§ 9-2. In general.

(a)

Purpose. The purpose of the public access center ("PAC") is to provide a medium for individuals, groups, organizations, and institutions to communicate with the citizenry of Laredo via channels on the cable television system. The PAC studio, portable video equipment and post-production equipment, and a public access channel are available for community use to facilitate the development of non-commercial programs that focus on local issues and concerns.

(b)

Definitions. [The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:]

Advertising means, for purposes of this handbook, material (in whatever form in or associated with a program) designed to promote the sale of commercial products or services or the patronizing of particular places of business. Programs funded from grants or donations shall not be considered as being supported by advertising.

Commercial producer means a producer that is producing commercial programming.

Commercial use means use that is (a) conducted on a for-profit basis, (b) designed to promote the sale of commercial products or services or the patronizing of particular places of business, or (c) supported by advertising. This term shall not be interpreted to prohibit a producer from soliciting and receiving financial support to produce and transmit video programming on the public access channel, or from acknowledging a contribution.

Community bulletin board means programming which consists of a single of multiple slides which are aired in between scheduled programs.

Funding sponsor means a person, organization or enterprise which provides funding towards the cost of producing a program. Funding sponsors are permitted with the understanding that it constitutes a donation to support the producer's work and is not a compensation for use of cablecast time or access resources.

Indecent programming means language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory organs or activities.

Information services and telecommunications director means the person that is responsible for the public access channel center division, including supervision of the public access media services manager.

Media means videotape, DVD or any other approved material which contains electronic or digitally recorded information for broadcast.

PAC studio means the studio and any video production equipment within the studio that is neither portable video equipment nor post-production equipment.

PEG facilities and equipment means collectively the PAC facilities, PAC studio, portable video equipment, and post-production equipment.

Portable video equipment means any PAC equipment which can be taken out of a studio to produce video outside the studio environment.

Post-production equipment means equipment for editing and manipulating recorded video, including editing the soundtrack and adding visual special effects.

Producer means a person or persons who (a) meets the requirements set forth in section 9-3, either as a resident or as a non-resident, and (b) has been certified by the city to use PAC equipment and facilities pursuant to section 9-4.

Production crew means more than one (1) producer assisting in the production of a program.

Public access channel means the channels in the city where organizations, groups, or individual members of the general public are the designated programmers.

Public access channel facilities or PAC facilities means the building and the access channel operations at 1101 Garden Street, Laredo, Texas 78040.

Public access media services manager means the person charged with overseeing the day to day operations of the public access channels and public access facility.

Regular business hours means those hours when the access center is open to the public.

User means any person who places programming on the public access channel in the city. Every user must meet the requirements set forth in section 9-3.

(c)

The public access channel is reserved for use by members of the general public who have undergone public access training and have been certified as qualified to use public access equipment.

(d)

This article contains access rules and procedures which have been developed by the PAC in conjunction with the City of Laredo staff. The purpose of the rules and procedures is to ensure that:

(1)

Each citizen in Laredo who is interested in public access programming will have the opportunity to learn how to use the PAC studio, portable video equipment, and post-production equipment; and

(2)

Each public access user will fully understand the priorities involved in scheduling public access programs on the cable system (see subsection 9-8(h)(4) below).

(e)

Non-commercial use. PEG facilities and equipment and PEG channels exist primarily for non-commercial community programming purposes and are not intended for commercial use.

(1)

All programming produced with PEG facilities and equipment must appear on one of the city's access channels, unless the producer has complied with the commercial use requirements of section 9-11.

(2)

Should any program produced for cablecast on the public access channel subsequently be used for commercial use, the producer shall reimburse the PAC for any production costs of the program at the commercial rates listed in the commercial use, section 9-11, below.

(f)

The policies in this article are subject to change so that public access may better serve the citizens of Laredo.

(Ord. No. 2009-O-052, § 2(Exh. A, § 1), 4-6-09)