practices when I read a recent story in the Waterbury Republican American concerning a complaint filed with the FCC by Region One Assistant Superintendent Diane Goncalves.
The reporter (Ruth Epstein) crafts a story which portrays Tri-State’s President, Marshall Miles, as if he were the victim of some witches evil spell. Sadly, this is not the first time that Tri-State has been in question for its practices by the FCC. Mr. Terry Cowgill authored a very accurate piece at his blog concerning this and other issues with this organization.
I am amused (although it is not funny as in a ha-ha sense) by Mr. Miles’ demands for answers concerning Ms. Goncalves’ purported use of public facilities and equipment in the process of assembling and filing her FCC complaint. I believe his assumptions have no merit and are designed to give the public appearance that he is somehow being victimize by her … not that she doesn’t have all of the right in the world considering his series of public airwave assaults on her and our Superintendent, Patricia Chamberlain, since August of 2010.
I should submit that he who lives in a glass house should not throw stones.
Many of the practices employed by Tri-State in the operations of both their public television stations and their non commercial radio station would be hard pressed to stand up to any serious scrutiny by the Connecticut Public Utility Regulatory Authority, the Internal Revenue Service, or the Federal Communications Commission (as already shown by the settlement in 2010 with said agency).
Tri-State’s Board of Directors read like a who’s who of celebrities and important people of Northwest Connecticut when it was conceived in 2002. Today the Board of Directors is comprised of three people, two of whom have familial ties. The IRS takes a dim view of such boards.
Mr. Cowgill mentions the consistent negative balance at the end of each fiscal year (as noted in the Federal 990 reports to the IRS), however he fails to mention that immense amounts of cash are either contributed or loaned under the name of one of the members of its Board of Directors on an annual basis. Were it not for those deep pockets, the organization might surely be bankrupt.
Tri-State is also the ‘keeper’ of the Cable Advisory Council of Northwest Connecticut funds, which have not been accounted for with the State of Connecticut since 2005. This is a requirement of Connecticut State law.
Maybe I should create a list of questions for Tri-State to answer.
