In the News...

Region Wants State TV

Wednesday, April 14 2010

The Durango Herald
By: Joe Hanel
April 14th, 2010

DENVER - The Colorado Broadcasters Association can expect some mail from the state Legislature. Senators on Tuesday voted to add the CBA as a recipient of a resolution asking Congress to require Denver-based television in Southwest Colorado.

Sen. Bruce Whitehead, D-Hesperus, asked the Senate to include the CBA after the group's president told The Durango Herald that Congress doesn't need to tinker with broadcast boundaries.

“I strongly disagree with that statement and would like to encourage them to support the federal legislation," Whitehead said.

Rep. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, and Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, carried the resolution (House Joint Resolution 1015) in the House, where it passed last month. Roberts carried a similar resolution two years ago.

CBA President Marilyn Hogan was out of the office Tuesday and not available for comment.

Whitehead said the issue hit home when he was talking to a local Cub Scout pack and asked them if they knew who the governor is.

One eager boy raised his hand and said, “Bill Richardson."

Richardson, of course, is governor of New Mexico, where most of the Four Corners' TV coverage originates.

The Federal Communications Commission requires cable companies to air programs from their designated market areas; La Plata County is part of the Albuquerque market.

For at least five years, Colorado's congressional delegates have introduced bills to incorporate Southwest Colorado into the Denver media market. None of the bills has passed. But this year, U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Manassa, has sponsored the Four Corners Television Access Act and has asked the leadership to attach it to must-pass legislation.