Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-CABLE-2007-01-09Cable Access Oversight Committee Minutes The Committee [AOC] met at Ithaca Town Hall on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2007, 5 -6:30 pm. Present: AOC Members Elizabeth Field (Bauchner), Wayles Browne, Will Burbank, Shane Seger [chair], Wies van Leuken, studio manager Lauren Stefanelli. 1. Notes by W. Browne as AOC secretary. 2. Minutes of Dec. 19 meeting: accepted with small amendments. 3. Public comment: none. 4. Member reports. Burbank: The Alternative Community School (ACS) has hired a video teacher through Project Look Sharp for the rest of the school year, so there should be video programming produced. Seger: The FCC has adopted changes in franchise rules allowing competition among cable providers. How do these affect PEG? Stefanelli: will forward detailed info. Some Cable Access centers are concerned about the consequences. 5. Use of BOCES Satellite Dish (continued discussion). Stefanelli handed out copies of existing policies (from 1994) and request forms. Discussion: Shall AOC change the policies? Or grant one exception for four months? The policies provide (section 4b) for an advisory committee for the Public Access category of user, one for Educational users and one for Government users. AOC is the successor to the P advisory committee, though not to the E or the G advisory committees. We've received a request (December 19 meeting) for the P channel to carry Democracy Now! Stefanelli: There is one modulator at BOCES feeding the New York State educational channel over the I -net to TWC; if another modulator can be found, it will be able to feed the DN! Signal. Resolution Whereas the AOC has received a request from city residents to begin reusing the BOCES C -band satellite dish as described in the attached POLICIES FOR THE PEG ACCESS SATELLITE RECEIVER [see .pdf attachment], And whereas the AOC has reviewed the policies for using such dish, Now be it resolved that the AOC amends section 4b of said POLICIES to read: "b. Those desiring to request more than 3 programs per year should make their requests to the AOC. Exceptions shall be reviewed at the beginning of every scheduling season." Moved by van Leuken; seconded by W. Browne. Discussion: Copyright clearance is provided on the Democracy Now! program's web site already. Adopted 5 -0. Accordingly, Mary Loehr can submit request forms for the DN! program. 6. Budget Planning - Develop Request for Proposals for funding for schools. Schools need a process for asking for what they need before April for the following calendar year. Stefanelli: it is useful to send out a request for proposals both to teachers and to principals. Some schools are using video in classrooms already but not using PEG for broadcasting to the wider TV audience. Van Leuken: Should we ask for representatives of each school to attend an AOC meeting? Seger: We should send them a form letter from us, asking for 1) reports on what they're doing with existing equipment, 2) what more they need. They can then come to meetings in February or March. Seger will draft a text and show it to AOC members before sending it. Stefanelli will give Seger addresses, and mail the letter to principals and other contacts at schools. We should remind them that equipment is not given but provided on long -term loan; it is owned by TWC. In April, AOC gets a proposed budget from Stefanelli. AOC discusses it in May or June, since TWC needs it by the end of June. 6A. Continuing discussion of $20,000 for Ithaca City School District for telecasting Board meetings. We'd prefer to use 'old' franchise money for this. Or we could tell ICSD: use PZM microphones for a year, then if it works out well we'll buy better ones. In parallel with that we could try to go after the 'old' money. Seger will pursue the question of getting it. Stefanelli: The PZMs have been tested. The I -net has too. Switching and recording equipment is in place; ICSD can hire the person who does Common Council meetings, so now they're just waiting for the cameras. 7. Studio Manager's Report (see Appendix). 8. Discussion of a possible not - for - profit body to run access TV. Van Leuken: not clear what the first steps should be. Stefanelli: Such a body could be a partner in a symbiotic relationship with the city, in an unused city building - -the old Wharton studio at Stewart Park (Boat House ?), which Terry Harben wants to turn into a film museum. There would be room for both a studio and a museum. Seger: will ask Bill Grey in City Hall. Burbank: even more important is to find an organization to take responsibility. (To be continued at the February meeting.) Stefanelli: Rochester PEG used to be run by TWC, then split into multiple not - for - profits: can find out more. Also Syracuse and one of its suburbs have separate organizations. Burbank: Is there a way to locate all access centers and see how they are organized? Stefanelli: no simple way. It's different in each community. 9. Schedule next meetings: Feb. 13 at 5, March 13 at 5. Adjourned 6:30. Appendix: Access Coordinator Report to AOC January 9, 2007 PEGASYS Center •AOC Reports: PEGASYS Satellite usage policies are attached. Usage fees report for 2006 is attached. Total collected in 2006: $520. Total collected so far in 2007: $120. -Administration learned how to update the Excel spreadsheet section of the PEGASYS website myself, without either a webmaster or Frontpage software, enabling me to bring the one outdated section of our website up to date, including all the links. -PEGASYS Awards Our 2007 PEGASYS Awards are underway. Entries are being accepted through 1/26/07 and an awards ceremony is planned for Friday, February 23. 1 would love to have one of the AOC members as a judge! -Training: The January Portable Production class has 10 people enrolled, a full group. The next PEGASYS Orientation is scheduled for Jan. 31. -Notable Public Access Productions Mark Finkelstein took a PEGASYS camcorder to Iraq on a press junket and was able to use it to shoot video, MPEGS and still photos. He used the stills and MPEG movies immediately on his blog while still in Iraq, and edited the video on his laptop to play, directly from the laptop, every week since his return on his live studio program, "Right Angle." Suanne Gumienny completed a year living in a van and documenting her experience and that of homeless all over Ithaca. Her documentary, "Vagamamma," has been running on PEGASYS and at public screenings around town for the last few weeks. -Schedule: Spring 2007 [January - April] series renewal completed and spring schedule season is underway. Dates that we will be closed during the spring season are: 1/1, 1/15, 1/26, 2/19, 3/16 and 4/20. Institutional Access -College: Cornell Wrestling ran their first group of wrestling matches on channel 16.