01/25/2008
Blethen Maine Newspapers
Seven months after he lost his public radio show because he wouldn't agree to restrictions on what he could say on the air, the man known as "The Humble Farmer" is bringing his humor and commentary back to Mainers via public access television.
Robert Skoglund sent new versions of "The Humble Farmer" on DVD to public and community access TV stations around the state this month, hoping to get them on. In an e-mail to fans, Skoglund wrote that 28 stations have agreed to show the program or consider it. Skoglund declined to comment on his TV efforts for this story.
Stations that have scheduled "The Humble Farmer" include Harpswell Community Television, South Portland Community Television and Saco River Community Television, which appears in Buxton, Hollis, Limerick, Limington, Standish and Waterboro.
Skoglund had done his weekly show on the radio stations of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network for 28 years before he was dismissed in June. MPBN officials said Skoglund had refused to sign a letter indicating he would follow commentary guidelines that apply to the network's non-news staff.
MPBN first pressed Skoglund to agree to the guidelines -- which prohibit giving opinions on "controversial" topics -- in November of 2006, after he recorded a show in which read a letter that was critical of a state spending cap in Maryland. The Maryland cap was similar to one that was about to be voted on in Maine.
On his radio show, Skoglund told stories of everyday life and gave self-described "rants" on various topics in between the old jazz records he played. The shows he is sending to public access stations are basically the same, but include a little video of him in his home studio, plus still pictures of various scenes around Maine.
Donna Frisoli, manager of Harpswell Community Television, has been helping Skoglund revamp his show for television. She said it will include a lot more video eventually.
Unlike most public access stations, Harpswell Community Television is also a low-power UHF station.
Its signal can be picked up in about 40 communities on UHF channel 14.
Several public access station managers said this week that they will show Skoglund's programs when he sends them in, as long as someone who lives in a town served by the station signs up as an official "sponsor" of the program.
Public access TV was created to give community members a voice in the media, so access managers say they will definitely not try to restrict or edit any of Skoglund's commentaries.
"I see public access TV as one of the last bastions of free speech, and I really disagree with what happened to him (at MPBN)," said Patrick Bonsant, manager at Saco River Community Television.
Bonsant said Saco River Community Television shows "The Humble Farmer" at 7 p.m. Fridays, which was Skoglund's time slot on public radio for many years.
South Portland Community Television will begin showing "The Humble Farmer" at 2:30 p.m. today, said Tony Vigue, the station's manager.
"We try to have some programs that are made outside of the community but are still of interest to people in the community," said Vigue, adding that "The Humble Farmer" and his uniquely Maine perspective fits that description.
For a list of other public access stations where Skoglund has sent his show, as well as air times, go to his Web site at: www.thehumblefarmer.com.
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