Section V NewTV's Rule and Procedures

ALL PROGRAMMING PRODUCED FOR CABLECAST ON NCAC'S CHANNELS SHALL BE OF A NON-COMMERCIAL NATURE.

NCAC is responsible for the administration of two cable channels on the cableTV systems in Newton. By becoming an NCAC member, any resident or non-profit organization in Newton may request channel time for the presentation of programming they produce at NCAC, or programming produced elsewhere. Reference to a Community Producer is to indicate a local resident producing programs with NCAC equipment or facilities. Reference to a Local Sponsor refers to a Newton resident who is taking legal responsibility for the cablecasting of either a locally-produced program or a program produced elsewhere. NCAC retains the right to preempt programming at any time in order to provide timely local programming, such as live or taped special municipal events, important local debates/forums, election-related programming, satellite downlinking, or other local events of general interest to the Newton community for which time is of the essence (Example: The unscheduled appearance of a local school team in a championship final match). Furthermore, NCAC may place a higher priority on access to limited channel cablecast time for programming for and about Newton or by a Newton resident, against programming on more general or wider topics, or that produced outside of Newton.

Community producers and local sponsors members must agree to comply with all applicable sections of these Rules and Procedures and abide by the following conditions:

A. Requests for Cablecast Time and Required Clearances.

In order to cablecast any programming, one must be an NCAC member in good standing, and submit the completed, labeled tape for which appropriate releases and clearances have been obtained. Community Producers on the access channels are fully responsible for the content of their program material, and must have signed an acknowledgement of responsibility.

B. Presentation of the following is prohibited:

Any commercial programming or advertising;
Any material which constitutes libel or slander;
Any obscene material or pornography;
Any unauthorized use of copyrighted material or publicity rights, and invasion of privacy;
Any material in violation of FCC regulations; and,
Any material which violates local, state or federal laws.

C. Ownership of Locally Produced Programs

NCAC community producers own their program and hold the copyright, provided it is cablecast at least once on any of the access channels. If a NCAC videotape is used for the master, the producer may make one free copy on their own tape stock.
NCAC has the right to maintain a copy of any program in its tape library to cablecast an unlimited number of times.
NCAC has the right to use any program for promotional purposes related to NCAC.
Only the community producer, as holder of the copyright, may authorize any other use of a taped program.
Community producers that make a for-fee or commercial use of a program produced for cablecast on an NCAC channel shall be required to remit 20% of all royalties resulting from said tape to NCAC.
Any exceptions to the above shall be determined solely by the Executive Director on a case-by-case basis.

D. Disclaimer/Acknowledgement Requirement

All programming cablecast from NCAC facilities must include a one-minute videotape disclaimer and funding acknowledgement provided by NewTV and edited on to the member's master videotape before the tape may be submitted for cablecast.

E. Safe Haven/Adult Programming

Producers are expected to alert NCAC staff to programming that may be inappropriate for younger viewers. NCAC reserves the right to cablecast programming with excessively violent material, offensive language, nudity, or sexually explicit material after 11:00 pm, and before 6:00 am, in order to preserve a safe haven for viewing by "all audience members". NCAC believes that when it comes to controversial content in programming, the response should be to encourage more speech, as opposed to enforcing silence. Furthermore, NCAC is forbidden by law from censorship, or content control. NCAC encourages anyone who disagrees with a program to produce counter-programming presenting an opposing point of view, or otherwise responding to the program in question. Upon receipt of a Request for Cablecast Time for any program, NCAC reserves the right to inform the public of a local Producer of Record's intent to cablecast a particular program to which it believes a segment of the community may wish to respond.

F. Underwriting and Grants

Acknowledgement of underwriting by businesses, organizations or grantors providing monetary or other assistance to the making of the program may be included in the program credits. Such acknowledgement should meet the standards of the Public Broadcasting System, and may include the underwriter's name, business name, logo, and up to a 15-second statement of the nature of the underwriter's contribution or product. Prohibited are direct sales talk, marketing, or "calls-to-action" which disclose specific products on sale, business address or business phone. Newton-based firms may identify the village in which they are located.
Any Community Producer soliciting underwriters for financial support must provide that potential underwriter with the NCAC Fact Sheet which makes clear that no commercial content is allowed on public access programs.
All underwriter funds in excess of $1,000 must be paid directly to Newton Communications Access Center, Inc.. NCAC will then distribute 85% of the funds received to the community producer whose program is being underwritten. When the amount is $2,500 or more, NCAC will retain 20% of the funds. When the amount is $5,000 or more, NCAC will retain 30% of the funds. NCAC retains a portion of such funds for two reasons: First, we extend our non-profit status to our Members in order that their contributors may qualify for tax deductions (if applicable), and, secondly, the receipt of the funding by the community producer would be impossible without the actual and in-kind support of the free resources of NCAC.
NCAC members are encouraged to seek grants from outside sources for their productions. For grants over $2000, Members must make arrangements for co-application with NCAC, as it may be necessary to provide proof of certain in-kind requirements of the grant -- services and/or equipment which only the NCAC Executive Director may commit and guarantee. NCAC reserves the right to retain up to 20% of such grants for administrative and in-kind services, to be arranged by mutual agreement with the participants and, if necessary, the grantors. Grant applicants are urged to review the section concerning Representation in relation to any affiliation statements requested in grant applications.
Commercial advertising is prohibited from NCAC channels.

G. Access to Cablecast Time Slots for Single Programs by Community Producers

1. Program time slots for the access channels are scheduled by the staff when a tape has been submitted and time slots are available on a first-come, first-served, non-discriminatory basis.

2. Any program(s) submitted by an NCAC Community producer shall be considered an episode or episodes of their duly registered Project Proposal/Program Title in the Facil reservation system, and shall be designated by a unique Episode number by Facil, and unique identifying information on the tape label and in the Facil "description" field. For example:
Project/Program Title - "Newton Kids Score Big;"
Episode #0657, ("Description")
Guests: John Q. Adams and friends."

3. A "half-hour" time slot must be filled with programming that is exactly 29 minutes and 00 seconds long. A "one-hour" slot must be filled with programming that is 59 minutes and 00 seconds long. NewTV will insert the appropriate, required disclaimers and funding acknowledgements in the remaining one minute of each program slot.

4. Locally-produced programming will take precedence in program scheduling. The staff will schedule program playback with the goal of presenting a coherent schedule.

5. Those wishing to place programming on the access channels must submit a labeled videotape.

6. The producer submitting an episode must select from one of two program repeat routines on submission: a) no more than five (5) times in a one week period b) no more than forty (40) times in a 13-week period The producer submitting an episode must also declare the program's "Home Spot." The Home Spot is defined as the day and time when a producer's first episode is replaced with a new, unique episode, and is the single time NewTV will promote when it purchases program promotion materials. A Home Spot is not necessarily in Prime Time. The NewTV programmer will prepare schedules to meet these selections as time and programming equipment permit, and make every attempt to meet the producer's requested schedule of playback within time available and these rules. A producer may request that his/her episode be repeated less often than the number of times offered here.

7. Tapes for cablecast must be submitted no later than 12 NOON on the Wednesday PRIOR TO THE FRIDAY IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING WHICH BEGINS THE WEEK OF CABLECAST.

8. Exceptions to this policy will be allowed for only two reasons:

(a) if the program is produced live on the channel, and its repeats would fall in the next programming week, and this fact is well documented in the project proposal, or,

(b) should production circumstances require the producer to submit the program as late as 48 hours prior to cablecast, and this is documented in advance in the Project Proposal.

9. Requests for program time will be honored within the constraints of scheduling as well as staff and equipment availability. Producers are encouraged to rerun programs at other time slots, and will be permitted up to a maximum of 5 showings of an episode in any one week, or a maximum of 40 showings in any 13-week period. These three program repeat routines are designed to be flexible for use by the producer. As long as sufficient notice is provided by the producer, no later than Noon on Wednesday prior to the programming week which begins on the Friday immediately following, the producer may change which program scheduling routine is used for his/her episode, in order to maintain program continuity. Requests for live programming time slots must be made four (4) weeks in advance. (see Section H., below)

10. Prime time shall be defined as any time between the hours of 5:00pm and 10:30pm daily. An individual may be limited to one (1) prime time opportunity, per show, per week, depending on scheduling demands, but every episode submitted shall be scheduled for at least one prime time slot. Only the producer may request that an episode not be scheduled at least once during prime time.

11. All episode time slots for series will be evaluated quarterly, with NCAC retaining the right to allocate series time slots to ensure programming continuity.

12. Producers of multiple episodes of a program must make consistent use of their time slot with new material, and not exceed the maximum repeat times, above, Section G para;6.

13. Whenever a unique episode has been in program rotation for the maximum of any of the program repeat routines -- 5/1 week, or 40/13 weeks -- or has been extended for replay under any of these program routine maximums, .that episode may not be replayed on NewTV until it has been out of the program playback rotation for a minimum of six weeks.

14. All tapes must meet NCAC leader and tape cueing requirements. It is the producer's responsibility to fulfill these requirements when dubbing their completed program onto the NewTV-issued tape:

Put your tape in the deck and fast forward to the end, then rewind to the beginning; the tape is now stretched
Record black with no audio for 10 sec.
Rewind to 5 sec and assemble edit tone and bars for 10 sec.
Create your slate and assemble it onto your tape starting at 15 sec.
Assemble edit your countdown onto your tape with the last two seconds in black with no audio
Record your show (29 min.)
Record 30 sec black at the end of your show
At this point, if you want to put more than one show per tape, you would repeat the process starting with step 2.
Label your tape:
Tapes must be labeled with:
1. Program name
2. In time for each program on tape
3. Total running time for each program
4. A short (one line) description for each episode
5. if there is more than one show on the tape, or if the show doesn't start near the beginning of the tape, queue the tape to the beginning of the program that you want to show. You should also attach a note to the tape case telling the Programmer which show to program for which dates.
Put the finished program in the box on the Programmers desk (no later than Wednesday noon on the week before you want it to show)

I. Live In-Studio Programming/Viewer Call-Ins

1. Requests for live programs must be made four (4) weeks prior to the taping.

2. In order to produce a live studio telecast, the community producer must sign a Statement of Responsibility for All Program Content.

3. If viewer call-ins are to be included, the following policy must be strictly observed:

Live Show Call-In Policy

• All calls must be answered "off-air" so that the producer may obtain the caller's name and telephone number

• For a call to be taken live on NewTV, the producer or designated phone operator must call back the individual who wishes to talk on the program

• Producers must maintain a log of names and telephone numbers of individuals who are call-in participants. Caller names and numbers remain confidential to producer, except as otherwise may be required by a court order or legal action.

The Board of Directors of NCAC has clearly stated its concern regarding "anonymous" or unidentified callers, especially regarding issues of libel, slander, obscenity, or threats to public and personal safety. Nothing in this policy is designed to censor or thwart commentary, even anonymous commentary, but rather is a precaution should any actual instance of FCC-prohibited content occur.

J. Live Remote Programming

1. Requests for live remote programming require much coordination with NCAC, other producers whose programs are already scheduled, and the staff. Hence, requests for live programs must be made 6 weeks prior to the event.

2. Requests for live remote programs should be made to the Public Access Coordinator, who will immediately notify the Executive Director of the request. Exact information about date, time, location and the nature of the event must be provided.

3. A community producer who fails to use a live time slot that has been scheduled, or who cancels a live remote production with less than two weeks notice, must submit a written explanation to the Executive Director. Such cancellation may be reason to deny other such live program requests.

4. Live remote productions require complicated engineering coordination with employees of the cable company, the city's I-net users group, and NCAC staff. Therefore, such requests are subject to the approval of these representatives. Producers are admonished to not publicize such a live event until such time as all approvals are secured.

K. Election/Campaign Programming

1. NCAC provides to all Newton residents, including those residents running for local, state or national public office or those supporting a ballot issue, equal opportunities for access to training, equipment resources and cable channel programming time, on a first-come, first-served, non-discriminatory basis. Any candidate for public office for whom Newton residents may vote shall be afforded the same rights as a resident of Newton with regard to access to NCAC facilities and channel time.

2. Due to the time pressures inherent in a political campaign, within ten (10) business days after the filing deadline for candidates running for Mayor, the Board of Aldermen or the Newton School Committee, NCAC will mail to each candidate a copy of NCAC's Operational Rules and Procedures and inform them of a special orientation meeting for candidates.

3. In order to ensure equal opportunities for programming time on NCAC channels, the following rules apply.

a. NCAC maintains the right to limit length and frequency of programming. Such limits when imposed shall apply to all programs on the channel and to all program producers.

b.NCAC retains the right to preempt programming at any time in order to provide timely local programming, such as live or taped special municipal events, important local debates/forums, election-related programming, satellite downlinking, etc.

c. A sufficient block of time will be reserved during each political season to enable a wide selection of political programs to be cablecast.

4. Use of the CBB shall be restricted to one page, per candidate for public office whose constituency includes Newton or ballot issue, beginning with closing date for the filing of papers with the Election Commission. NCAC may issue a Candidate CBB Form to guide candidates in appropriate use.

L. Staff-Produced Community Programming

1. NCAC is required under its agreement with the City of Newton to produce programming of interest to the community.

2. NCAC will make every effort to inform members of volunteer production opportunities on such production.

M. Outside or "Imported" or "Bicycled" Programming

1. Programming that is produced outside of Newton may be allowed to be cablecast on Newton public access channels. Any NCAC Member may sponsor such programming as the Local Sponsor by completing the agreement with the Rules and Procedures.

2. Requests for cablecast time-slots will be honored on a first-come, first-served basis. Locally produced programming will take precedence as NCAC's top priority in scheduling. NCAC staff may determine appropriate playback periods for outside programming to ensure program continuity. When all time-slots in a playback period are full, approval for cablecast of new programs will be withheld until time becomes available. Outside programming may be excluded from Prime Time cablecast when locally produced, Newton based programming fills all of these time slots.

3. All outside programs are required to have the NCAC disclaimer and funding acknowledgment (see sect;V. para; D. of these Rules and Procedures) at the beginning of the program. The Local Sponsor is responsible for compliance with these provisions, not NCAC staff. Failure to comply will mean the tape does not get cablecast.

4. An NCAC Community Producer may produce programming with non-NCAC equipment, and facilities and still be considered "Locally-produced programming". Community producers wishing to use their own equipment must be NCAC Members, meet the minimum technical standards for cablecast of their final product, and must complete a Project Proposal Appointment indicating that no NCAC equipment is requested.

5. Satellite Import programming. Any NewTV member may make a request to have NewTV carry satellite-delivered programming. To be considered, such programming must be available on the existing satellite equipment and subscription service (currently the Dish Network) which NewTV operates. Also, NewTV must be given express, written permission to carry such programming from the copyright holder. Finally, the NewTV member requesting the programming must complete a program proposal application, and sign a statement re-affirming his or her responsibility for the content of the programming. As with other Import programming, time will be granted on a first-come, first-served, non-discriminatory basis. However, since current equipment only permits live or real-time carriage from the satellite receiver, Satellite Import programming may only be shown at the time such programming is scheduled on the satellite, and may not be shown during the Friday evening to Saturday morning hours currently reserved for taped Import programming. Any satellite delivered program that is produced as a new episode daily may be requested and shown, not to exceed five episodes in any week.

N. Community Bulletin Board - CBB

NCAC may cycle community announcements on the access channels 24 hours per day when there is no programming being cablecast. Messages of a non-personal nature, of interest to Newton residents may be submitted by Newton-based, non-profit organizations and Newton residents. No commercial announcements, advertising, or direct appeals for funds will be accepted. However, fund-raising events or projects may be announced. NCAC staff reserves the right to schedule announcements at NCAC's discretion. NCAC is not responsible for mistakes made on the CBB. NCAC reserves the right, as producer of the CBB, to reject or edit any message. A "Call for More Info" phone number is permitted.

O. Technical Requirements and Standards

1. Tape Requirements - Tapes may be submitted for cablecast in the following formats:

(a) 1/2" VHS in SP mode

(b) 1/2" S-VHS

The tape itself must be high quality and in excellent physical condition. Video must be NTSC format. Wrinkled, spliced, old or damaged tape will be rejected

2. Leader Requirements

(a) At full REWINDED tape must begin with the following: 1:30 Color Bars with 0 Db audio tone, then 20 seconds of Video Black with no audio, then a 10 second video countdown to the first frame of video/audio of the actual program, which must be the NCAC disclaimer specified below. At the end of the program, after the last frame of video, you should have at least 1:00 minute black, no audio.

(b) All programs must be timed by the producer, "from black to black," including the disclaimer required below. The tape and tape case must be clearly labeled with this time. The time must be accurate to the second, in the following format: "hour:minute:second - 00:00:00".

(c) All programs must be preceded by the following funding acknowledgement and disclaimer: (see sect;V. para; D. of these Rules and Procedures).

3. Technical Standards

(a) Programs to be cablecast must meet certain minimum technical standards in the opinion of the NCAC engineering staff. Programs having poor audio and video signal quality may be withheld from cablecast at the staff's discretion. Control track (video sync) should be consistent, that is, no breaks of sync (an unintended electronic distortion or break-up) as measured by visual inspection by the staff. If tapes fail to meet this standard in the opinion of the staff, the producer must remedy the problem prior to cablecast.

(b) If a problem with the audio and/or visual signal is identified during actual cablecast, then the cablecast operator will attempt to complete the cablecast. The cablecast operator will terminate the cablecast prior to the scheduled end of the cablecast if the break-up or poor signal quality persists, or if NCAC equipment is jeopardized. The tape will then be returned to the producer who will work with the staff to solve the technical problems. The program will not be repeated until the technical problems are solved.

(c) Producers requesting a half-hour time slot must submit a program of exactly 29:00 minutes in total program running time. Programs for one-Hour slots must be exactly 59:00. If a program is 22:30, the producer must fill the slot to 29:00, with his or her own material, or NewTV filler provided at the station. The 30 minutes must include the NewTV-provided disclaimer and funding acknowledgment which is one minute in length.

P. Publicity

NCAC encourages all community producers to publicize their programs in a variety of ways. Two weeks notice should be allowed to put a notice on the Program Schedule on NewTV's Web Page. NCAC will assist Community Producers in announcing their programs in local newspapers. NCAC shall make the Community Bulletin Board available for programming-related announcements. Further, producers are encouraged to prepare 30 or 60-second promos for cross promotions by other producers or staff and submit press releases to local newspapers of their upcoming programs. Producers must remember to clearly identify themselves as individual citizens, and make it clear to editors and their readers that the program is not a production "of" or "by" NewTV or NCAC.

Q. "Checkbook Access" or Producer-for-Hire Policy

Note: At the present time, no formal policy covering the issue of members who wish to pay another eligible NewTV member to perform production services or tasks. The Board of Directors of NCAC is studying a final policy directive. Any member who wishes to enter in to such production-for-pay arrangement must meet with the Executive Director, to obtain the latest policy directive on this topic.