CHERRY CAPITAL CABLE COUNCIL Public Access Advisory Subcommittee PUBLIC ACCESS POLICY 1. PURPOSE AND MISSION STATEMENT The purpose of this Policy is to clearly define the rights, roles and responsibilities of the Cherry Capital Cable Council (hereinafter known as "CCCC"), the coordinating public access production facility Traverse Area District Library (hereinafter known as "TADL"), and the individual or group using, or requesting use of, the public television access facilities. This Policy shall not be in conflict with the "Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992." It is the intent of the Cherry Capital Cable Council, through its agreements with Charter Communications and Traverse Area District Library, to provide equipment, facilities and training to empower qualified individuals and groups to speak for themselves through public access television in accord with their first amendment rights. The public access channel(s) shall be a vehicle for public expression in accord with all existing laws and regulations. It is not the intent of the CCCC, or its contractual agents, to inhibit or restrict the public use of any public access channel(s) or production facility, but to ensure that all persons and groups wishing to use the access channel(s) or facilities, have an equal and fair opportunity to take advantage of the communications potential of the public access concept. The CCCC, or its Public Access Advisory Subcommittee (hereinafter known as the "Subcommittee"), shall be responsible for the periodic examination of this Policy, and the Subcommittee may recommend appropriate revisions as needed to the CCCC for approval. 2. DEFINITIONS A. A "Qualified" individual or group resides in, or has its primary location or place of business in a city, township, or other governmental unit represented on the Cherry Capital Cable Council. A "qualified" individual must have reached the age of twelve (12) years. The CCCC may, through amendment, agreement, or contractual arrangement, allow for the inclusion of residents of other political or geographic entities at its discretion. B. A "Producer" is a qualified individual or representative of a qualified group who has satisfactorily completed the required course of study at TADL relative to the use of public access facilities, or one who can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Public Access Studio Coordinator a working knowledge of program production. C. A "bicycled" tape shall mean any program produced by any group or individual outside of the tctv2 Cherry Capital Cable Council qualifying area. Programs produced by any group or individual within the Cherry Capital Cable Council qualifying area, even wholly outside of tctv2's studio and without tctv2 equipment, shall be considered "locally produced". 3. CHANNEL AVAILABILITY The public access channel(s) are provided by Charter Communications, through a franchise agreement with the CCCC and its contractual arrangement with TADL, to enable programming opportunities to any qualified individual or group wishing to originate a television presentation in accord with this Public Access Policy, production facility rules, and existing communication laws and regulations. Charter Communications and TADL shall cooperate with the CCCC to ensure that use of public access channel(s) shall reach its fullest potential and best serve the geographic and service area of the CCCC. 4. STUDIO AND EQUIPMENT AVAILABILITY For the purposes of this Policy, the TADL Television Production Facility located on the second floor of the Traverse Area District Library at 610 Woodmere Ave., Traverse City, shall be known as the Public Access Television Facility (hereinafter referred to as the "studio"). The studio shall be available on a first come, first served basis to Producers at specified times that shall be posted at the studio. TADL shall maintain a production and video recording studio which shall be capable of producing, recording, cablecasting, or playing back an audio and video signal sufficient to meet the needs of the studio. The signal shall be in compliance with all standard cablecasting qualities. TADL shall maintain a blank media supply for use by Producers. The studio shall be made available for editing. For remote production, that being the production of televised programming at a site other than the studio, portable equipment and supplemental production gear shall be supplied free of charge to any Producer under the terms of this Policy. Limitations to equipment availability shall depend on inventory of operational equipment. TADL reserves the right to cancel scheduled studio, post-production and/or portable equipment use by any Producer due to holidays, service and maintenance of the studio and/or equipment. The CCCC, through its Subcommittee or other service evaluation mechanisms, shall continually assess the adequacy of studio access time, channel access time, and equipment availability. The Subcommittee may recommend changes as necessary to ensure complete public access to the CCCC for approval. One or more TADL employee(s) shall be designated as the PEG Coordinator(s) who shall offer assistance to the certified producer. These personnel are responsible for the scheduling and use of the studio and equipment. These personnel shall be available as technical advisors to PEG producers. TADL studio staff are responsible for the actual cablecasting of access programs as scheduled. TADL/tctv2 employees and contract employees may record and edit programs pursuant to agreements with 4Cs governmental entities. 5. REQUIRED TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION Any qualified individual or group who wishes to use the equipment shall become a Producer by completing the required course of study offered by TADL or satisfactorily demonstrate to the Public Access Studio Coordinator a working knowledge of production skills sufficient to waive the required courses. Courses leading to certification shall be offered on a regular basis and shall be offered at a minimal cost to the applicant. The courses leading to certification are described in the Appendix. A listing of all coures, schedules, and descriptions are available at TADL and the studio. 6. FEES There shall be no charge for the use of the designated studio or equipment for live or taped presentations. 7. APPLICATION TO USE STUDIO AND/OR EQUIPMENT Application for use of studio or equipment shall be made to the Public Access Studio Coordinator at TADL and shall comply with the established procedures, regulations and policies as set forth herein and as approved by the CCCC and posted at the studio. Producer shall have on file with the PEG Coordinator at tctv2 a fully completed Public Access Channel Studio/Equipment Producer Compliance Form before applying to use the studio and/or equipment. This form shall be kept on file at tctv2 for a period of one year after which time it must be renewed in order for the producer to remain active at tctv2. If the applicant is under eighteen(18) years of age the applicant shall have a parent or guardian cosign the necessary studio and equipment request forms. The cosigner along with the applicant shall be financially and legally responsible and liable for any damage to the equipment and/or studio beyond normal wear and tear and any other matters connected with the public access production. The person using the equipment or studio shall meet the requirements of certification. A certified adult user may not sign for and relinquish control of equipment and/or studio time to a non-certified minor. The Public Access Studio Coordinator, or any other individuals supervising the studio and/or equipment, shall not deny access to any Producer who has met the requirements of this Policy. Access to the studio and/or equipment shall be denied to any person reasonably suspected to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs or to appear to be at the studio for no apparent legitimate reason. The CCCC, through TADL and the studio, shall keep for public inspection all scheduled program titles cablecast on the public access channel(s). tctv2 may keep records of program producers in the FACIL database for statistical and recordkeeping purposes, and may keep records of equipment usage related to the making of programs. These records may not be available for public viewing subject to current laws. 8. LIABILITY The Producer is responsible for any damage caused to the studio and/or equipment by the Producer or its agents, employees, guests, or invitees, and shall pay for the repair or replacement of any damages to the studio and/or equipment. If there is more than one Producer or a cosigner, the liability shall be joint and several. This liability is independent of any liability of the group or organization which the Producer may be representing. 9. OBTAINING EQUIPMENT Equipment shall be made available to Producers through the studio, and a list of available equipment shall be posted at the studio and available to the CCCC. Equipment shall be made available on a first come, first served basis. Equipment shall be made available and shall be returned in accord with studio rules. Those rules shall be prominently displayed and available to applicants and certified producers. 10. SCHEDULING AIR TIME The applicant requesting air time shall be a Producer. The applicant shall complete and sign the necessary forms as presented by the studio coordinator. Except for live and series programming, time shall not be scheduled until a program is completed. A request for air time shall be made at least two (2) weeks, but not more than two (2) months, in advance of the proposed cablecast date. The Producer shall be notified of the inability to cablecast a program at the requested time, or at the requested frequency, within five (5) days after the request is made, except in the case of bicycled programs, which will not be scheduled until all local programs have been scheduled. While there is no theoretical limit to the length of a program, there are practical limitations due to channel time availability. These constraints shall be discussed with the Producer. If scheduling allows, a program may be repeated. If repeated, programming will be alternated with other available programs so that no one program gets excessive playtime (relative to other programs) or favorable playback times. Requests for series time slots shall be fulfilled provided that sufficient time is available for other requests and if: a. The program has new content at least every four (4) weeks, and b. The certified producer has at least three (3) programs in the can (completed), and c. The program is local. Requests for the cablecasting of programs produced or originating outside the area require a local Producer sponsor. When used, such "bicycled" programs/tapes shall be presented as part of a longer program with locally originated opening and closing statements or remarks. Upon request of a Producer, live programs may preempt scheduled taped programs if the content of the live program is determined to be time sensitive by the Public Access Studio Coordinator. TADL reserves the right to cancel scheduled air time due to facility service needs or required maintenance, or other extraordinary events or circumstances. Questions regarding scheduling, preemption or cancellation shall be discussed with the Public Access Studio Coordinator first. 11. POLITICAL PROGRAMMING Political programming shall be subject to the same policies and rules as other programming including scheduling of air time. Political advertising is not permitted on the public access station as noted in Policy#15(a). The TCTV2 Coordinator shall publish and cablecast for local candidates, local political organizations, and local ballot question committees, regarding the availability of air time and production assistance and such other notice as is reasonable and as may be prescribed by rules or policies of TCTV2. 12. "FIRST USE" OF PROGRAMMING The CCCC asserts the right to "first use" of programs produced, in whole or in part, using equipment, studio and/or staff time owned by or under contract to the CCCC. "First Use" means the initial broadcast use and does not imply any continuing initial use. 13. PROGRAM OWNERSHIP AND COPYRIGHT Producers shall retain ownership of the creative rights to the programs they produce and may register and establish a copyright at their discretion. The studio shall provide a necessary amount of tape or disk space for Producers to complete a project in a format suitable for cablecast. The CCCC, through its arrangement with the studio, shall retain ownership of a copy, electronically or on physical media, of the submitted program. This copy shall be retained for not less than sixty (60) days from the last Playback date. A copy of the program shall be available to the Producer. Producers shall secure the appropriate copyright clearances prior to using music and other copyrighted material. 14. STUDIO RULES The Public Access Studio Coordinator shall establish rules for the use of the studio and present those rules to the Subcommittee. The Subcommittee shall then recommend those rules with or without changes to the CCCC. Upon the certification of those rules by the CCCC, the rules shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the studio for review by Producers and other participants. The rules shall include but shall not be limited to the following: a. Rules regarding the use and care of both studio and equipment. b. Rules regarding Producer accountability for actions. c. Rules regarding non-essential personnel during production time. d. Rules regarding smoking, drink, and food during production time. e. Rules regarding studio conduct during production time. Any violation of these rules may result in withholding the use of equipment and /or studio from the violator. 15. CENSORSHIP Each program may be subject to review by the Public Access Studio Coordinator prior to playback and/or broadcast. The Producer is responsible for the content of the program and is required to sign the hold harmless and indemnification agreement which is part of the Public Access Channel Air Time Request Form. The CCCC permits and encourages the broadest, most liberal use of the public access channel(s) as possible, as long as that use complies with the following requirements subject to the general standards of the community. The Producer shall not: a. Cablecast any advertising material designed to promote the sale of commercial products or services, including advertising by and on behalf of candidates for public office. b. Cablecast a lottery, any advertisement of or information concerning a lottery. c. Cablecast obscene, pornographic, indecent, libelous or slanderous material. 16. VIOLATIONS AND SANCTIONS Policy and/or Rule violations shall be classified as either minor or major violations. Minor Violations and Sanctions Minor violations include, but are not limited to: a. Failure to cancel or claim a reservation of equipment or studio twenty-four (24) hours prior to the time reserved. b. Late return of equipment without an authorized extension of loan time. c. Failure to vacate the studio or editing facilities by the end of reservation time. d. Return of dirty equipment. e. Use of equipment or studio in an unsafe or inappropriate manner f. Leaving trash or debris in the studio. g. Reserving or checking out equipment for another Producer without approval. h. Canceling equipment or reservations three times within a thirty (30) day period. A minor violation may result in the following sanctions in addition to the responsibility to pay for the repair or replacement of any damages to the studio or equipment. a. For the first minor violation a written warning. b. For the second minor violation a one (1) month suspension from equipment, studio and air time. c. Subsequent minor violations a one (1) year suspension and recertification. Public Access Studio Coordinator shall file a written report to the CCCC regarding any suspension. Major Violations and Sanctions Major violations include, but are not limited to: a. Failure to pay for equipment damage or loss. b. Submitting a check with insufficient funds. c. Failure to conform with "first use" of programs produced with CCCC equipment or studio. d. Abuse, vandalism, or failure to maintain equipment or studio. e. Return of equipment in damaged or unworkable condition, or failure to return equipment, through intent, negligence, loss or theft. f. Use of the studio and/or equipment for any purpose unrelated to public access program production. g. Unauthorized removal of equipment from the studio. h. Reserving or checking out equipment for use by an uncertified or suspended user. i. Attempted equipment maintenance or disassemble. j. Unauthorized use of equipment or studio. k. Breach of the program Air Time Request Compliance and Indemnification statement. A major violation may result in the immediate suspension for at least thirty (30) days from use of equipment, studio, and air time in addition to the responsibility to pay for the repair or replacement of any damages to the studio or equipment. Any subsequent major violation shall result in the revocation of privileges for five(5) years. Where damage to or loss of equipment has occurred, suspension is in effect until full compensation is made. There are no written warnings prior to suspension in cases of major violations. 17. NONDISCRIMINATION No persons shall be denied training, equipment, facility access, or channel time on basis of race, sex, physical disability, sexual preference, religious or political belief or affiliation. 18. APPEALS Any individual or group may appeal any decision or interpretation of the Public Access Studio Coordinator by submitting a written request to the Public Access Advisory Subcommittee who shall make a determination on the request within 30 days. The individual or group may then appeal any decision or interpretation of the Subcommittee by submitting a written request to the CCCC who shall place this request on the agenda at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Decisions of the CCCC shall be final. 19. AMENDMENT This Policy can be amended only by the CCCC. . .