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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC AG PKT 2010-08-09 #BAGENDA STAFF REPORT DATE: August 9, 2010 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council THRU David N. Carmany, City Manager FROM: Jill R. Ingram, Assistant to the City Manager SUBJECT: CABLE TELEVISION PUBLIC ACCESS PRODUCER TRAINING CLASSES (Antos) SUMMARY OF REQUEST: This report is provided in response to a request by Councilmember Antos regarding cable television public access training classes. It is recommended that the City Council: 1. Receive and file the report; and /or 2. Provide direction to the City Manager as appropriate. HISTORY: SBTV -3 is the Public Access, Education and Government (PEG) community programming facility for Seal Beach. The Seal Beach Cable Communications Foundation (SBCCF) is an autonomous non - profit corporation that was created in 1984, organized primarily for the purpose of fostering and promoting civic advancement through activities related to cable communications and community promotion, and to fund and oversee the operation of the PEG facility located in the old City Hall building. The Foundation consists of a five member Board of Directors appointed by the City Council for a term of two years. The current Board Members are as follows: Kathy Hamilton — District 1; Jose Osuna — District 2; Peter Anninos — District 3; (Vacant) - District 4; and Richard Davies — District 5. BACKGROUND: Public Access, Education and Government (PEG) Community_ Programminq The funding of the PEG facility is provided through the cable franchise process via Time Warner Cable and Verizon. The annual funding amount has not increased since inception of the PEG program in 1983, nor have there been any Agenda Item 6 Page 2 provisions in any of the franchise agreements to keep pace with inflation, the increased costs of doing business, and the need to replace and upgrade equipment. PEG programming is just one component of the PEG facility. Public access training classes are conducted in the fall since it was determined by the Foundation to be the most optimal time to avoid scheduling conflicts with the winter holidays, McGaugh School concert calendar that runs from January through June, and summer vacations. All television and production equipment that potential students will learn to operate in the television or video production training classes is owned and maintained by the Foundation. The equipment used for PEG programming is expensive, complex, professional broadcast and video equipment. All property and liability insurance, including that specific to public access programming, is carried by the Foundation. Public access classes are offered at no charge and are considered by the Foundation as an accelerated program at just 6 -8 weeks for the onsite studio training. Additional 4 -week training is required for editing if the potential producer plans on editing any of their productions. All public access producers are required by the Foundation to complete the certification training program in order to operate all of the production equipment properly and be successful in their productions. Public access producers are solely responsible not only for the content of their program, but completing their own production using the skills and guidance they obtained through the training program as well. Crew members are fellow certified public access producers who have also completed the training program at SBTV -3. Public access producers are volunteer community members and are not employees of the Foundation. Many producers choose to participate as a crew member of other producers' programs rather than produce their own program. The SBTV -3 PEG Station Manager, Robin Forte - Linke, maintains a list of potential students and conducts the public access training classes. The next training class is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, September 15, 2010. Digital Infrastructure Video Competition Act (DIVCA) In 2006, AB 2987, the Digital Infrastructure Video Competition Act (DIVCA) was passed in the California legislature, although strongly opposed by many community and city advocates throughout the state due to the severe negative impacts on PEG programming. The Foundation focused on how best to meet the requirements of DIVCA with the least impact on the community. The Foundation decided that the SBTV -3 facility would remain open during the process of replacing, building and installing new systems, including building a fully functional 3- camera mobile production truck, installation of a new remote camera system for the Council Chambers, installation of the playback system to continue to keep Channel 3 on the air, and provide the means to continue covering the "live" City Council and Planning Commission meetings and community events usually covered and held outside of the studio premises. In order to facilitate and Page 3 implement these changes, the Foundation suspended the public access training classes in 2008 and 2009 to complete these projects by the DIVCA deadlines. Due to the aforementioned negative impacts of DIVCA on PEG programming, as of January 2008, 41 communities in California, including neighboring Los Angeles and Orange counties, no longer provide the public access portion of programming to their communities. Attached to this staff report as Attachment A is a list of PEG station closures in California due to DIVCA. As a result, SBTV -3 receives frequent requests for the use of SBTV -3 facilities for public access programming by citizens outside the greater Seal Beach area. SBTV -3 is unable to accommodate those requests given that SBTV -3 and the Foundation only facilitates the Seal Beach community. Staff surveyed surrounding cities, including Cypress, El Segundo, Garden Grove, Hawthorne, Huntington Beach, Lakewood, Los Alamitos, and Torrance, to analyze their PEG operations with respect to public access training. The following summarizes survey responses from responding cities: Cypress No PEG training offered El Segundo PEG training offered through El Segundo HS for high school students onl Hawthorne No PEG training offered Huntington Beach No PEG training offered Torrance Monthly PEG training offered The Torrance Community Television (TCTV) Coordinator is a City of Torrance employee that provides the certified PEG training classes to Torrance residents, non - profit groups or organizations. As with SBTV -3, TCTV provides the equipment, facilities, training, and support free -of- charge to Torrance residents, non - profit groups and organizations so that they can produce and cablecast their own cable television shows. Classes are offered 10 months out of the year, with no classes in December or January due to the holidays, offering the ability for citizens to become certified PEG producers /editors in 3 weeks. Each 3 -week course meets twice per week and is a combined PEG training course offering studio and field production classes, including camera operations and editing. The TCTV Coordinator indicated that due to the popularity of their training program in the South Bay area, they would be willing to explore the option of implementing a pilot collaborative training endeavor with SBTV -3 and extend their program to Seal Beach residents in order to provide an additional resource to our residents throughout the year who are interested in PEG programming at SBTV -3 but who are unable to participate in the SBTV -3 training program in the fall. Page 4 FINANCIAL IMPACT: There are no fiscal impacts associated with the consideration of this item. RECOMMENDATION: This report is provided in response to a request by Councilmember Antos regarding cable television public access training classes. It is recommended that the City Council: 1. Receive and file the report; and /or 2. Provide direction to the City Manager as appropriate. SUBMITTED BY: NOTED AND APPROVED: 0 1 , f 1!�, kg= J II . Ingram Assistant to the City anager David N. Carmany City Manager Attachment: A. List of PEG Station Closures in California ACCESS CLOSURES IN CALIFORNIA DUE TO DIVCA TYPE OF ACCESS CITY CABLE COMPANY Public Access Public Access Los Angeles (12 facilities) Time -Wamer /Charter Public Access Alameda County (portions) Comcast Public Access Albany Avocado Heights* Comcast Time - Warner Public Access Public Access Baldwin Park Time- Warner Public Access Bassett* Buena Park Time - Warner Public Access Carlsbad Time- Warner Public Access Carson Time - Warner Public Access City of Industry* Time- Warner Time- Warner Public Access Public Access Compton Time- Warner Public Access Costa Mesa El Cerrito Time -Wamer Public Access El Segundo Comcast Time -Wamer Public Access Public Access Fountain Valley Time - Warner Public Access Fullerton Garden Grove Time -Wamer Public Access Gardena Time - Warner Public Access Glendale Time - Warner Public Access Hacienda Heights* Charter Time -Wamer Public Access Public Access Hawthorne Time- Warner Public Access Huntington Beach Kensington Time -Wamer Public Access Lawndale Comcast C C m cast Time-Warner Public Access Public Access La Puente* Time - Warner Public Access Long Beach Los Alamitos. Charter Public Access Malibu Time- Warner Public Access Public Access North & South Whittier* Charter Time - Warner Public Access Ojai Oxnard Time - Warner Public Access Placentia Time - Warner & Education Puente Hills Time-Warner Public Access Richmond Time -Wamer Public Access San Francisco ** Comcast Comcast Public Access San Pablo Comcast Public Access Public Access Santa Ana Time -Wamer Public Access Stanton Tustin Time-Warner Public Access Valinda* Time- Warner Public Access Westminster Time - Warner Time - Warner * Had been served by KCAT (Puente Hills Community Programming Corporation). All other closures were cable company managed operations. ' ** Access San Francisco ceased operations due to severe funding cuts, triggered by the DIVCA provision that requires Access funding to be used in accordance with 'the federal Cable Act. The City of San Francisco interpreted this to mean that such funds could only be used for capital costs, not operations. Many other community media access operations in California have been (or soon will be) seriously affected by the provisions of DIVCA and'the Cable Acs res triction ofAccess funding to cal2ital costs, not o grations. Government Access operations have not been directly impacted by the Cable Act's Access funding restrictions, since allocations from the local government general fund and/or franchise fees typically fund such operations. However, since they rarely reap the benefits of funding allocations from the general fund and/or franchise fees, Public Access operations — and the opportunities for residents to express themselves — are seriously threatened. Passage of the CAP Act could restore Public and Educational Access in the above communities, and enable the establishment of community media access centers in other Callfomla /ocaBons.