Mayor Bob Bratina back on the air with Cable 14

Hamilton’s radio-savvy Mayor Bob Bratina is about to become a regular TV personality.
On Thursday, Cable 14 launched the first edition of Access to the Mayor, a one-hour call-in talk show featuring the former radio host.
The show, scheduled for 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month, will be hosted by Bay Observer publisher John Best and produced by the mayor’s chief of staff, Peggy Chapman, formerly a senior writer with the Bay Observer.

Bratina and Best will talk city news for 15 minutes, with the remainder of the hour devoted to call-in questions from viewers.
Studio producer Mike Cameron said he was thrilled to have Bratina in a regular slot, noting the community station regularly featured former mayor Fred Eisenberger.
“The most important thing, for us, is facilitating access to the mayor,” said Cameron.
Chapman, Best and the mayor will choose the topics of discussion for the first 15 minutes of the show, with the host playing “a good devil’s advocate,” Cameron said.

The mayor’s chief of staff will screen incoming calls. Cameron said he doesn’t consider that a conflict, adding he will oversee the show as executive producer. He doesn’t expect any complaints about objectivity.
“We’re ultimately responsible for what goes on the air,” he said. “We’re a pretty libertarian control room.”
Chapman, who has previous radio experience, said via email she was invited by Cable 14 to produce the show, but will leave content decisions largely to Best.
“It is better to have a practising journalist deal with the meaty stuff,” she said.
Local politicians are a staple of community cable.

In Niagara, for example, the regional chairman used to have a monthly politics-based show, while the mayors of St. Catharines and Niagara Falls also appear regularly, said production supervisor Darryl Day.
Those guests often determine show content, he said, but station volunteers usually screen the calls for phone-in segments.
Access to the Mayor is part of Cable 14’s effort to feature more “community-produced” shows, a new requirement mandated by the CRTC, Cameron added.
The station is also hoping to feature police Chief Glenn De Caire on a regular show in the new year, he said.