Item J05
Board of County Commissioners
Agenda Item Summary
Meeting Date: April 18, 2001
Bulk Item: Yes CI No .
Division: Board of County Commissioners
George R. Neugent
AGENDA ITEM WORDING:
Discussion regarding a 30-minute weekly program on Channel 16 to inform the
public on issues of importance i.e. budget, stretch, wastewater etc. Singular issues
of extreme importance could be better explained in detail to constituency.
ITEM BACKGROUND:
:~,
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION:
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff to inform BOCC of cost.
TOTAL COST:
BUDGETED: YES CI NO CI
COST TO COUNTY: $ ~
REVENUE PRODUCING: YES CI NO CI AMT PER MONTH: YEAR:
APPROVED BY: COUNTY AnY CI OMB/PURCHASING CI RISK MANAGEMENT [J
APPROVAL: ~~ec~
M,AJ 0 GEOR E R. EUGENT
. DISTRICT II
DISPosmON:
TO FOllOW C NOT REQUIRED CI
AGENDA ITEM # L .Jl'"
DOCUMENTATION: INCLUDED .
Revised: May 1994
MONROE COUNTY GOVERNMENT CHANNEL 16
Educational & Government Programming
Policies and Guidelines
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this document is to provide general guidelines and
policy direction for the use a~d operation of Monroe County
Channel 16, hereinafter referred to as "Channel 16."
A. Authority for Channel 16: Section 29. 2 "Government\'~
Channel" of the Monroe County and TCI Cablevision of Florida
Franchise Renewal Agreement, dated January, 1993 -- and
hereinafter referred to as "the Agreement" -- establishes
provisions for operation of a county-operated government
channel. The Agreement mandates that the government channel
shall be provided on the lowest-priced, basic service
offered by franchisee to the subscribers.
B. Regulation of Channel 16: Channel 16 operates under the
jurisdiction of the Monroe County Board of County
Commissioners, through its Ptlblie Information
Bepartment Information Systems Department and under the
county-granted cable television franchises. Responsibility
for developing policy and reviewing program content for
conformance with these guidelines lies with the Public
Information Manager. The Channel 16 Station Manager shall
administer the programming and operation of the channel.
Any changes to these operating policies shall be recommended
and developed by the Public Information Manager, reviewed by
the County Administrator and approved by the Board of County
Commissioners.
OBJECTIVES:
The objectives of Channel 16 shall be:
A. To televise public meetings, specifically those conducted
by the Board of County Commissioners.
B. To provide live or prerecorded coverage of special events
conducted by governmental agencies or events in which
governmental agencies playa role.
C. To inform the residents of Monroe County of the various
functions and services performed by their governmental and
educational 'entities.
D. To post information on Channel 16's Bulletin Board about
various governmental agencies and educational facilities and
the services offered therein.
E. To provide public service information to the residents of
Monroe County.
F. To extend guidance to educational organizations seeking to
use cable television.
G. To develop continued cooperation and communication with
County-franchised cable operators to maximize benefits, of
the educational resources and activities in the area. ~
OVERALL POLICY:
A. Programming Policy -
1. Government - Programming shall offer direct,
non-editorial information regarding the operation and
deliberations of the local governments of Monroe County. At
no time shall the programming promote, advance or advocate
the political candidacies, policies, programs or platforms
of any individuals, parties or groups. Announcements for
other governmental agencies may be permitted with the
approval of the Public Information Manager.
2. Education - Programming shall offer educational and
instructional content of interest to persons of all ages in
the community appropriate for public educational
institutions.
B. Operations-
1. Costs - County Channel 16 shall operate in such a
manner as to ensure that capital and operational costs are
reasonable and responsible while maximizing service to the
public.
2. Use of Volunteers - Maximum use shall be made of
volunteers and interns from within the community. Where
possible, cooperative arrangements with providers of local
educational television, the Monroe County School Board,
colleges and universities, technical schools, the franchised
cable operators and other appropriate groups shall be
established.
2
3. Information exchange - Liaison and exchange
arrangements with other government agencies involved in
telecasting'shall be established and maintained.
OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES:
A. Channel-
The educational & government channel shall operate on cable
channel 16 on all franchise cable systems and shall use the
designation "MC TV 16" or similar designator as prescribed by the
Public Information Manager.
B. Modes of Cablecast -
,
'c.
,!,
Whenever funding, staff and equipment permit, County Channel 16
shall utilize six telecast modes:
1. Live - Live coverage of events originating from County
offices shall be provided. This generally will consist of
telecasts of the County Commission meetings, Hearings, and
other public meetings of general community interest.
2. Tape Delayed - Many public meetings and events will be
videotaped for telecast at a later time/date. Some public
meetings or events, such as County Commission meetings, will
be telecast live and subsequently replayed, in full or
highlight form, during the week.
3. Locally-produced Programs - Original programs shall be
produced to communicate the functions, operations or
services provided by commissions, councils, departments,
agencies, boards, and committees of those government
entities located in Monroe County.
4. External Programs - Many prerecorded educational
programs and programs about local government are available
and may be o~tained for local telecast.
5. Character-generated Announcements - During all hours
of operation when no other programming is scheduled, a
character-genera tor-created "bulletin board" shall display
current messages of interest to the public.
6. Local Affiliates - Additional programs previously
shown on commercial broadcast channels may be shown on
County Channel 16 subject to the approval of the Public
Information Manager.
C. Access Policy -
3
County Channel 16 is not a public access channel. Access to
County Channel 16 shall be restricted to government functions and
operations and educational programming. Non-government requests
for facilities or program time must be specifically authorized by
the Public Information Manager. For the purpose of these
policies, appropriate programming includes:
1. Public Meetings - All public meetings of government
policy-making or advisory boards and commissions are
appropriate for telecast.
2. Information Programs - Any local government agency or
department or any educational institution within Monroe
County or .with a branch or campus within Monroe County may
submit requests to produce and/or telecast programs on
Channel 16. These programs may present services proviged' by
the agency, department or institution, communicate"
information to the public or both. Programs may be
locally-produced or secured from another agency. All
requests shall be subject to review by the Public
Information Manager.
NOTE: Those municipal government agencies and departments and
those educational institutions utilizing Channel 16 facilities
and resources bear sole responsibility for the contents and
materials used in all programs produced by or for them. This
responsibility includes, but is not limited to:
obtaining all necessary releases, fully-executed by an
authorized signer able to bind the municipality
obtaining all necessary releases from program
participants;
obtaining any required copyright clearances and;
complying with all other policies and guidelines for
programming to be telecast on channel 16.
Such users shall sign a standard Liability Release form or one
provided by the Public Information Office prior to the
telecasting of any information or program for that user. The
Liability Release shall hold harmless the Monroe County Board of
County Commissioners for any breach of copyright or other
liabilities due to the negligence or error of the user agency,
department or institution.
3. Candidates for Political Office - Defined: for the
purpose of determining Channel 16 applicability, a
"political candidate" is defined as anyone who -- being a
legally-qualified candidate -- after the deadline for
candidacy qualification has lapsed, is registered with the
Supervisor of Elections' office for participation as a
candidate in an upcoming election.
Political candidates will not be permitted appearances
on Channel 16 within 60 (sixty) days of an election, either
primary or general, in which they are a candidate unless:
4
a) such an appearance is part of a bona fide
newscast, news interview, news documentary or
coverage of an on-the-spot news event, or;
b) such an appearance is a direct consequence of
Channel 16's coverage of that person's regular
business, or;
c) such an appearance is coincidental to Channel
16's regular coverage of an event or circumstance,
or;
d) the appearance is part of a prearranged debate,
discussion or forum upon which all political
candidates for that office were invited to appear,
either in person, in voice or electronically; or;
e) the appearance was recorded prior to the last
day of candidate qualifications for that election.
,
"
.~~
4. Public Debates - Requests for access to facilities or
channel-time to stage a debate shall be denied unless part
of an overall programming strategy is to elicit viewpoints
consistent with equal time provisions. If a debate is to be
cablecast, provisions must be made to ensure that there
exists fair and full discussion and presentation of opposing
viewpoints on controversial issues of public importance.
(See Section N-5 herein). Additional information and
specific ground rules, as required, shall be established by
the Public Information Manager or his designee for each
program prior to implementation.
5. Character-generated Messages - Announcements for the
character-generator may be submitted by any local government
agency or department or any educational institution within
Monroe County or with a branch or campus within Monroe
County.
a) Messages must be timely and current
b) Requests to air announcements must be submitted
seven days in advance of the desired telecast date,
except emergency County announcements.
c) The content of such requests shall be submitted
on a 3 1/2" DOS-formatted diskette in a
word~processing format designated by the Public
Information Manager.
d) If diskette submission is not possible, the
request shall be submitted on a form provided by
the Public Information Office.
e) The Public Information Manager or his designee
shall be responsible for insuring the
appropriateness of messages and may edit same to
provide clarity and to maximize the use of the
character-generator.
f) If material is determined to be unsuitable for
inclusion in the program sequence, the material
will be returned to the sender along with a brief
written account of the reason(s) for the decision
5
and, where appropriate, offering assistance in
making necessary changes to qualify same for
inclusion.
g) Emergency messages will be given priority over
all other announcements and programming. Requests
for announcements concerning civil emergencies
shall only be made by the Board of County
Commissioners, the Emergency Operations Center
and/or the County Administrator.
6. Program Log - A daily log shall be maintained to
record all programming telecast.
D. Video programming Disclaimers -
.'
All video programming, whether live or on tape, shall be ~
identified by producer or source of programming credits at the
end of the program. Videotapes obtained from external producers
shall also carry a disclaimer of Monroe County's responsibility
for their content at the end of the programming. The disclaimer
shall state: "Comments and opinions expressed in this proqram
are those of the producer and do not necessarily reflect the
editorial views of Channel 16. The comments, opinions and/or
proqram content herein do not necessarily coincide with policies
set forth by the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners. No
endorsement by Channel 16 or the Monroe County Board of County
Commissioners is either expressed or implied."
E. Editing Policy -
1. Public Meetings- Any live public meeting (meetings
held by local governing bodies and meetings of their
agencies and boards) telecast shall not be edited or
subjected to editorial comments. Live meeting coverage
shall be from gavel-to-gavel except for technical
interruptions. Supplementary information on agenda items
and interviews with participating officials to aid viewer
understanding may be provided.
2. Departmental proqram - Any program prepared or
submitted by an individual governmental agency may be edited
to maintain continuity with these guidelines and telecast
requirements.
3. County Bulletin Board - Messages for display on the
County Bulletin Board must be submitted on a 3 1/2 "
DOS-formatted diskette in a word-processing format
designated by the Public Information Manager.
a) If diskette submission is not possible, the
request shall be submitted on a form provided by
the Public Information Office.
6
b) The Public Information Office may edit the
messages to provide clarity and to optimize use of
the memory bank.
4. Errors - Should human error result in the telecast of
incorrect information over Channel 16, Monroe County and the
employees thereof shall not be liable for the inaccuracy of
the information.
F. Sponsorship/Endorsement-
At no time shall Channel 16 be used to endorse consumer products
and/or service.
1. Any individual, business or institution that donates
goods and services to County Channel 16 for its progr~ms may
be acknowledged only in the format as follows:
a) Credit lines may be placed only at the
beginning or ending of the program.
b) The audio and/or video credit shall state:
liThe following/preceding program has been made
possible in part thought cooperation with ____
(name of donor) _.n
2. All contributions of goods and services, and volunteers
and interns must be recorded on a sponsorship disclosure
form provided by the Public Information Office.
G. Promotions-
1. Promotional announcements for events sponsored by any
local government agency or department or any educational
institution within Monroe County or with a branch or campus
within Monroe County are acceptable for telecast.
a) Promotional announcements for events in
government facilities such as parks, governmental
centers and recreation facilities are acceptable.
b) Any questions regarding message appropriateness
sha~l be resolved by the Public Information Manager
2. Channel 16 reserves the right to refuse the cablecast of
any promotional material or promotional announcement deemed
inappropriate by the Public Information Manager.
H. Use of External Resources -
To maximize programming, every attempt shall be made to use
community resources to facilitate program production. An
arrangement shall be made with local or regional public
educational institutions to recruit interns to assist the Channel
16 station Manger in producing public meetings and other County
7
programs. Prerecorded programs or films from other sources
consistent with appropriate local use may be sought and used to
supplement regular programming.
I. Use of County Channel 16 Equipment -
Use of the County's equipment shall be restricted to government
activities of approved special events. Users must be certified
government access producers and/or interns or others authorized
by the Public Information Manager. Users must have received the
necessary training to use such equipment. Users will be
charged-back for equipment and, production as prescribed by County
Policy. Equipment use for personal or other use shall not be
authorized. Loaning, rental, or use of equipment for personal or
commercial use is prohibited.
.
.~
J. Telecasting Hours -
It shall be the goal of Channel 16 to offer continuous
programming. The general approach shall be to utilize live and
prerecorded programs as the primary source and the County
Bulletin Board during periods where it is not possible to air
such programs.
K. Retention of Recorded Programs -
Master videotapes of locally-produced events or public meetings
other than Board of County Commission meetings shall also be
retained for 60 (sixty) days. VHS copies of Board of County
Commission meetings shall also be retained consistent therewith
after which time the videotapes shall be erased and reused. Any
requests for longer retention should be made in advance. These
videotapes shall not be considered an official meeting record and
Monroe County assumes no liability for inadvertent content
erasure or omissions. A disclaimer to this effect shall be
stated at the beginning of the programming. County departments
and agencies are responsible for obtaining duplicate tapes and
maintaining any archives of such meeting tapes. Such request for
videotape copies must be made within one week following the final
scheduled playback of such programming on Channel 16, utilizing
the request form provided by the Public Information Office.
L. Video Copies -
Copies of any Channel 16 program, including County meetings,
shall be provided upon request to authorized County employees or
departments free of charge. Blank VHS tapes must be provided.
Copies of Board of County Commission meetings shall be provided
to any citizen at a charge of twenty dollars ($20.00) per tape
hour. Blank VHS tapes must accompany the request.
8
M. Copyright-
Monroe County retains the copyright to all programs produced
using Channel 16 equipment. This includes government access
producers, interns and freelance (contract) producers. All
programming shall so state at the beginning or end of same. Any
request to use Channel 16 copyrighted material for recablecast,
broadcast on another television channel or station or other
viewing, or any request to alter Channel 16 copyrighted material
shall be submitted in writing to the Public Information Office.
N. Prohibited Use -
Channel 16 shall not be used for the presentation of:
1. Any advertising which promotes or endorses the sal~ of
any product or services offered (see paragraph F herein for
further direction regarding endorsements);
2. Any promotional material concerning products or services
presented for the purpose of any solicitation of funds or
items of value for any reason;
3. Any material which is obscene, indecent, or defamatory
as defined by law;
4. Any material which would violate any federal, state or
local law;
5. Any advertisements on behalf of a political candidate or
measure on a ballot or which includes specific messages on
behalf of or opposing any issue under consideration by the
Board of County Commissioners. This does not preclude the
production of programming by Channel 16 which provides
background information on such issues if all sides of the
issue are presented or the production of programs were all
sides of an issue are debated/discussed by their
proponents/opponents;
6. Any material which directly promotes religious beliefs
or religious philosophies.
7. Any material deemed inappropriate by the Public
Information Manager.
o. Access to Individuals With Disabilities -
Pursuant to the Americans With Disabilities Act and the rules
promulgated thereunder, appropriate steps shall be taken to
afford an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to
participate in, and enjoy the benefits of, a service, program, or
activity conducted by a public entity. Primary consideration
9