Last night's relaunch of Current.org took off splendidly, though somehow it left behind the links to many older stories not yet ingested into its database.
Technicians are laboring to restore proper connections at this moment!
With the new combined site at at Current.org, breaking-news items previously seen at this Blogger address are now integrated with our longer reported stories into a comprehensive RSS feed. They're also seen on the same home page, though the less momentous short items are found under the Quick Takes heading in the left column.
Aug 1, 2012
Exclusive interview: Alabama Public Television COO Grantham resigns
Charles Grantham, chief operating officer of Alabama Public Television, has resigned, effective Aug. 31.
Grantham told Current that the “additional stress and frustrations” at the station in the wake of the controversial terminations in June of Executive Director Allan Pizzato and his deputy, Pauline Howland, have taken a toll on him.
Since the firings by the Alabama Educational Television Commission, Grantham had been publicly voicing his concerns about the future of the station. “I’m glad I’ve been able to be a spokesman and make some of the staff feelings known to the commission and others during all this turmoil,” he said. He also sent a letter July 19 to Gov. Robert Bentley saying that the commissioners "have their own agendas, which may or may not have been in the best interest of APT."
Commission meeting minutes show that Pizzato was under pressure from members to run programs from religious activist historian David Barton. The commission also overhauled the station’s longtime mission statement, removing all references to the state network's commitment to diversity.
On July 26, Grantham accepted 114,000 signatures at the station from Faithful America asking APT to ban Barton’s programming. Grantham brought the petitions to a commission meeting Tuesday, but declined to speak with a reporter. “I have been advised by Commission Chair Ferris Stephens that I cannot utilize my First Amendment Rights and speak to the media,” he said.
Grantham started working at the station in 1974 as a television technician. He progressed to director of engineering, then c.o.o.
“It’s been a long and — until the past few weeks — for the most part a very pleasant and rewarding work experience,” he said. “This staff is more of a family to me. It’s with a lot of sadness that I make this decision at this time.”
Grantham said he'll finish up several projects before departing.
WBHM-FM in Birmingham has posted a copy of Grantham's resignation letter.
Grantham told Current that the “additional stress and frustrations” at the station in the wake of the controversial terminations in June of Executive Director Allan Pizzato and his deputy, Pauline Howland, have taken a toll on him.
Since the firings by the Alabama Educational Television Commission, Grantham had been publicly voicing his concerns about the future of the station. “I’m glad I’ve been able to be a spokesman and make some of the staff feelings known to the commission and others during all this turmoil,” he said. He also sent a letter July 19 to Gov. Robert Bentley saying that the commissioners "have their own agendas, which may or may not have been in the best interest of APT."
Commission meeting minutes show that Pizzato was under pressure from members to run programs from religious activist historian David Barton. The commission also overhauled the station’s longtime mission statement, removing all references to the state network's commitment to diversity.
On July 26, Grantham accepted 114,000 signatures at the station from Faithful America asking APT to ban Barton’s programming. Grantham brought the petitions to a commission meeting Tuesday, but declined to speak with a reporter. “I have been advised by Commission Chair Ferris Stephens that I cannot utilize my First Amendment Rights and speak to the media,” he said.
Grantham started working at the station in 1974 as a television technician. He progressed to director of engineering, then c.o.o.
“It’s been a long and — until the past few weeks — for the most part a very pleasant and rewarding work experience,” he said. “This staff is more of a family to me. It’s with a lot of sadness that I make this decision at this time.”
Grantham said he'll finish up several projects before departing.
WBHM-FM in Birmingham has posted a copy of Grantham's resignation letter.
Alabama ETV commission hires law firm for defense against Pizzato complaint
In a special meeting Tuesday, the Alabama Educational Television Commission voted to hire a Birmingham law firm to defend it against a complaint filed by the former head of Alabama Public Television, Allan Pizzato, whom they fired in June.
Commissioners, meeting in a conference room at APT headquarters in Birmingham, entered into executive session to discuss the issue, filing past portraits of nine lay leaders from APT's fundraising organizations that still hang on the walls despite their resignations in protest of Pizzato’s termination.
The Commission returned to vote 6-0 vote to retain the Birmingham law firm of Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff & Brandt, then promptly adjourned.
After the meeting, Chair Ferris Stephens said the commission feels that Pizzato’s lawsuit is “without merit.” In the complaint, Pizzato’s attorneys allege that because he is a state employee, commissioners violated the state's Open Meetings Act by discussing his job performance in a closed executive session. The civil suit also seeks to remove Stephens, and void all decisions by the commission since his arrival in 2010, because, it alleges, he is ineligible to serve in that capacity as an employee of the Alabama Attorney General’s office.
Stephens said that the board’s decision to remove Pizzato was not related to earlier reports regarding the controversy to air documentary series by Texas-based evangelical Christian activist David Barton. Stephens said that overall, the commissioners “wanted a fresh and innovative approach to where the station is going.”
Throughout the meeting and executive session, Charles Grantham, Alabama Public Television c.o.o, remained at a table with a large box of petitions in front of him. Some 114,000 signatures asking the station to ban Barton’s programming were delivered to the station July 26 by Faithful America, a social-issue advocacy organization. When asked by a reporter if he could take questions, Grantham responded, “I have been advised by Commission Chair Ferris Stephens that I cannot utilize my First Amendment Rights and speak to the media.”
In related news, Pizzato’s attorneys at White Arnold & Dowd in Birmingham announced on Tuesday that they are now also representing Pauline Howland. She had served as APT’s chief financial officer and Pizzato’s deputy before she was fired with him on June 12. Howland was rehired soon after on a temporary basis, working off-site. — William Dahlberg
Commissioners, meeting in a conference room at APT headquarters in Birmingham, entered into executive session to discuss the issue, filing past portraits of nine lay leaders from APT's fundraising organizations that still hang on the walls despite their resignations in protest of Pizzato’s termination.
The Commission returned to vote 6-0 vote to retain the Birmingham law firm of Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff & Brandt, then promptly adjourned.
After the meeting, Chair Ferris Stephens said the commission feels that Pizzato’s lawsuit is “without merit.” In the complaint, Pizzato’s attorneys allege that because he is a state employee, commissioners violated the state's Open Meetings Act by discussing his job performance in a closed executive session. The civil suit also seeks to remove Stephens, and void all decisions by the commission since his arrival in 2010, because, it alleges, he is ineligible to serve in that capacity as an employee of the Alabama Attorney General’s office.
Stephens said that the board’s decision to remove Pizzato was not related to earlier reports regarding the controversy to air documentary series by Texas-based evangelical Christian activist David Barton. Stephens said that overall, the commissioners “wanted a fresh and innovative approach to where the station is going.”
Throughout the meeting and executive session, Charles Grantham, Alabama Public Television c.o.o, remained at a table with a large box of petitions in front of him. Some 114,000 signatures asking the station to ban Barton’s programming were delivered to the station July 26 by Faithful America, a social-issue advocacy organization. When asked by a reporter if he could take questions, Grantham responded, “I have been advised by Commission Chair Ferris Stephens that I cannot utilize my First Amendment Rights and speak to the media.”
In related news, Pizzato’s attorneys at White Arnold & Dowd in Birmingham announced on Tuesday that they are now also representing Pauline Howland. She had served as APT’s chief financial officer and Pizzato’s deputy before she was fired with him on June 12. Howland was rehired soon after on a temporary basis, working off-site. — William Dahlberg
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