The governor's new TV show starts strong
You have to give credit to Gov. Martin O’Malley: He is a very good TV performer.
And as much as I sat down last night looking to find serious fault with his new monthly show on Maryland Public Television, there is not much to criticize by way of performance – for him, host Jeff Salkin or the production crew.
It was an informative, fast-paced and professional 30 minutes of public affairs broadcasting. And any citizen who spent that TV time with O’Malley and Salkin knew more about the state of state as the final credits rolled than they did at the beginning of the show.
That doesn’t mean there are not major issues related to the governor appearing on airwaves over which he has ultimate control. Those issues still trouble the heck out of me -- and should concern everyone in Maryland.
What some people don’t understand is that MPT’s federal license to broadcast is held by the state, and that means the governor controls the fate of MPT.
That is not the case in most states. Most public broadcasting licenses are held by universities or community groups, as is the case with Washington public radio station WAMU-FM (88.5) and public TV station WETA, respectively. Universities and community groups are generally more trustworthy stewards of the public airwaves because they are not tempted to use them to try and get re-elected as state politicians are.
So, right at the start of Ask the Governor: Special Edition of Direct Connection, my teeth started to grind as O’Malley jumped all over Salkin’s introduction to thank Salkin and MPT “for doing this” show. Maybe disingenuous is too strong an adjective to describe the governor’s statements of thanks, but MPT could hardly have refused a half hour of time to the man who decides its economic future, now could it.
I hope MPT and O’Malley will be more transparent in future telecasts and clearly explain their relationship at the beginning of each show. Viewers need that information to decide how much credibility they should attach to both the questions and the answers.
But that said, the 30 minutes was full of useful information about budgets shortfalls, possible furlough days for state workers (the governor included), and various tax possibilities from sales to gas. Salkin also got O’Malley to acknowledge that he has had talks with Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown about the possibility of Brown getting a position dealing with veterans' affairs in the administration of President-elect Barack Obama.
I hope Salkin will be able to get tougher in future shows with the man who is essentially his boss, but I am not sure I expect that to happen. I also hope the producers are not screening the calls so that only friendly callers and softball questions get through.
We should be on the lookout for all of that. But we should also acknowledge a promising start Monday night for a show that could give citizens of the state more information at a time when it is surely needed.
Speaking of transparency, I should also acknowledge that the Sun and MPT have an editorial partnership that involves reporters and editors from the Sun appearing on the MPT.
(Above: Baltimore Sun photo of Martin O'Malley by Jed Kirschbaum)
Comments
Concerning the issue of transparency, your readers and any future viewers of "Ask the Governor" can find full disclosure at the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission's website (http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/25ind/html/60pubb.html) as it is no secret that MPT is a state agency. As for the existence of integrity in the host or producers and their ability to provide Marylanders with an unbiased forum for discussion and debate, well I guess each viewer will have to use his own intelligence to discern that. But it is so good to have you to point out that some people can fall prey to powerful politicians resulting in journalists and production staff that resemble marionettes more than professionals with standards.
Hello mptfan: Thanks for the link. Providing that on-air might have been a good first step by MPT. And given that most public broadcasting outlets are NOT state agencies, I think a clear explanation of the relationship and the potential for abuse is warranted -- as I said in my review. Thanks. Z
Posted by: mptfan | November 25, 2008 12:54 PM
Gosh, I could have sworn the Maryland Democratic Party and their legislative leadership by way of Mike Miller and Mike Busch complained up the wazoo when Ehrlich appeared in OUT-OF-STATE advertisements about coming to Maryland.
Meanwhile, O'Malley uses MPT to host a 30 minute show once a month. He sents out 750,000 postcards with his name on it. And he puts his photo on the sides of state buses.
I guess what's good for the goose was not good for the gander.
One party control=rampant corruption.
Hello Brad: Yes, the benefits of incumbency. But having these airwaves at your disposal is a real advantage for the Maryland incumbent-- with real potential for abuse. That is why I wrote what I wrote. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., on the other hand, certainly seemed to have a ready-made 50,000 watt forum at WBAL radio during his four years. But that is different -- they are a commercial broadcaster not under his control. I had real problems with Ehrlich hiring a WBAL talk show host at a high salary to appear in state commercials, though. There were other media related issues with Ehrlich that did and do trouble me a lot. Z
Posted by: Brad | November 25, 2008 1:24 PM
Is he going to bring his band like former governor Huckabe of Arkansas that hosts a show called HUCKABE on Fox News.
Posted by: John Davis | November 25, 2008 3:05 PM