Batavia TV director fighting for job back

For 22 years, Dan Shanahan has been one of the faces behind the camera at BATV. To many people, he has been the public face of the station as well.

Not anymore.

The Batavia public access station cut ties with its longtime programming director last month, citing a need for new leadership.

Shanahan contends BATV board members got rid of him because they clashed with him personally. He still hopes he can get his job back.

"If I didn't fit in with the community, I could accept that," Shanahan said. "My viewpoints and interests may not always be in agreement with the board, but my heart is with the community and always will be."

He said board members asked him to take certain programs off the air and said he had violated policies that didn't exist.

BATV board Chairman Kermit Carlson said the group had unanimously decided to replace Shanahan and thanked him for his years of service. Beyond that, he declined to comment.

"Obviously, there's two sides to every story, but because it involves an ex-employee, I can't say anything," he said.

Shanahan was making $60,000 a year but had no benefits as programming director of the station. He had recently asked for a contract.

BATV is funded through franchise fees that Comcast pays the city.

Shanahan started as a volunteer in 1985 and was the station's first paid part-time employee in 1996, working about 20 hours a week.

The job was expanded to a full-time programming director position in 1999.

In that time, he helped to secure funding from Batavia's Comcast franchising agreement, helped start a video club and trained a teacher for a video production class at Batavia High School. He received the 2004 Nancy Brandon Allen Citizenship Award from the Batavia League of Women Voters.

He also clashed with members of the board of directors over the past few years.

He was disciplined last year for showing programs that board members said showed editorial bias, including a show covering the American Scholars Symposium in Los Angeles last year.

The video focused on speakers who questioned the U.S. government's account of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Board members in the disciplinary letter said he didn't follow the station's policies regarding sponsorship of the program, but also said it presented "strong, extreme viewpoints."

Board members also objected to him showing Robert Greenwald's film "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price," a film criticizing the business' practices.

The letter said he used BATV footage to "promote a personal negative editorial comment about a large retail chain that had recently opened in Batavia."

Shanahan said he showed footage of Batavia's Wal-Mart grand opening before the film to balance the coverage and show the good the business could do.

He said he doesn't agree with all the viewpoints he puts on TV.

"That's what public access television is all about, having a voice, having lots of voices," Shanahan said. "I'm a staunch advocate of the First Amendment, and those voices should be heard. That's why we're here."

For board members, it was a continued showing of insubordinate behavior.

Shanahan turned down a $10,000 severance package in order to take his case public, and possibly to court.

"There didn't seem to be any conflict or issues with my work with the community," he said. "The issues seemed to be between the staff and the board."

Shanahan hopes public pressure will get him his job back, and asked that supporters contact him at danshanhan@aol.com if they want to help.

He has leads on other jobs in different areas, but wants to stay in public access television. He said he wants to be judged on the merits of his work, not how well he got along with administrators.

"Community TV was my passion, and I got to make a career out of it," he said. "BATV was my baby, and we got it crawling. I wanted to nurture it and help it learn to walk."