Editor’s Notebook -- Danette Goulet

Danette Goulet

If you’ve been missing the instigating ways of our old friend Ron

Davis, pine no more. He can now be found each week on HBTV 3.

His new show “Perspective,” which airs weekly, is the culmination of

five years of battling. Throughout that time, Davis has complained about

the “sub-par” programming on the city station, which he now describes as

“cutting edge for government access” with the addition of his show.

For years he made it his business to be the bane of station director

Rich Barnard’s existence, until the station agreed to tape a pilot of his

idea. He scoffed at programming that he felt offered a one-sided view of

issues and pleaded with them to step it up and make waves.

His idea was to have a debate, rather than a discussion, of city

issues.

“This is what I’ve always argued -- [HBTV3 has] got to present both

sides or go back to to just airing council meetings,” Davis said.

There are two formats to the show Davis produces and hosts. On a week

that there is a council meeting the show covers the hot topics from the

meeting. He takes the attitude that no one watched the meeting and

explains what happened and debates with a guest council’s decisions. The

next week the show will cover one major topic and invite guests from

opposing camps to debate the issue on air.

The idea is to have lively debate sans politicos, he said.

He’s done two shows on the invocation issue, inviting clergy and

taking the anti-invocation stance himself.

This week if you tune in to channel 3 at 7 p.m. you can see activist

Joey Racano go head-to-head with Blake Anderson of the Orange County

Sanitation District.

It’s a “real wrestling match” Davis tells us.

I think Davis has really found his niche. If being a lawyer didn’t

provide enough of an arena for battle -- now he’s got a forum and an

audience.

* DANETTE GOULET is the city editor. She can be reached at (714)

965-7170 or by e-mail at o7 danette.goulet@latimes.comf7 .