Residents upset with a program that aired on Naperville's community-access television station last month have asked the station's governing board to review its policy on programs containing hate or propaganda.
The program in question, "From Palatine to Palestine," included a Feb. 28 speech by Kevin Clark at a Naperville church. In the talk, Clark addressed conflict between Palestinians and Jews in the Middle East. In an April 29 letter to The Sun, resident Kanan Rosenstein said he felt Clark expressed "admiration and support" for suicide bombers.
At a meeting of NCTV's board of directors Wednesday, Kanan Rosenstein's wife, Vivian Rosenstein, and others labeled the program as hate propaganda. She said she recognized NCTV's right to air independently produced programs that don't necessarily reflect the station's opinion, but she asked the station to consider a policy of contacting minorities targeted by hateful speech before a program airs and to give those groups a chance to produce their own program for broadcast alongside the program with opposing views.
"Of course we understand residents can produce a program of rebuttal (under current guidelines)," she said. "However, this program may take months to produce and under present policy would air months later and in isolation of the original program, where it would have had the greatest impact."
Board members differed in their opinions of the program. Some detected anti-Semitic undertones in the speech while others felt the speaker did not condone terrorist acts. Some had not seen the program.
But Jay Johnson, the board's president, said NCTV is sensitive to the Rosensteins' concerns. He said the program was in line with NCTV policy but that policy could be reviewed based on the station's need to serve an increasingly diverse community. He suggested the issue be discussed at the board's June meeting.
In the interim, board member Fred Wolter asked NCTV to check programs against state and local regulations for content. He acknowledged the issue is emotional, but asked those considering it to keep clear heads.
A second program from Clark is ready to air and is under review, said interim Executive Director Bob Copenhaver.
05/22/03