Pair wary of IPTV mining pollution story

A public television production on mining pollution in the Silver Valley already has its critics, even though it’s not scheduled to air until October.

Film crews from Idaho Public Television’s “Outdoor Idaho” program recently spent a week in Shoshone County interviewing players in the story of the Bunker Hill Superfund site and ongoing disagreement over cleanup of the Coeur d’Alene Basin.

But noticeably absent from their interview schedule were two of the most outspoken advocates for cleanup of the mining pollution: Barbara Miller and John Osborn.

Miller and Osborn declined to be interviewed by “Outdoor Idaho” because they were concerned the public television production is a replacement for “Heavy Metal,” an hour-long documentary on the pollution problem that aired in April on KSPS, Spokane’s public television station.

“Questions have been raised about the impartiality of Idaho Public Television,” said Osborn, a Spokane physician and regional Sierra Club leader. “The mining waste pollution has been a national issue for years now, and when given the opportunity to air ‘Heavy Metal,’ they elected not to do that and instead dispatched their own TV crew to film.”

“Heavy Metal” was produced by Hans Rosenwinkle, an associate professor in the communications department of the University of Idaho. Rosenwinkle said his atmospheric take on the history of the Silver Valley mining pollution and its legacy might be the kind of production that would make Idaho Public Television a little queasy.

He admits his documentary, which features historic shots of spewing smokestacks, recent scenes of dead swans and lots of fog, “points fingers” at politicians for resisting cleanup of the metals in the Coeur d’Alene Basin. “I know they don’t want to get into any turmoil,” he said of IPTV. However, Idaho Public Television has decided to show the documentary July 12. News of it being scheduled came after Miller urged citizens to pressure the public television station to show it, but Ron Pisaneschi, program director for IPTV, said he wasn’t reluctant to show it – he just was looking for an available time slot.

And unlike “It’s Elementary,” a controversial program on how some schools handle issues relating to gays and lesbians, “Heavy Metal” has not generated political pressure on the station not to run it, he said. “There was a huge amount of pressure on us not to run that program (‘It’s Elementary’), a gargantuan amount,” Pisaneschi said. “Did we pull the program? No.”

That decision outraged some lawmakers, who ordered the state Board of Education to require IPTV to run regular disclaimers warning viewers of controversial content. Those disclaimers, which many IPTV supporters found embarrassing, were lifted in 2002.

In 1981, legislators cut all state funding to IPTV after it broadcast a controversial documentary called “Cedar Thief!” Kenton Bird, interim director of UI’s School of Journalism, said lawmakers also were struggling with a budget crisis at the time. Bird recently watched “Cedar Thief!” and said it now seems “rather innocuous.” And he doubts that “Heavy Metal” will generate as much controversy in the state.

“My personal impression was that it was more impressionistic than journalistic,” Bird said of “Heavy Metal.”

“A lot of cinematic techniques he used made it more of almost an artistic impression of the controversy surrounding the Superfund site, than trying to be a comprehensive overview.”

That’s why Bird welcomes IPTV’s look at the issue for “Outdoor Idaho.”

“A follow-up or an update to what happened since could contribute to the public dialogue and understanding,” he said.

The news that IPTV was sending crews to the Silver Valley was greeted suspiciously by Miller and others for a couple of reasons.

First, Rosenwinkle was having a hard time getting IPTV to commit to showing “Heavy Metal,” although it was offered for free. Then last month, after “Heavy Metal” showed on Spokane’s public television station, Rosenwinkle got a call from Chuck Moss asking for a copy of the DVD, he said.

Moss was the governor’s representative for the Silver Valley Trustees, which oversaw the spending of an environmental remediation fund established by a settlement between the mining companies and the state of Idaho. That money is gone now, but Moss still acts as an unpaid consultant to the state in matters concerning the Bunker Hill Superfund site.

Then, Miller, who runs the Silver Valley Community Resource Center, got a call from the “Outdoor Idaho” producer asking for an interview, and learned that Moss was providing names to IPTV for interview subjects.

It all seemed too fishy to Miller.

“Our board members are wondering why Idaho Public TV is doing this. Why not use ‘Heavy Metal?’ ” she said.

Rumors of political meddling in IPTV’s content were not too far-fetched for some.

“Those of us working to protect public health and the environment have faced the dual challenges of a truly massive pollution problem and a state government too often aligned with the polluters and other economic interests opposing the cleanup,” Osborn said.

But producer Bruce Reichert said he’s wanted to do an “Outdoor Idaho” piece on the Silver Valley for some time, even preceding the release of “Heavy Metal.” And Moss said Reichert approached him, not vice versa.

“One of the very first stories I ever did for IPTV was the closing of the mines,” Reichert said. “So I was looking for an excuse to look at the Silver Valley 20 some years after the closing of the mines and the designation of a Superfund site.”

While Moss said the story of the Superfund site “has the makings of a real success story,” Reichert said he won’t shy away from showing the damage that the mining pollution caused in the Silver Valley.

Reichert said he’s watched part of “Heavy Metal.”

“I thought, ‘That’s an interesting take on it.’ It did kind of spur my interest even more.”