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1. Programming fulfilling the mission of The Madison City Channel shall be informational in nature but this does not preclude the cable casting of events where some advocacy may take place.

2. The Madison City Channel's staff resources and its facilities are for the use of 1) the City of Madison, 2) other government agencies, and 3) non-profit agencies. The Madison City Channel will recover cost of productions through interdepartmental billings for salaries, benefits, and overhead used on a production.

3. Other organizations may apply for the use of facilities and staff time on a fee basis.

4. Organizations utilizing The Madison City Channel's facilities and resources bear sole responsibility for the contents and materials used in all programs produced by or for them. This responsibility includes obtaining all necessary releases from program participants, obtaining any required copyright clearances, and complying with all other policies and guidelines established for programming to be cablecast on The Madison City Channel. Such users shall sign a liability release form prior to the cablecasting of any information or program for that user. The liability release shall hold harmless The Madison City Channel for any breach of copyright or other liabilities due to the negligence or error of the user agency. All programming with the exception of meetings will carry a disclaimer of the City of Madison and The Madison City Channel responsibility for their content.

5. Written information submitted to The Madison City Channel for inclusion in the character generator program sequence (Community Bulletin Board) will be edited where necessary by Madison City Channel staff to maximize the impact, clarity, and efficiency of the message.

6. Selection and scheduling of character generated sequences, programs, and live events for cable casting are solely the responsibility of The Madison City Channel as per the priorities outlined in The Madison City Channel's mission statement.

7. All video programming whether live or on tape shall be identified by producer or source of programming credits at the end of the program.

8. The Madison City Channel will retain the videotapes of recorded meetings for no more than three months, with the exception of annual budget meetings, which will be retained for one year. Requests for copies of such tapes will be granted and The Madison City Channel has the right to require compensation for such as per The Madison City Channel's rate structure.

9. The Madison City Channel will retain the master copy of all programming it produces, or aids substantially in producing, for all time. Copies of the master will be used for cable casting and may be purchased from The Madison City Channel. All tapes used in the production of a project or program (work tapes) will be available for purchase at cost for one month after project completion. After one month, the work tapes will be recycled at the discretion of The Madison City Channel staff.

Copyright Issues
All regular Madison City Channel productions (i.e., meeting coverage and public affairs programs) and all special video works produced by The Madison City Channel will be under the copyright control of the City of Madison unless one or more of the following apply:

1. The work is produced as strictly a "work for hire" for, and funding is provided by, an entity other than the City (such as Dane County or a non-profit organization).

2. Language in a grant, or other funding source which pre-exists the production of the work, establishes a different, related entity as the copyright holder.

3. An agreement is signed, prior to production of the work, granting ownership of copyright to a different, related entity, such as the funding source or the host or moderator of the program.

For productions copyrighted by the City of Madison, the practical exercise of copyright control shall belong to the agency within the City which funded the production of the work.

Nothing in the above paragraph as regards to public meetings is intended to excuse The Madison City Channel from the requirements of the State of Wisconsin's Open Records Act. All requests for video copies of such meetings will be granted, and The Madison City Channel has the right to require compensation for expenses involved in creation of those copies as per The Madison City Channel's rate structure.

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Prohibitions on Use
The facilities and resources of The Madison City Channel shall not be used for the following:

1. Any advertisements on behalf of a political candidate or measure of a ballot. Note: This does not preclude the production by The Madison City Channel of programming which includes the opportunity for all candidates for a particular elective post or proponents of all sides of an issue to appear in a fair and equitable fashion, i.e., Know Your Candidates.
2. Any advertisements including specific messages on behalf of or opposing any measure under consideration by the Madison Common Council. Note: This will not preclude the production of programming by The Madison City Channel which provides information on such issues if all sides of the issue are presented, or the production of programs where all sides of an issue are debated/discussed by their proponents/ opponents, i.e., Access: City Hall and other special programming.
3. Any promotional material concerning products or services presented for the purpose of any solicitation of funds or items of value by other than government or non-profit groups.
4. Any information concerning lotteries, gift enterprises, or the like.
5. Any material which constitutes libel, slander, pornography, violation of trademark or copyright, or which might violate any local, state, or federal laws, including FCC regulations.
6. Any programming which advocates a particular religious belief or beliefs.
7. Use of Madison City Channel production equipment shall be restricted to municipal access related activities and only to designated City employees, work study students, volunteers, and/or interns under the supervision of the Station Manager. Loaning, renting or use of the equipment for personal or commercial use is prohibited.

Editing Policies for Programs and Information Messages

Public Meetings: All public meetings will be covered gavel-to-gavel. No editing of any sort shall be performed, save: 1) addition of title and credit pages for cable casting of taped replays; and 2) coverage lost due to technical considerations.

Special Programs: Any programming prepared by or provided by a government department may be modified or edited as appropriate to the policies governing channel use, or as dictated by scheduling and personnel resource requirements.

Community Bulletin Board:  Informational messages for use on the character generator bulletin board (Community Bulletin Board) shall be edited for clarity and to maximize the capacity of the system.

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Madison City Channel

Policies for Internet Streaming and Archiving of Programming
March 2009

1.         A.  Madison City Channel provides live streaming and archived coverage on its Internet website (www.madisoncitychannel.com) of the following regular City government meetings:

            -Alcohol License Review Committee (live)

-Madison Common Council (live)

            -Board of Estimates (live)

            -Plan Commission (live)

            -Transit and Parking Commission

            -Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Motor Vehicle Commission; and

            -Commission on People with Disabilities (live)

B.  Madison City Channel also archives the following regular Madison City Channel public affairs shows:

            -Access:  City Hall

            -Conexion Latina

            -District Reports

            -Madison Works

            -The Mayor's Report

            -Senior Beat;

-and, during local election seasons, Know Your Candidates.

C.  Madison City Channel also provides a LIVE 24 hour stream on its Internet website. (www.madisoncitychannel.com)

D.  Archives of all productions will be available on the Madison City Channel site no later than 48 hours after (either) the live meeting or the initial cablecast of the public affairs show.

2.         A.  Regular Madison City Channel productions produced using Madison City Channel resources (such as mentioned above) will be available on the Internet first and foremost on the Madison City Channel site.

            B.  Upon request, Madison City Channel productions may also be located on the websites of other appropriate City agencies (i.e., The Mayor's Report on the Mayor's site, District Reports or Madison Common Council meetings on the Council's site).  There will be no charge for this service, but it will be the responsibility of the agency in question to request the addition of productions or the deletion of past productions.

            C.  Madison City Channel "Ad-Hoc" productions may be placed on other City agencies' sites upon request.  It will be the responsibility of the agency in question to request that Madison City Channel  update or delete streaming links from their site.

            D.  Productions funded by client agencies (such as public service announcements, training or outreach videos) may be placed on the client agency's site upon request, subject to the streaming rate which is $23 per hour (this expense would generally be included in the budget for production of the project).