Adelphia plans to keep public service programs
WEST LOS ANGELES — Though he has yet to move out of his offices at Adelphia, cable talk show host Bill Rosendahl is already working towards his next job.
The veteran broadcaster said this week he has earned endorsements from Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, LA District Attorney Steve Cooley, State Sen. Sheila Kuehl, Assemblywoman Fran Pavley and Richard Riordan, the secretary of education for California, in his bid for a seat on the LA City Council in 2005.
Rosendahl, 58, of Mar Vista, hosted and produced approximately 3,000 public access programs before being laid off by the bankrupted Adelphia in July. He plans to be out of his office of 18 years by Friday, Dec. 19.
“I’m excited to step into the next level. Frankly, I was a happy bird in the nest and now I’m going to get my wings,” said Rosendahl, who hopes to replace termed-out LA City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, representing District 11, which includes Santa Monica.
“I’m excited to step into the next level. Frankly, I was a happy bird in the nest and now I’m going to get my wings.” — — BILL ROSENDAHL Broadcast journalist, politician
Rosendahl said he will live off his savings in the interim, as well as some earnings from classes he teaches at California State University at Dominguez Hills, where he works on public affairs programming.
Though he declined to say how much he made at Adelphia, Rosendahl, who witnessed the regional expansion of the company during his tenure to more than 1.2 million customers and 2,700 workers, said the $140,000 he’ll earn, if elected to the LA City Council, will represent a substantial pay cut.
“But it isn’t the money,” he said. “It’s the opportunity to serve the people.”
A spokesman for Adelphia, which took over local cable operations in 1999, said the company laid off Rosendahl as part of their restructuring after the recent scandal surrounding their former founder and CEO, both of whom are scheduled to face criminal charges in February for siphoning off company profits.
Rosendahl described the scandal surrounding Adelphia as a personal tragedy that cost him potentially millions of dollars in company interests.
“I was shocked. I was mortified,” he said. “I was angry, as was everybody else.”
Rosendahl is one of eight children. His parents, immigrants from Germany, raised him and his seven siblings as Roman Catholics in Englewood, New Jersey. Rosendahl, who closed each show with, “Thank you for sharing your time with me, God bless you, and bye-bye,” described himself as a deeply religious man.
“I could not remain a Roman Catholic because they rejected me. God created me a homosexual and God makes no mistakes,” Rosendahl said.
Spokesman Bob Gold said extensive discussions took place between executives before the final decision was handed down to trim Rosendahl.
“Business is business and, unquestionably, Bill is a unique person,” replied Gold, when asked if there was a personality conflict between Rosendahl and Adelphia executives. “He’s brought a unique and valuable skill and talent to Adelphia, and we appreciate that. But business philosophies and practices change.”
Gold said the company is in the process of deciding who to hire next. He said Adelphia is committed to keeping the public service programs and added, from the time of Rosendahl’s last show on Nov. 25 until the company hires a replacement, viewers can expect to see a steady rotation of hosts on the various programs.
“It is a fair thing to say that Bill Rosendahl has been Adelphia’s Kathy and we are looking for the next Kelly,” said Gold, referring to the network morning talk show “Live! with Regis and Kelly.” “Some of this is personality driven, relationship driven, resource driven — but the overall genre, as far as programming, is we’ll still be covering the same issues.”
That’s welcome news to regular viewers and fans of the politically oriented programming.
Arnold Steinberg, 56, a conservative political strategist and regular on “Beyond the Beltway,” said he hopes the programs will continue to air.
“I think it’s important and desirable because I think it provides an outlet for lots of different viewpoints,” he said. “I think it provides the potential for serious discussion. There sometimes is very, very serious discussions of in-depth issues, because you’re not really dealing with commercials or the normal time limits.
“There is a following out there of serious people looking for in-depth discussion.”
National political heavyweights and local players alike were regulars on Rosendahl’s 30-and 60-minute programs, which started on Dec. 28, 1987, when the first episode of “Cable Press Conference” hit the airwaves with former LA mayor Tom Bradley as a guest. Over the next 16 years, Rosendahl hosted weekly programs such as “Beltway,” “Week in Review” and “Local Talk,” featuring everyone from presidential contender Howard Dean to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to former Vice President Al Gore.
“I truly believe that real campaign finance reform involves opening up the airwaves around elections,” said Rosen-dahl, a Vietnam veteran who once worked under Bobby Kennedy. “If they did it, a good 70 to 80 percent of the need for money would be gone.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 13, 2003. Read the original PDF.