Philadelphia Community Access Coalition
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MR. JONIK: My name is John Jonik. I'm speaking for Berta Joubert and Joe Piette, who are a part of my organization and aren't here.

Anyway, I'm a member of the National Writers Union and the Cartoonist Association, but today I represent the National People's's Campaign in Philadelphia, which is active nationally and locally on many issues, including workers' right, civil rights, human rights, the death penalty, police misconduct, industrial pollution of low-income and minority neighborhoods, government misconduct and law-breaking, and many military and foreign-affairs issues.

The foreign affairs and military subjects include the devastating sanctions on the people of Iraq, the use of radioactive weapons in Iraq and Yugoslavia, the illegal embargo of Cuba, the School of the Americas where so many death-squad leaders have been trained by the U.S. military, the support for anti-democratic governments, and the militarization in this country of urban police forces.

As you might notice, none of these subjects of get much or any attention on commercial mainstream broadcasting, In fact, broadcast outlets that discuss such things have been fought tooth-and-nail by corporate powers and their allies in government, even to the point of entirely removing the Pacifica news service from the Philadelphia area.

The problem lies in the inherent undemocratic nature of industrial and military entities and the fact that so many government officials need to cater to corporate contributors for campaign funds. It is contrary to their interests to allow an open, democratic media, which, heaven forbid, might air critical commentaries or offer less costly, less dangerous alternatives.

Even if it's only one small percentage of what's available on the air, it is seen perhaps as one small pinhole in the corporate balloon, or one small flashlight in the darkness. But this alternative is only a threat to illegitimate business and power. It might be an effective threat to even law breakers in the upper levels. We are against crime, are we not?

The upper levels do not care to share the power or the money with the great majority of citizens, even though it is the people who pay their salaries, do their work, purchase their goods, and depend on their administration of justice and resources. As the current system in Philadelphia is so fragile that it must keep this tiny part of the broadcast spectrum closed to the people. If these corporate and government powers are so insubstantial and are unable to withstand the light the day on a public access station, then perhaps there ought to be perhaps some reconsideration of what their role in government really is.

We ask City Council to fulfill its obligation to facilitate public access TV so that at least one small, but important, part of the broadcast spectrum is available for art, community, and information for the 98 percent of the public that has interests far broader than just high-level economics. It is intolerable to have only the false choice between one corporate (unintelligible) or another, even on corporate-funded -- I was advised not to use this phrase, but so-called public broadcasting airways, which has been dominated so much by corporate sponsorship.

Thee could be no effective democracy if the public's social communications system is under control of the tiny corporate-serving minority. And I just wanted to add that -- I might add that if Philadelphia's Parking Authority was enforcing compliance with public access obligations, City Hall and many of its inhabitants would have been sitting for the last 15 years in an empowerment swamp down near the airport.

COUNCILMAN COHEN: Thank you very much.

(Applause.)

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