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I. What Is
Waterloo Community Television?
Waterloo Community
Television (hereafter referred to as WCTV) is the public access television
station for the residents of Waterloo. Waterloo city residents who
subscribe to the Mediacom cable service in Waterloo have the opportunity to
view WCTV.
WCTV is administered
by the City Clerk of the City of Waterloo, and the City Clerk supervises
the Cable Television Production Coordinator and Cable Production Assistant.
Mission Statement
WCTV is dedicated to
providing individuals, groups, and organizations an opportunity for
delivering a message, an opinion, or other communication to the citizens of
Waterloo.
II. Who Can Use
the Public Access Channel, Equipment and Facility?
The purpose of the
facility and equipment is for the public, in a not-for-profit and
non-commercial setting, to produce television programs for showing on WCTV.
With that in mind,
any person who lives in the Waterloo city limits or any group or organization
whose local office address is in the city limits of Waterloo can use the
facility. These persons or groups will be provided free access to
designated programming facilities, equipment, and scheduled program
playback times for the transmission of their television programs on WCTV.
Before using the studio and equipment, a person must attend a training session and receive a certificate of
completion issued by a staff instructor.
Access will be
provided regardless of race, ethnic background, sex, religion, age, disability,
level of creativity, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation.
Requests for use of
the facility and equipment by a minor must be made in the name of an adult
who takes all legal and financial responsibility for the minor's use.
III. Where and
When Can I Use the Facility and Equipment?
WCTV is located in
the basement of Waterloo City Hall, 715 Mulberry Street. Our business hours
are posted on the studio door, or call 291-4568 for the current hours. The
schedule may change without notice.
1. Playback of
Sponsored Tapes/DVD’s
Playback on the public access channel will be limited as follows:
A. Any person or group may submit
for playback no more than two programs per week.
B. Any one program may not be
submitted more than three times per year at four month intervals.
C. Playback for any one program
will be limited to two times in the month that it is submitted.
D. Sponsors, if they so desire,
will be allowed to choose one program spot during prime time hours per
week.
E. Program length during prime
time hours (6:30 pm to 10:00 p.m.) for every day of the week will be
limited to one hour.
F. Total length of any one
program on the channel will be limited to two hours.
G. Sponsors will be limited
to a total of four hours of playback time each week.
H. Exceptions to the two-hour
length rule may be made at the discretion of the WCTV Production Coordinator
if the program schedule allows.
I. Playback on weekend
hours will be limited to one program per sponsor group.
J. Exceptions to the
weekend playback rules may be made at the WCTV Production Coordinator's
discretion; the Coordinator's decision will be made considering the demand
for weekend program times, the number of playback decks available, and
other relevant factors.
K. Any exceptions made by the
WCTV Production Coordinator may be changed or withdrawn at any time.
L. Four hours of prime time will
be randomly set aside each week for WCTV-sponsored programming and for
timely local programs that may be submitted.
2. Studio
Equipment
Studio production time will be scheduled in two (2) hour blocks, and
limited to one (1) session per week for any one (1) person, group, or
program. Editing sessions will be scheduled in three (3) hour blocks, with
a limit of two (2) sessions per week and a total of five (5) sessions per
month for each person, group, or program.
3. Field Equipment
Field cameras and audio equipment may be borrowed as follows:
1. If checked out before 2:00 p.m., all equipment must be returned by the
time the studio closes for the day or by any earlier specified time due to
another scheduled use of the equipment.
2. If checked out after 2:00 p.m., all equipment must be returned within
one hour after the studio opens the next business day.
3. Each person or group may borrow the equipment no more than two (2) times
per week and five (5) times per month.
At his or her
discretion, the WCTV Production Coordinator may waive any of the limits
described above.
4. Training
sessions
For a description of our training workshops, click here.
For a current
schedule of our workshops, call WCTV at 291-4568.
IV. What Services
Are Available and What Is the Cost?
Most services are
free! Remember, the purpose of WCTV and the facility is to help you produce
television programs that will be shown on the WCTV public access channel.
Use of the facility or equipment for other purposes will not be allowed.
Videotapes/DVD for
use in WCTV SVHS/DVD production and reproduction equipment (excluding
sponsored taped programs from outside the area) must be supplied by WCTV.
The producer will pay our cost of the brand that WCTV staff specifies.
These tapes may be recycled as long as the reproduction quality remains
high. The WCTV staff reserves the right to deny recycling because of poor
technical quality. Right now our
DVD+R discs are one time use only. For
a VHS or DVD copy of a program, WCTV will also supply the tape/DVD at cost
plus copying charge. A copy request form must be filled out to obtain a
copy.
Free: Scheduling and playback of tapes/DVD’s produced
in the WCTV studio or at another location.
Free: Borrowing equipment to produce out of studio
productions.
Free: Using WCTV studio, studio equipment, and editor.
Cost: Pay our cost of the SVHS tape or DVD+R disc for
studio master program tape or field production tape.
$5.00 WCTV supplies VHS tape or DVD disc and makes the
copy of requested program.
Training Session Costs
Anyone using the
studio equipment in the capacity of producer, director, studio camera
operator, field camera operator, editor, or production assistant must be
certified by the WCTV Production Coordinator. There are three ways to
become certified. First, persons who can prove to the satisfaction of the
Coordinator or the Coordinator's designee that they are proficient in
the use of the make and model of all the equipment in the WCTV studio that
they will be using can be certified without cost. Second, persons who can
prove to the satisfaction of the Coordinator or the Coordinator's designee
that they are proficient in the use of similar equipment and only need to
be familiarized with WCTV's specific equipment will pay one-half the
regular cost to attend a brief training class to be certified for any
particular position. Third, persons who need to be trained in all aspects
of the WCTV equipment they will be using must attend a regular training
class and pay the regular fee to be certified for that position. The
person(s) who will be talent (i.e., in front of the camera) need not attend
training sessions. It will be the producer's or director's responsibility
to train them. The staff at WCTV will advise if requested.
$20.00 Field Equipment Certification (for
use of field equipment-camera, lights, & sound)
Length of class: 2 hours
$20.00 Producer/Director Certification (for use
of all studio equipment, except editors, used in the production of
programs)
Length of class: 2 hours
$30.00 Editor Certification (for use of
editing equipment)
Length of class: 3 hours
Click here for more
information on the training workshops.
V. How Can I
Express Myself on the Public Access Channel?
1. Legal matters.
Read, fill out, and sign the Statement of Compliance, the Program Contract,
the Access User Agreement, and the Identification and Certification form
for equipment users (see section VII-What Are My Responsibilities). In
short, these contracts state that you take legal responsibility for the
content of your program and agree to honor the guidelines and policies for
use of the facility, equipment, and playback system as set up by the City
of Waterloo Telecommunications Commission (hereafter referred to as CWTC).
This includes, but is not limited to, policies regarding
non-commercial/not-for-profit use, solicitation of funds, promotion of
lottery or gambling, obscene or indecent material (as defined by law) and
content that could be slanderous, libelous, an invasion of privacy, or in
violation of copyright laws. Please read the policies carefully.
2. Sponsoring a
program.
WCTV is a local public access channel, set up to bring locally produced
programs to the citizens of Waterloo. Non-locally produced programs may be
cablecast if sponsored by a Waterloo resident or group. A person or group
must have the written permission of the non-local producer or copyright
holder before a tape will be cablecast. WCTV reserves the right to insert
an identification graphic with the local individual's or group's name
before or after the cablecasting of the program.
3. Producing your
own program.
This can be a fun and very rewarding experience! It can be as easy as
getting your friends together and doing a talk show, or for more elaborate
and organized programs, spending hours researching, scripting, and then
going live to tape. You could shoot all your video outside the studio, then
edit it together into a program. It's your choice. Get certified to
use the equipment and we will help make it all possible. Your two options
are:
A. Studio productions.
A certified producer/director with a certified crew can reserve the studio
and equipment in 2-hour segments. Cameras, audio equipment, lights,
graphics generator, tape recorder and player, switcher, and a neutral set
background will be provided. The program will be mastered on SVHS format
tape or a DVD+R Disc. You must pay our cost for the tape/disc. The length
of the program is your choice, as long as equipment is put away and the
crew leaves by the time the next scheduled user's time starts.
B. Field productions.
A certified person may check out a camera and audio equipment for a field
production. Then schedule time on the editor and put the video together
into a program. You must pay our cost of the tape/disc. Cameras and audio
equipment can be checked out in accordance with the limits described in
Section III. The WCTV Production Coordinator reserves the right to allow
additional time for use of equipment depending on the amount of use
scheduled.
At the present time,
live or live call-in programs are not allowed. CWTC can review this policy
in the future and reserves the right to add this service at some future
date. All live and live call-in programs will be required to follow the
guidelines and policies of CWTC.
VI. What Is the
Equipment Use Policy?
To use the WCTV
facility and equipment, a person must first be certified. Any person using
WCTV equipment must sign a Statement of Compliance, an Identification and
Certification form, and a check-in/check-out sheet for field equipment.
Users are financially responsible for any equipment that is lost, stolen,
or damaged while in their possession or while checked out to them. Normal
wear and depreciation will be considered in the replacement or repair of
equipment. The WCTV Production Coordinator reserves the right to limit the
size and physical design of the set that the producer/director plans to
use. The Coordinator also reserves the right to refuse the use of any prop
that he or she believes to be dangerous or damaging to the studio.
CWTC may choose, on a
nondiscriminatory basis, to require a damage deposit fee of $25.00 each
time equipment is checked out.
VII. What Are My
Responsibilities?
1. Technical
Quality
The tape/disc that you sponsor or produce must have a continuous recorded
control track or the playback system may reject it. The quality of the
video and audio recorded on the tape/disc must be good or our playback
system may reject it or the audience may not be able to see and hear your
program. Also, the program must be recorded in standard recording time
(SP), not long play (LP) or extended play (EP) recording time. If the tape/disc
is rejected for technical quality reasons, we will suggest ways to correct
the problem and then reschedule the program for playback at another time.
2. Program Content
A. On public access television, the content of the program you
sponsor or produce is your legal responsibility. We cannot censor it.
However, if prior to being shown, the WCTV Production Coordinator or CWTC
suspects that the content of your program is in violation of any state or
federal laws, the tape/disc will be pulled from the schedule and handled as
provided in Section XII, "Procedures for Resolution of Censorship
Issues."
B. If the content of your
program is for mature audiences, we ask the producer or sponsor to put a
"for mature audiences" graphic at the beginning and during breaks
of the program. The staff at WCTV reserves the right to require the
following graphic at the beginning and during breaks of mature content programs:
"This program is
considered to be of mature theme and therefore may be considered offensive
to some viewers. Viewer/parental discretion is advised."
C. The content of your program
must not be for commercial use and must meet the guidelines in Section
XIII, "Policy on Commercial Use of Public Access Channel."
D. Some of the following
subjects are possible reasons for program content to be in violation of
state and federal laws:
1. Programs that involve a lottery, any lottery
material, or gambling for commercial purposes. 2. Programs that include any
obscene or indecent material. 3. Programs for "commercial use"
(you can use underwriting credits to identify sponsors). 4. Programs that
involve libelous or slanderous content. 5. Programs that do not have all
the appropriate clearances, such as copyright and use of image.
If you are in doubt
whether any of the content is in violation of any laws, the WCTV Production
Coordinator or staff will suggest ways to handle the subject.
E. WCTV may run the following
announcement before the program or during breaks of a program:
"The content and
opinions presented in the programs or bulletin boards run on this channel
are not necessarily those of the City of Waterloo, its cable franchisee,
the City of Waterloo Telecommunications Commission, or Waterloo Community
Television."
VIII. Important
Miscellaneous Guidelines, What If's, and How To's
1. At the present
time we will accept SVHS, VHS tape, DVD+R, DVD-R Disc formats for playback
on the public access channel.
2. It is best if
there is 10-15 seconds of black on the front of tape/disc to allow for
cueing the tape for the playback system. Programs produced in the studio
and recorded on studio equipment must have 10-15 seconds of black on the
front of the tape/disc and 15 seconds of black at the end.
3. The title of the
program must be clearly written on the tape label.
4. The exact time
from fade in to fade out must be written on the label in hours, minutes,
and seconds.
5. If your tape/disc
is damaged, lost, or stolen while in the possession of WCTV, you will be
reimbursed for the price of a comparable blank tape/disc, not for expense
incurred in the production of the program on the tape.
6. If because of
technical problems or staff hours scheduling your tape/disc does not get
played back on the system when scheduled, WCTV will reschedule the program
for another time.
7. Tapes/discs must
be picked up by the sponsor or producer no later than 90 days after the
last scheduled playback or they will be disposed of.
8. WCTV encourages
anyone who uses WCTV channel space, facilities, equipment, or other
resources to obtain a homeowner's or renter's insurance policy with
liability coverage to protect them in the event of a claim or litigation
against them.
IX. WCTV Public
Access Bulletin Board Policy
Individuals residing
in communities that receive the WCTV broadcast signal through the city of
Waterloo's cable franchisee may post pages on the WCTV public access
electronic bulletin board at no cost. Organizations whose local
office address is within the WCTV broadcast signal reception area may also
post pages on the bulletin board. As of the date of the adoption of
this policy, eligible communities include Waterloo, Evansdale, Elk Run
Heights, Raymond, Gilbertville, and Washburn.
1. Individuals and
groups are limited to one (1) page on the bulletin board in any 7-day
period.
2. Notice for posting
a page on the bulletin board must be given to the WCTV Production
Coordinator at the studio at least one week in advance.
3. All users must
fill out a Statement of Compliance and a Bulletin Board Graphic form. The
number of words per page and the font size must conform with the
specifications of the Graphic form.
4. All announcements
that are submitted for posting on the electronic bulletin board must meet
the same content criteria as videotape programs (see Section VII.2 of these
Guidelines).
5. If a notice does
not appear on the bulletin board as scheduled because of staff work
schedule conflict, equipment failure, or other studio problem, additional
time will be given to fulfill the original scheduled time.
6. All bulletin board
notices of particular events will be discontinued the day after the event
occurs, even if the notice has not run seven days.
X. Enforcement
Provisions
If you violate WCTV
guidelines, policies, or standards, you may be subject to disciplinary action.
The WCTV staff, the WCTV Production Coordinator, or CWTC may impose
penalties as provided below.
A. Monetary
penalties.
You will be charged a
fee of $25.00 if equipment checked out by you is not returned within
one-half hour after the scheduled time ends.
B. Warnings.
1. If you or anyone
accompanying you disrupts or interferes with the taping of a program in the
studio, you will be asked to stop. If you continue to be disruptive, you
will be asked to leave the premises and will be barred from WCTV facilities
for the remainder of the day. Also see "Temporary Ban from Equipment
and/or Facilities" below.
2. If equipment checked
out by you is not returned within one-half hour after the scheduled time
ends, a warning will be noted in the WCTV records. If you accumulate three
warnings within any period of sixty (60) days, or if on any one occasion
you return equipment more than two hours after the scheduled time ends,
your privilege to check out equipment may be suspended for up to thirty
(30) days.
C. Suspension of
Certification.
If you or anyone accompanying you (other than persons independently
certified by WCTV) injures another person in the WCTV facilities or damages
WCTV equipment or facilities, your certification to use WCTV equipment or
facilities may be suspended.
1. If your conduct is
deemed negligent (i.e., you should have been aware that the risk of injury
or damage was substantial and unjustifiable), your certification may be
suspended for up to fifteen (15) days and you may be required to
successfully complete another certification class.
2. If your conduct is
deemed reckless (i.e., you consciously disregarded a risk of injury or
damage that was substantial and unjustifiable), your certification may be
suspended for up to forty-five (45) days and you may be required to
successfully complete another certification class.
3. If you knowingly
or intentionally caused injury or damage, or if you knowingly or
intentionally change restricted electronic settings on WCTV cameras,
switchers, character generators, audio equipment, editors, or other
equipment, your certification may be suspended for up to ninety (90) days
and you may be required to successfully complete another certification
class. (Operators will be informed of restricted settings during the
certification class.)
D. Suspension of
Cablecast Privileges. If you knowingly or intentionally injure another person in WCTV
facilities or damage WCTV equipment or facilities, or if you knowingly and
intentionally violate program content standards, your privilege to submit
or sponsor programs for cablecast may be suspended for up to thirty (30)
days per occurrence.
E. Temporary Ban
from Equipment and/or Facilities. Any person who appears to be under the influence of
drugs or alcohol or who otherwise endangers WCTV equipment or facilities
may be temporarily banned from the facility or from using equipment. WCTV
staff may continue the ban for so long as the person poses a threat to the
equipment, facility, or persons in the facility and for up to seven (7)
days following the incident.
The above enforcement
provisions are intended as guidelines only, and the WCTV Production Coordinator
and CWTC reserve the right to deviate from them if violations are deemed
repetitive or of a serious nature. However, no suspension or ban can exceed
six (6) months, and no one can be permanently barred from using WCTV
equipment or facilities unless so ordered by a court.
Besides being
disciplined in the ways described above, you may also be liable for damages
to WCTV equipment and facilities and for any other liability or penalty
imposed by applicable law.
XI. Grievance
Process
1. Request for
Review
Any access user who disagrees with a WCTV staff decision about public
access programming, equipment use, or facility use may request a review of
the decision by the WCTV Production Coordinator. The request must be in
writing and on a Request for Review form, which the user must submit within
30 days of the decision complained of. The Coordinator will review the
materials submitted and issue a written determination within 15 days of
receipt of the request.
2. Appeal Request
A. Initiating appeal. If the access user disagrees with the
Coordinator's decision, he or she may request a review of this decision by
the CWTC programming committee. The request must be in writing and on an
Appeal Request form, which the user must submit within 15 days after
receipt of the Coordinator's decision.
B. Hearing. Within 15 days of receipt of
the Appeal Request, the programming committee chairperson will call a
hearing for the purpose of hearing arguments and receiving evidence and
testimony related to the grievance. The hearing will be scheduled for a
time within 30 days of receipt of the Appeal Request at a time mutually
agreeable to the aggrieved user and the programming committee. Hearings
will be recorded by audiotape or videotape. Examination of any party to the
appeal shall be under oath. Any party to the appeal may be represented by
an attorney.
C. Decision. The programming committee will
issue a written decision within 15 days of the conclusion of the hearing.
The decision will include a brief recitation of the facts as determined by
the committee and the reason(s) for the committee's decision. The
committee's decision shall be the final decision of CWTC.
XII. Procedures
for Resolution of Censorship Issues
A. WCTV's Refusal
to Cablecast as a Result of Private Liability Concerns
If WCTV objects to
cablecasting a public access user's program, as requested, because of a
good faith reasonable belief that doing so will subject it to direct and
substantial liability for copyright infringement or any other claim for
which there may be no civil immunity under the authority of Section 638 of
the Cable Act (47 U.S.C. §558), and the producer (public access channel
user) does not voluntarily agree to withdraw the program, WCTV may delay
cablecasting the program for a sufficient time, not exceeding three (3)
business days, to allow it to seek emergency injunctive or declaratory
relief from the courts. Notice of any such action by WCTV shall be given
immediately to the affected public access user and to CWTC.
B. Prior Restraint
Under Color of Law
In the event WCTV or
any city official or deliberative body having the requisite authority to do
so decides that a program submitted to be cablecast over the public access
channel should be censored in whole or part prior to being shown, or should
be shown under special restrictions or at another time because its content
violates pertinent criminal statutes or regulatory prohibitions, the
following procedure and policy shall apply:
1. Administrative
proceedings.
a. The producer of
the program (public access channel user) and the Waterloo City Attorney
shall be given immediate notice of the decision.
b. If CWTC itself has
not already rendered a decision on the issue of censorship, restriction, or
control over the content of the program, CWTC shall provide an expedited
hearing on the issue of whether the program can be lawfully censored or
restricted because of its content. The hearing shall be held prior to the
scheduled or requested time for cablecasting of the program unless there is
insufficient time remaining in which to hold the hearing. In any event, the
hearing shall be provided within two (2) working days of the decision to
censor or restrict the program, unless the producer (public access channel
user) agrees in writing to a later date.
c. The producer
(public access channel user) may, at his or her option, seek direct
judicial relief from the courts without fully completing the administrative
review process. The producer may also waive further hearing before CWTC, in
which event the persons or bodies who are seeking to impose some form of
censorship, restriction or control over the content of the public access
user's program shall have the immediate burden of initiating judicial
proceedings within five (5) working days to obtain a final judicial
determination as to the constitutionality and lawfulness of such
censorship, restriction or control, as set forth with more particularity in
paragraph 2 (a), below.
d. At any
administrative hearing to determine whether a program may be censored or
restricted because of its content, the burden of proof and persuasion shall
be upon the official or entity seeking to restrict or censor the program to
establish that the content of the program is constitutionally unprotected
and that it is lawfully subject to prohibition, regulation or restriction
in the manner proposed.
e. The producer
(public access channel user) shall be afforded full opportunity to respond,
be heard, and present evidence at any such administrative hearing.
2. Judicial
proceedings
a. Once CWTC has
initially determined of its own accord or pursuant to hearing that all or a
portion of a program contains constitutionally unprotected speech that
violates an applicable obscenity statute or other constitutionally valid
law restricting program content, the program-or preferably, only the
offending portions thereof-may be declared ineligible to be shown or
subjected to specified restrictions for a period not exceeding five (5)
working days. Within that period, the CWTC and/or the party seeking to censor
or restrict the program shall initiate proceedings to seek a final judicial
determination of whether the allegedly offending program content is
constitutionally unprotected and whether the program's producer may be
permanently restricted in whole or part from cablecasting the program over
the WCTV Public Access Channel.
b. Proceedings
initiated to seek a final judicial determination, as set forth in
paragraphs 1(c) and 2(a) above, may not be dismissed or abandoned without
the consent of the affected programmer (public access channel user).
c. If any contested
decision to censor, restrict or control a public access user's program or
any portion thereof is not sustained or continued in effect by a timely
judicial order obtained within the five (5) working days, the program shall
become eligible for cablecasting without any contested restrictions.
d. The right of the
affected producers to a de novo judicial determination as to whether the
program content in question can be censored, regulated, or controlled shall
remain unimpaired by these procedural guidelines. Specifically, decisions
by CWTC to impose or uphold censorship of a public access program are
interlocutory, and shall be deemed to have no force or effect upon
subsequent judicial proceedings through collateral estoppel, issue
preclusion, res judicata, legal precedent, exhaustion of remedies, or any
other legal doctrine granting deference, discretion or effect to the
determinations of administrative tribunals. Likewise, CWTC's determinations
regarding censorship, control or regulation of the program content, shall
have no limiting effect on the scope or standards of judicial review in any
subsequent or collateral judicial proceeding considering the same issues.
C. Disciplinary
Actions Following Cablecasts
The City shall not
impose a penalty or consequence upon a producer (public access channel
user) relating to the content of a previously cablecast access user program
without affording the affected person or entity a prior hearing under fair
and timely procedures. The burden of proof and persuasion at any such
hearing shall be upon the City.
XIII. Policy on
Commercial Use of the Public Access Channel
Statement of
Intent: The
City of Waterloo, Iowa has established the public access channel in its
CATV system as an unrestricted, non-commercial forum for public use. It is
not the intent of the City to regulate, control or restrict the content of
public access cablecasts. Nevertheless, minimal control over cablecasts may
be required to prevent the channel from being taken over by commercial
interests to the exclusion of private users. Thus, instances of
"commercial use" of the public access channel may be prohibited.
Despite this
restriction, the City recognizes that public debate and discourse about
important subjects often require speakers to engage in speech that has some
"commercial" character, and that to some extent, it is necessary,
even desirable, to permit "commercial" speech to be included
within public access programming. For example, a public access program on
health and nutrition might legitimately inform viewers where healthy foods
can be purchased locally; a show promoting the city's economy or culture
might feature an inside look at a unique local business; and a
not-for-profit charity may need to mention a bazaar or raffle to rally
public support in the fight against a deadly disease. Similarly, a public
access programmer may wish to inform an interested viewership where it can
purchase books that more thoroughly address ideas under discussion.
In all of these
situations, there can be no doubt that commercial or economic interests may
be advanced- even to the benefit of identifiable persons or organizations.
Nevertheless, it would be difficult to promote the economy, improve the
public health, or disseminate ideas without providing practical information
relating to the world of commerce.
The goal of the City
is not to ban all commercial speech on the public access channel, but
rather to ban "commercial use." The Cable Communications Policy
Act of 1984, as amended, defines "commercial use" as:
the provision of
video programming . . . [i.e. "programming provided by or generally
considered comparable to programming provided by, a television broadcast
station],. . . whether or not for profit. (See 47 U.S.C., §§531, 532)
Accordingly, in
determining whether commercial use of the public access channel is
occurring, the City will not simply look to whether any person, business or
organization may profit from some particular aspect of a program. Instead,
the City will evaluate the program as a whole to determine its overall
character and nature, comparing it to programming typically carried by
broadcast stations.
Policy: It is the
policy of the City of Waterloo to prohibit "commercial use" of
the Waterloo Community Television Public Access Channel. Speech that has
"commercial" content shall be permitted on the public access
channel provided that it does not occur in the context of a
"commercial use" program.
Factors Considered
in Evaluating Programs for "Commercial Use:"
1. The extent to
which the speaker stands to personally profit in monetary terms from the
content message of the cablecast.
2. Whether the
program would be "commercially viable" if presented on a leased
access channel.
3. Whether the
program promotes a commercial service provider, product manufacturer, or
distributor over equivalent commercial competitors within the cablecast
market area.
4. Whether the
program promotes services or products on the basis of traditional
competitive economic factors such as "price" or "value"
rather than upon non-economic factors such as "buy local, "buy
union", "support minority business" or "buy
natural".
5. Whether the
program has identifiable non-commercial messages or purposes, and the
extent thereof in proportion to any clearly commercial content.
6. The duration and
frequency of the promotional or commercial aspects of the program and
whether they are reasonably central to the program's non-commercial
objectives.
7. Whether the
promotion is on behalf of a not-for-profit, civic, charitable, or religious
cause.
8. Whether the
program was produced for commercial purposes by trade professionals or is
an original, amateur presentation.
9. Whether
presentation of the program on the public access channel resulted from the
inability of the franchisee and the programmer to reach agreement on the
price of leased access for the program.
10. Whether the
program is a re-cablecast of programs that have been shown on commercial or
leased channels.
11. Whether and the
extent to which persons or organizations having a commercial interest in
the products or services discussed in the program are identified in the
opening or closing credits, the program itself, or in program breaks by
name, place of business or address, telephone or facsimile number, e-mail address,
or web site.
12. Whether persons
or organizations that advertise or by other means offer their services to
produce a program, in whole or part, or to make use of the public access
channel or WCTV equipment or services, do so in exchange for monetary or
in-kind compensation.
Consequences of
"Commercial Use":
1. A program that has
been found by the WCTV Production Coordinator or CWTC to constitute a
"commercial use" of the public access channel is not eligible to
be cablecast over the public access channel. Upon finding that a program is
ineligible for future cablecasting on the public access channel because of
this policy, the City or CWTC shall immediately commence legal proceedings
in an appropriate court to seek affirmance of the CWTC's actions as required
by the "Procedures for Resolution of Censorship Issues." Such
action shall not be required, however, if the affected public access user
voluntarily:
a. withdraws the
program
b. removes the verbal
or visual identification of the person or organization having a commercial
interest in the products or services discussed in the program, if requested
by CWTC.
c. removes any other
endorsements or promotions of particular trades, businesses, services, or
products from the program, if requested by CWTC.
2. A public access
user who violates this policy on commercial use may receive an appropriate
warning, consequence or sanction that is commensurate with the degree of
seriousness of the offense as permitted by the tiered system of enforcement
now or hereinafter enacted by the City for the purpose of preventing misuse
of the public access channel. In determining the level of any response,
consequence or punishment for violation of this policy, the City or CWTC
shall consider the following:
a. The seriousness of
the violation and its extent during the programming.
b. The intent or
purpose of the violator.
c. Whether the
violator knew or should have known, or had been warned, that the program
was in violation of the policy against commercial use prior to the program
being shown.
d. Whether the
alleged violator has engaged in previous violations of the policy against
commercial use.
e. Any other
circumstances or factors that are relevant to the violation.
Acceptable Use of
Production Talents:
1. Persons or
organizations desiring to make talents available to the public for program
production may place their name on a list of volunteer producers that will
be posted in the WCTV studio.
2. Persons or
organizations offering production services may accept an award, grant, or
honorarium with the understanding that it is a donation to support the
producer's work and not compensation for use of cablecast time or WCTV
resources nor bargained-for compensation for the producer's time or
services.
3. Any producer
receiving money or property from a public access user or sponsor shall make
written disclosure to the WCTV Production Coordinator on a quarterly basis
of all money or property received.
4. A producer's name
may be listed in the credits of the program, and such listing shall be
limited to a duration of 10 seconds. A producer's place of business
or address, telephone or facsimile number, e-mail address, or web site may
not be listed.
XIV. Standards for
Operation of WCTV
1. WCTV shall not
charge any rate or fee for the use of its facilities or equipment in excess
of the its documented out-of-pocket costs to the user.
Upon application of
any member of the public, or any of its members, CWTC shall review the
supporting documentation for any fee charged by WCTV as well as any other
relevant information submitted to it, and make a determination as to the
amount and nature of out-of-pocket costs that may be used by WCTV to
calculate the fair amount of any rate or fee to be borne by the user.
Notice of any CWTC
hearing to review, determine or approve rates or fees charged by WCTV for
the use of its public access facilities or equipment shall be mailed by the
City to the listed address of each active public access user at least five
days in advance of consideration by CWTC or the Waterloo City Council. An
"active public access user" is a person or organization that has
a valid and current Access User Agreement on file with the WCTV listing the
address of a contact person.
2. WCTV shall insure
that all citizens of Waterloo have reasonable access to the public access
channel.
3. WCTV shall
cablecast all public access programs properly submitted to it in
conformance with the following:
a. Each program that
does not exceed its allotted length, as specified in paragraph 3(c) below,
shall be aired in its entirety.
b. All programs shall
begin promptly at their scheduled times.
c. Sufficient time
shall be allotted between programs to insure that minor delays do not
result in premature termination of a program. This shall be accomplished in
part by a guideline that each program submitted for a time slot of one-half
hour or longer, be 5 minutes shorter in actual length than its reserved
time slot. A program submitted that exceeds its total reserved time slot
length shall be eligible for cablecasting but may be terminated prematurely
by WCTV at the expiration of its reserved time slot if other public access
users or the programming schedule would be affected.
d. In the event WCTV
fails, through tardiness or other cause not attributable to the user, to
cablecast a public access user's program in its entirety, the program shall
be eligible to be re-cablecast, and WCTV shall display a public service
announcement listing the new time and date agreed upon with the user for
the re-cablecast, or may, in the alternative, immediately re-cablecast the
program in the next available time slot provided the re-cablecast commences
within one and one half hours delayed and viewers are notified by an
appropriate message.
e. Upon request WCTV
shall provide each public access user with the name and phone number of its
production coordinator, who shall be responsible for ensuring that public
access programs are properly shown at the times reserved.
4. Reasonable
availability of the public access channel shall be maintained as follows:
a. The public access
channel shall be available for cablecasting programs not less than fourteen
(14) hours per day exclusive of weekends and holidays. Cablecasting on the
public access channel shall also be permitted at other times to the extent
permitted by WCTV's automated equipment.
b. WCTV shall have
available personnel who are trained and authorized to deal with cablecasting
difficulties and the use of its public access facilities during its normal
business office hours.
c. Interruptions of
Scheduled Service:
i. The office hour
and holiday schedule of WCTV shall be made available to each active public
access user at the time of execution of each Access User Agreement.
ii. WCTV shall post a
notice in its office, on a regular monthly basis, notifying public access
users of its office hours, holiday schedule, planned maintenance to the
system, cablecasting schedules, and any predictable service interruptions
that are expected to interfere with the user's cablecasts. Whenever
practical, at least thirty (30) days notice shall be provided of any
service schedule changes that would affect the cablecasting time of a previously
scheduled program.
iii. In the event of
unplanned shutdowns or emergencies or other schedule changes not posted in
accordance with paragraph 4(c)(ii) above, WCTV shall give as much notice to
the affected public access users as is reasonably possible by periodically
cablecasting an appropriate announcement of the shutdown on the public
access channel that will be affected.
iv. WCTV shall keep a
log of all emergency shutdowns of the public access channel, including the
date, the duration, the identity of the program(s) affected by the
shutdown, and reason therefore. The log shall be made available to CWTC and
the public at regularly scheduled meetings of CWTC.
d. WCTV shall devise
and maintain a scheduling system that permits periodic users of the public
access channel to reserve standard times each week or month for the airing
of their programs. Subject to paragraph 4(e) below, users shall be
permitted to specify the length of time that their reservations are to
last. Users who fail to submit programs for such reserved times more than
twice may, upon notice, be required to reschedule their programming
reservations.
e. WCTV shall devise
and maintain a scheduling system that permits periodic users of the public
access channel to reserve standard times each week or month for the
cablecasting of their programs on a first come, first served basis.
Reservations shall be subject to the condition that each user shall be
entitled to select a time for the initial cablecasting of a program before
another user may select time slots for an additional cablecasting of a
program. In addition, all reserved time slots shall be reopened and become
available for reassignment once each calendar year at an announced time
which will be at least 45 days in advance of the effective date of such
reassignments. Requests for reserved time slots during the upcoming
calendar year shall be submitted to the WCTV Production Coordinator. In the
event two or more users submit simultaneous requests for the same time
slot, the production coordinator shall assign the time slots subject to the
condition that consideration shall be given to that user, if any, who had
the time slot immediately prior to reassignment.
5. Resolutions of
issues concerning technical problems.
a. Public access
users experiencing technical problems with cablecasting of their programs
should first promptly contact WCTV and identify the specific nature of the
problem.
b. If the problem
cannot be resolved by agreement of the user and WCTV, then the user is
advised to use the grievance process established by CWTC.
c. WCTV shall keep a
log concerning all complaints from public access users and of its response.
The log shall be available for inspection and reproduction by CWTC, its
Commissioners, and members of the public at each of CWTC's regularly
scheduled meetings. In no sense shall the log itself become an official
document subject to the Iowa Examination of Public Records Act (Iowa Code
Chapter 22).
d. Videotapes and
other media provided by users to WCTV for cablecasting must be able to
"stand-up" and not breakdown or disintegrate during cablecasting.
Such videotapes and other media must also be of sufficient quality to
permit reasonable audio and video clarity in cablecasting. Videotapes or
other media claimed by WCTV to be the source of any technical problems
shall be preserved without alteration by the affected user for inspection
by CWTC until it has abandoned or completed its investigation.
e. If CWTC determines
that an unacceptable number of complaints are due to problems related to
the equipment being used by WCTV, WCTV may be required to upgrade, repair,
or replace its equipment in order to provide a reasonable level of
performance.
6. WCTV may engage in
any lawful and constitutional restraint of programming that is provided for
in the Settlement Agreement executed in Jaquith v. Waterloo Cable
Commission, et al. (a case docketed in the U. S. District Court for the
Northern District of Iowa; Civ. no. C 93-2077), and in the Procedures for
Resolution of Censorship Issues discussed in Section XII.
7. WCTV is authorized
to condition access to the public access channel upon reasonable commercial
terms and conditions which shall remain subject to subsequent review and
adjustment by CWTC.
8. Public access
users who have valid and current Access User Agreements on file with WCTV
shall receive by mail advance notice of CWTC meetings that include a copy
of the proposed meeting agenda. The Secretary of CWTC or the City Clerk
shall cause such notice to be mailed to each user at least five (5) days in
advance of scheduled CWTC meetings. WCTV shall provide CWTC with
information necessary to implement this requirement.
XV. System
of Annual Program Scheduling
Once yearly, at a
time set by the Telecommunications Commission, the public access channel
lineup will be opened for rescheduling of programs. This will give
all users a chance at selecting a new time slot in the weekly schedule for
the programs they submit. The opening of the schedule will be as
follows:
1. All
user names will be placed in a pool from which names will be drawn.
The first name drawn will get first choice on the schedule for the first
playback of one of his or her programs. Subsequent names drawn will
select from remaining available time slots for the first playback of one of
their programs. After all names have been drawn, the identical order
of names will be used for the scheduling of first playback time of the
second program that they submit for cablecast. Scheduling of
additional programs will occur in the same manner. Once all the first
playback times for each program have been scheduled, the identical list of
users names will be used to set the second playback time of each program.
2. Users will
be notified to make their choices of playback times according to the
following guidelines:
a. For the program of
his/her choice, the user must choose a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th time
slot for the playback of the first showing. For the second showing of
the same program, the user must also choose a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th
time slot.
b. For the
second program that the same user submits, a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th time
slot for the first playback of that program must be chosen. Also, a
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th time slot for the second playback of this
program must be chosen.
c. The one-hour
prime time rule must be considered when choosing a time slot on the schedule.
d. If a user
does not reply to the notice to choose new times on the schedule, the
current time slots for their programs will be considered as their first and
second choices. All users, whether or not they respond to a notice of
schedule rearrangement, will be given a prime time slot in the order that
their name is chosen. This time slot will be chosen by the WCTV
Production Coordinator.
e. Weekend time
slots will be limited to one time slot per week for each user or
program. Time slots will be limited by availability of playback
equipment, by the work schedule of staff, and by holidays.
3. Any user who
submits a program for playback after the annual scheduling process shall
choose a first and/or second playback time from among remaining available
time slots. The program may be rescheduled at the time of the next
annual scheduling.
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