PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to provide background information to the City Council to aid in the discussion of Channel 6 program policies. 

BACKGROUND

At the March 25, 2003 City Council meeting Mayor David Laurell raised some concerns about the decision making process for programming cablecast on Channel 6.  His concerns were in three (3) specific areas:  the process for deciding which program meets the criteria for broadcast on Channel 6, the process for deciding who is eligible to host a program, and the process for selecting what messages are posted to the Channel 6 bulletin board.

Current Process for Selecting Channel 6 Programming

Certain programming, by virtue of being open and noticed public meetings, automatically are broadcast.  These programs include the weekly City Council meetings and a variety of Board and Commission meetings.  Other programs have a long tradition of being broadcast on Channel 6, such as the Burbank Unified School District�s Chalk Talk program, and the Police Department�s Street Beat and Adopt-a-Pet programs.  These programs can be planned and scheduled in advance; most take place in the City Council Chamber, and therefore are relatively low-cost to produce.

Another category of programs are those that have been created by the Public Information Office for the purpose of educating or providing information to Burbank residents including: Burbank Magazine, Burbank Council News, and Burbank Close-Up.  Traditionally, the Mayor has had the option of hosting a show, and recent mayors have taken advantage of this opportunity.  Mayors Bill Wiggins and Bob Kramer hosted �Mayor on the Street� and Mayor David Laurell hosted �Key to the City.�  One show currently under development that fits in this category is �Teens In Action.�  Shows that are taped, or cablecast live, outside of the City Council Chamber setting, are inherently more costly.

When new programming ideas come to the attention of the Public Information Office (PIO), they are aggregated and taken to the PIO Subcommittee. The subcommittee is currently composed of two Council Members appointed by the entire City Council and the Assistant City Manager.  The Public Information Officer serves as staff to the Subcommittee.

The Subcommittee may approve programming requests, deny requests, or conditionally approve a request, subject to the alteration of some aspect of the programming.  One fundamental criteria that the Subcommittee has followed is that the subject matter must be rooted in the City of Burbank, or the subject matter must elsewhere have a relevancy to Burbank citizens that transcends the fact that it was produced.  Even in the latter case, the Subcommittee has traditionally asked that the programming be altered to include the Burbank situation and asked that Burbank City personnel serve as resources for the subject matter.  In addition, all programming is subject to review in light of Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) standards and approved or rejected in accordance with those principles. Program costs are also taken into account in discussions about bringing new programming to Channel 6.

Current Hosting Policy for Channel 6 Programs

The PIO Subcommittee has traditionally asked that the host of a program airing on Channel 6 be a City employee or an elected official within the City.  Where concerns have been raised in the past, and the issue could not be resolved in the PIO Subcommittee, the issue has gone to the full City Council for policy direction.  Program hosts have traditionally served without additional compensation of any kind. Occasional reporters and correspondents also serve without pay.

Current Message Policy for Channel 6 Bulletin Board 

Messages from City departments have traditionally been accepted on Channel 6.  Messages about events in the City that are directly or indirectly sponsored by the City have also been accepted.  Messages from profit making and nonprofit organizations that lack City sponsorship have traditionally not been accepted.  Message requests that do not obviously fall into the above categories are reviewed by the PIO Subcommittee for a decision.

ANALYSIS:

Upon review, it is staff�s determination that the current PIO practices for Channel 6, although not formalized or adopted by the City Council, provide a broad-based spectrum of educational, informational, and specialized programming to Burbank residents. Staff�s recommends that the City Council open deliberations on the current cablecast practices of PIO and provide specific direction on the issues of program selection, hosting responsibilities, and the posting of messages to the Channel 6 Bulletin Board.  In addition, due to the status of the budget reduction scenarios, staff is requesting that the City Council consider providing direction to staff to explore cost recovery for the production of any additional program requests beyond current service levels from internal departmental clients and external public and private entities, as necessary.

FISCAL IMPACT

This report provides an outline of the current practices of PIO in regard to programming selection, hosting responsibilities, and bulletin board messages. Any funds related to continuing the current practices are already appropriated in PIO�s cost center budget.   At this time, however, it should be noted that the City is facing a critical budget shortfall including the potential reduction of staff positions.  Due to this situation, and because PIO is recommending freezing a vacant staff position in order to meet its ten (10%) reduction scenario, it is anticipated that no new obligations for programming can be assumed.  Any additional programming above and beyond the current schedule would have to be presented to the City Council for additional fund appropriation or policy direction.

RECOMMENDATION:

It is staff�s recommendation that the City Council adopt the current practices of the PIO office as formal policy.  Staff requests that the City Council also provide specific direction on changes in program selection, hosting responsibilities, the posting of messages to the Channel 6 Bulletin Board policies, as necessary. In addition, due to the status of the budget reduction scenarios, staff is requesting that the City Council consider providing direction for staff to explore cost recovery for the production of programs from internal departmental clients and external public and private parties should they exceed current programming levels. 

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