Establishment of a Public Access TV Channel - Public Access of Indianapolis

The foundation of this proposal is the activation of the fourth cable TV access channel available on the Time Warner and Comcast cable systems of Indianapolis, and the designation of it for public access TV use by the City. The provision of this fourth access channel, upon completion of the cable system rebuilds, is a requirement in the franchise agreements signed by both of the cable operators with the City of Indianapolis. The provision of a minimum of four public, education and/or government access channels is also required by Chapter 851-403 of the City Code.

Although the cable franchise agreements only specifically call for education and government access channels, the Cable Franchise Board has the authority, per Chapter 851-403 (d) and (e) of the City Code, to promulgate rules and procedures for the use of access channels, and has exercised this authority to allow both Fox Sports Midwest and The Recovery Network to use its Education/Public Safety (EPS) access channel.

Management of the Public Access TV Channel

Public Access of Indianapolis proposes that it be designated, under contract, as the management agent for the new public access TV channel. Our research has found that management by a nonprofit corporation is the most effective and stable means to achieve the goals of community-based media. PAI's proposed budget includes the estimated costs of a consultant to assist with start-up planning, and to review operations after two years.

Programming

PAI's primary objective is to promote local, public access TV programming that is informative, high quality, and beneficial to the citizen's of Indianapolis. A core component of PAI's programming strategy will involve an organized outreach program to community, arts and religious organizations.

Programming Sources

In accordance with the purpose of Public Access of Indianapolis, the primary focus on programming sources is the production and dissemination of locally produced, non-commercial programming by the community, both individuals and organizations. In recognition of the time necessary to build a full schedule of such programming, the following will be pursued to provide high quality, maximum utilization of the public access TV channel:

New public access TV programming
Programming from public access TV producers in the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area (such as Carmel, Beech Grove, and Speedway)
Other non-commercial programming
Deep Dish TV, a nonprofit, national public access TV satellite service
The best of previous public access programming
Appropriate programming from WCTY and/or ETC

Programming Policies

PAI has established policies to support its objective of high quality programming that is beneficial to the citizens of Indianapolis, while at the same time not abridging the First Amendment right of freedom of expression. All public access programming is subject to local, State and Federal laws regarding obscenity, libel, slander, copyright infringement, etc. PAI will maintain valid local contact information for each program or series of programs.

PAI's programming policy calls for the timeslotting of public access TV programming between the hours of 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. that contains mature language, content or themes. Programmers are responsible for designating their program submissions as having a mature nature, with misrepresentation of programming submissions constituting a violation of the contract between the producer and PAI, subject to the producer's suspension from PAI and public access TV.

Residents of the Indianapolis Cable Franchise Area will receive first priority in program scheduling, while residents of the rest of the Indianapolis Metropolitan area will receive secondary consideration. Programming from outside the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area must be sponsored by a resident of the Indianapolis cable franchise area.

See Appendix C for additional information.

Producer's Responsibilities

Producers are solely and fully responsible for the content of their programs and any violation of the law or PAI rules and regulations. Producers must submit a signed Application for Cablecast and Statement of Compliancefor all programs to be shown on the public access TV channel. Violations of PAI rules carry penalties up to and including the suspension of producers from the community media access center and/or cablecasting.

See Appendix C for additional information.