A Nnvs· Thursday, September 30, 2004

AN: Station will probably be included on a public access channel

From page lA
next couple of weeks."
If the contract is approved,
AMP would create a private
. that it will be included on one of
cable music channel, said Connie
Wodlinger, the group's leader.
Programming will include acts
outside Austin, which could help
musicians, but at least 75 percent
of the programming on the chan-
nel would be local, she said.
The private nature of the chan-
nel will be the main difference
from AMN, but the new station
would also have ·more money
to operate, possibly resulting
in higher quality programs, she
Jennifer Jansons I Daily Texan Staff said.
o<e Moreland, master control operator and network video jockey at "We will be out in the clubs and
n Music Network, prepares to go on the air. venues several times a week and
will also have different groups
on our sound stage on a regular
basis," Wodlinger said.
Meyers said the most likely sce-
nario for the future of AMN is
the three public access channels.
Details, such as whether AMN
will retain its name in any form
after Oct. I, are left unanswered.
"Most of the logistics have
not been hammered out yet. It
is still too early to say;" Meyers
said. "I've just been crossing each
bridge when I get to it."
Wodlinger said the partnership
is seeking involvement from near-
by universities, especially in their
radio-television-film and music
departments. Monthly contests
and awards aimed at encourag-)
ing young filmmakers and musi-
cians to collaborate are also in the
works, she said.
But despite Wodlinger's plans,
if the contract is not approved
today; the future of Channel 15
will be up in the air.
"[Wodlinger] needs 90 days to
line up the investors and time
to get the parts in place," said
Councilwoman Betty Dunkerley.
AMN saw its last $15,000 check
from the city in August, which
they had been using until the
merge with ACTV; Meyers said.
AMP plans to use $5 million to $6
million per year in private invest-
ment money, Wodlinger said.
She said that amount is small but
adequate for a new, local music
station.
Meyers said the hardest part
has been waiting for a resolution
from City Council.
"They let us sit with this giant
question mark over our heads,"
Meyers said. "I just hope that the
city does the right thing, that they .
make sure the contract is a good
one. If AMP can do what they say;
there is no reason to stop them."
The council has been hesitant
about stepping forward with
the contract for various reasons,
including past memories of failed
enterprises on Channel IS, said
Raul Alvarez, a councilman and
telecommunications subcommit-
tee member.
"One of the biggest concerns
is related to the possible termina-
tion of the contract and what that
might mean for future program-
ming on Channel IS," Alvarez
said.

TRICTS: Past looks favorable to Oems LIVING IN THE SHADOWS

oage lA
he Texas redistricting plan
Jirely consistent with the
Rights Act and the U.S.
itution," he wrote in an e-
fter declining to comment
he phone.
, of the issues the U.S.
me Cciurt must consider
deciding whether to ~ear
se is partisan gerryman-
original idea behind
'i ting is to keep each dis-
do c as possible in terms
l\ d,ltion, but when this is
1\ .111 .11\1 I 10 f.lvor onl
"The [Republicans'] goal is to
pack the Democrats into land-
slide districts and eventually
eliminate white Democrats."
Other issues the Supreme
Court might consider include
whether minority voting rights
have been infringed due to
redistricting and the fact that
current maps are a result of mid-
decade changes.
The current district map was
passed by the Legislature last
October after it failed to reach an
agreement during the 2001 regu-
lar session, and federal courts
had to step in and decide the
nC'w nOllndnries.
the Legislature from doing it,"
Bickerstaff said.
Bickerstaff also said if the
Supreme Court does take the
case, precedent shows they will
overturn the earlier ruling.
"The Supreme Court rarely
takes cases that are not ultimate-
ly reversed, but they don't take
90 percent of the cases brought
before them," he said.
There are precedents for the
Supreme Court to reference; one
is a case from 1986, and the
other was just decided in spring
2004. Both cases involved ger-
rymandering, but the court did