Sunday, November 14, 2004
Stark County, Ohio Workers Await Pay From CNN
Source: Beacon Journal Nearly three months after CNN aired a nationally televised town hall-style meeting of undecided voters at the county courthouse, officials at the courthouse and the Stark County Sheriff's Office still are waiting for the cable giant to pay for security they provided for the Paula Zahn Now show. The live, hourlong telecast the night of Aug. 18, billed by CNN producers as a bellwether indicator of the fiercely contested election, required 14 sheriff's deputies and other courthouse personnel to work additional security shifts on the night before the show and for the show itself, courthouse Administrator Marc Warner said. The total CNN tab, Warner said, is nearly $4,000, including the cost of a $165 overhead lighting globe that was broken in the ornate William McKinley Courtroom, where the show took place.
``These folks were very good to deal with. They were very professional,'' Warner said, ``but this is way past the length of time that it should have (taken).'' The overtime tab for the deputies, Warner said, is $2,593.30. He said the bill for his courthouse workers and staff is $1,389.89.
A CNN spokeswoman in New York, reading from a prepared statement Friday, said the company, ``unfortunately experienced administrative delays, which we truly regret.''
Checks for the county workers will arrive Monday, the spokeswoman said.
# posted by ATN @ 9:49 AM 
