When the Waterbury Board of Aldermen voted to limit the public’s free speech at its meetings, local station WATR mobilized.
A new rule for Aldermen meetings would have required that ‘’all remarks be germane to the items on the agenda for that meeting or public hearing.” It also required that they refrain from making any personal attacks from the podium, and required citizens to submit their topics for review eleven days in advance of the next scheduled Board meeting
When Larry Rifkin, host of 1320 WATR’s ‘Talk of the Town,’ opined about the unreasonableness of these new rules on his daily talk program, it led to a resounding response by his callers to push back against these limitations.
Within days, Board President Paul Pernerewski came on the program to indicate that the voice of the public had been heard and that a reconsideration of the new rules was already underway.
A return to the old rules was adopted at the December 9 meeting of the Board of Aldermen and a resolution was put forward to honor Rifkin and WATR for their efforts. The vote failed 7 against, 6 in favor and one abstention.
Rifkin said on air that he was pleased that it was voted down as the role of station was not to seek any approvals from officials but to earn the trust of the public for their willingness to challenge authority on behalf of their listeners.
