Agenda - Council - 03/27/1990 - Laserfiche WebLink

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At your meeting of March 13th, Council Members were asking questions about subscriber numbers and viewership numbers. It is a nfistake to think along those lines or place importance on any types of "numbers". The kind of community programming we are trying to develop for the Quad Cities are not driven by the traditional commercial "rating numbers". The Ramsey Resident community television show is never going to knock The Cosby Show off the top of the viewership hill. It was never intended for that purpose. It is unjust to try and draw a comparison of our efforts to those of the multi-million dollar funded tv networks. It would be better for the Council to make the analogy of a city park to QC~V-33 than to commercial television. Certain land and areas are designated (mandated by ordinance) within in the boundary of the city for the purpose of community parks. Certain channels or space is designated (mandated by ordinance) on the cable tv system for govemment/community channels. City parks require a certain amount of budget concerns and maintenance. The local channels require money and maintenance. No park is ever used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Quite likely, one may pass a city park several times and find no one using or enjoying this property costing funds to operate. However, it is a sure and definite fact that many, many families will enjoy these city parks throughout any given year. Likewise, QCTV knows cable viewers are not "glued" to our community or government channels, but we do have a identifiable consistent viewership in our cities. Viewers which appreciate that we provide tv coverage of local community events and government deliberation when no other communications medium is inclined to do so. A recent exclusive example being the Ramsey Business Expo '90, on a Sunday no less. The Cable Commission has established QCTV-33 as its programming entity. Along with the basic program production requirements, the Commission requires of QCTV's staff of 3 the following: run two facilities; one, containing a studio, the other an office/playback/editing/computer center; train the volunteers; schedule all programs; archive pertinent city video; make dubs; recommend equipment for purchase or replacement and work with the Cable Commission to set policy for prioritizing programming between community, government or educational. QCTV has and will continue to take care of all technical aspects of any city programs. We try to work with city staff always to meet and maximize their work schedules. However, we can not go "on-the-air" for city staff or officials involved directly with the decision making policies these programs are intended to highlight. Actually, municipal staff should work no differently and think no differently about a tv programming challenge and getting infom~ation to the public than Council already requires of them to undertake. Staff should deal no differently with daily functions of information gathering than it currently does in preparing the written "Ramsey Resident", a publication which already is testimony to a staff properly in tune with its community. Please allow them the time to work with us to put this important infom~ation into a video format. Covering local government activities provides a valuable service to the community. It also provides QCTV- 33 a direct link to you, our political leadership. Further it gives us the opportunity to educate you about our community operation, for as we expand, we will surely be calling on you for assistance too. If government and community progrmnming is done well, everyone wins!! Attached is an article which I have written for each of the four city newsletter as an update of the Cable Commission activities. The nature of information makes it a reciprocal product. Whenever possible, I do try to contribute to the cities' written information format. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in accomplishing our programming goals and again I am sorry that I am unable to address you in person do to my school schedule. If you have any questions or :oncerns, please call me to discuss at 427-1411.