Board Upholds Cable TV Access for Gay-Oriented News Show in Orange : Broadcasting: A video panel revises rules so the current-events program undergoes no more than 48 hours of review before airing. Some sought outright elimination of the public channel.

Despite protests against gay-oriented programming, the city’s cable TV advisory board unanimously adopted guidelines that allow the continued broadcast of the shows on the public-access channel.

Board President Ben Pruett said, “We recognize that there is a . . . fundamental right under the First Amendment for adult programming to have time on cable.”

Objecting to programs such as “Spectrum News Network,” a locally produced news show for gays, and “American Atheist Forum,” some residents had suggested that Cablevision of Orange eliminate its public-access channel entirely.

The volunteer Community Video Advisory Board never seriously considered doing that. But after hearing protests, the board proposed a guideline late last year that would have required producers to submit their shows for review two weeks in advance.

K. Bradley Hudson, producer of “Spectrum News Network,” threatened to sue the city, saying the two-week review would render his biweekly news show pointless. He called the proposed guideline a “guise for censorship.”

Board members denied the censorship allegation but amended the proposed guidelines.

The guidelines approved Thursday night stipulate that producers of programs never before broadcast on the city’s cable channel must submit their shows at least two weeks before broadcast for board “pre-screening.”

But producers of ongoing programs, such as “Spectrum News,” must submit each show at least 48 hours before broadcast for review. (The guidelines exempt certain shows, such as those produced by the city, from review.)

Pruett said the two-day review is meant mostly to ensure that programs meet certain technical standards, such as clear picture resolution. It also allows the board to reject obscene or defamatory material. That is allowed under the Cable Act of 1984, which gives the board limited ability to reject programming but bars it from exercising editorial control over shows.

The new guidelines also state that adult-oriented programs must be scheduled from 10 to 11 p.m. and that the board will determine what adult programming is. They also allow producers to appeal a decision to reject their program back to the board.

The major TV networks have similar guidelines. “Spectrum News” producer Hudson said he is pleased with the guidelines.

“I was especially satisfied that . . . they were explicit in saying that they would not be turning away programming because of content,” he said.

His program, shown in 35 Southern California cities, is completed on Mondays for Friday broadcasts in Orange, he said.

Carol A. Sobel, senior staff council for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said mandatory review does not violate cable law.

The guidelines must clearly state the technical criteria, however, “so that technical quality does not become a mask for eliminating controversial viewpoints,” she said.

About 20 people attended the meeting, most of whom supported “Spectrum News Network.”

But Lois Barke, one of the most vocal foes of the public-access channel, said afterward: “I don’t feel that Madonna is appropriate on a channel that is supposed to represent the community of Orange.” She referred to Madonna’s video “Justify My Love,” which was rejected by MTV as too sexually explicit. An uproar occurred in February when Comcast Cablevision, which airs “Spectrum News Network” in Santa Ana, canceled its 13-week contract for the show. Comcast reversed its decision and renewed the contract, however, after reviewing federal cable laws.

Public-access channels, which are required to provide air time to members of the public on a first-come, first-serve basis, are designed to provide alternatives to mainstream programming, with shows that range from personality interviews to community service programs.

Such programs can be controversial. “Race and Reason,” a show produced by and supporting the Ku Klux Klan, was aired around the country on many public-access channels, for example.