Following a 3-0 vote to defend quality broadcast news by the Seattle Civil Gender Equity, Safe Communities, and New Americans Committee on June 22, Council members Kshama Sawant and Lisa Herbold along with a coalition of community and labor members will bring the resolution they co-sponsored to the full Seattle City Council at its June 27 meeting. The vote takes place at 2pm.

The resolution calls for the council to support the highest quality public news via professional broadcasting in order to effectively inform the community in times of emergency.

“It is fitting that Seattle takes the lead in defending the public from a race to the bottom with local news,” said IATSE Local 600 Business Representative Dave Twedell. “We will ask other cities to follow this example.”

Public broadcasters have a legal – and moral – responsibility to inform the public in times of emergencies. It is in those times of need that the local community relies on professionals at local news stations like KING 5 and others. Tegna, the company that recently took over operations at several stations such as KING 5, is moving toward replacing those professionals with amateur citizen reporting. Local leaders believe that would jeopardize the public safety at a time when professionalism and experience are most critical in maintaining the public trust.

Corporate speculators, like Tegna, are taking advantage of the pending auction of federally licensed broadcasting frequencies, led by the FCC, in order to turn a huge profit – profiteering on a publicly owned asset. It is all part of the process of trading service to local communities for big financial gains. This has raised alarm among the community, council members and labor groups as handing such a valuable public asset over to the highest bidder can lead to irreparable damage to the community that depends on it.

Speakers at the meeting will include: Tony Ventrella, 8th District Congressional Candidate and former KING 5 Sports Director and veteran broadcast professional; Angela Marshall, IBEW Local 46 Broadcast Representative; Dave Twedell, IATSE Local 600 Business Representative; Katie Garrow, King County Labor Council. Teresa Mosqueda with the Washington State Labor Council will also be in attendance.