COUNCIL POLICY MANUAL
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Policy 7.2.15 KSUN-15Cable Television Programming
P
OLICY PURPOSE:
T
he City of Sunnyvale government access cable television channel (KSUN-15) is a community source of information regarding the issues, programs and services of the City and other public and non-profit agencies serving Sunnyvale. The public access cable television channel (Channel 26) is a resource for the community to televise their community programming. The purpose of this policy is to define guidelines affecting the nature, extent and priorities of the City’s KSUN-15 and Channel 26 programming activities, production and materials in order to provide relevant, appropriate and effective public information to the community within the City’s resource constraints.
POLICY STATEMENT:
Obj
ectives of KSUN-15 Programming
1. Provide practical information on and promote effective public participation opportunities in City programs, services and activities.
2. Increase public access to the policy-making processes of the City, including the City Council and appropriate boards and commissions.
3. Promote public education regarding City government issues and services of general interest to residents.
4. Provide information about other government or community services, programs and activities of interest to or affecting the City and the community
5. Provide emergency public information as a preemptive and immediate priority to assist the public in matters of public safety and public health.
Programming Categories
KSUN-15
uses graphics, text, live or taped programming to provide information to the residents of Sunnyvale concerning the operations and deliberations of City government. Programming includes in-house productions (originating from City departments and City-related services) or acquired productions (originating from other public or non-profit agencies). Programming includes bulletin board announcements for events and services sponsored by the City, as well as for other public and non-profit agencies which are suitable for Sunnyvale. KSUN-15 will not carry commercial announcements or programming.
1. Emergency Public Information:
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KSUN-15 programming will carry emergency information as a preemptive and immediate priority to assist the public in matters of public safety and public health.
2. Public Meetings:
KSUN-15 live and taped coverage of public meetings include, in order of priority:
A. City Council meetings: Regular and special meetings of the City Council will be carried live when technically possible and by taped replay. Annually planned Council workshops are included.
B. Planning Commission meetings: Regular meetings of the Planning Commission will be carried live when technically possible and by taped replay.
C. Other City board and commission meetings: Occasionally meetings of other City boards, commissions or advisory panels may be carried live or by taped replay, depending on scheduling constraints and the purpose of the meeting.
D. Other meetings directed by the City Council: Special meetings of Council sub-committees, community task forces or similar events may be covered upon specific Council direction.
E. Other public or non-profit agency meetings: Live or taped meetings of other public and non-profit agencies, such as meetings of councils, boards or committees of other jurisdictions; public information presentations; candidate forums sponsored by non-partisan organizations; and legislative “town hall” meetings may be carried on KSUN-15 if the purpose of the meeting meets the programming criteria in this policy.
F. Editing: All live or taped meetings of City Council, boards, commissions and committees shall not be edited, and coverage will be “gavel-to-gavel” with the exception for improving technical quality. Cameras will focus on the persons speaking, and will not include actual or implied reaction by speakers or audience. Tapes of meetings provided by outside agencies may be subject to editing for cablecasting purposes.
G. Supplementary video materials: Videotapes or video output of graphic materials may be included for meeting presentations, subject to limitations on length, quality and suitability in accordance with programming criteria in this policy.
3. City events coverage:
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Special events sponsored by the City, such as the annual State of the City event, may be carried on KSUN-15 live when technically possible, or by taped replay.
4. Bulletin Board information:
The KSUN-15 bulletin board carries text and graphic information and announcements regarding events, activities and services. The priorities for placing bulletin board messages are:
A. Direct City services, events and issues: Information about services and activities provided by City programs have first priority for the KSUN-15 bulletin board.
B. Community events, services and issues: Announcements from organizations which are sponsored by the City; provide services which help accomplish City goals; or are consistent with other programming criteria for general community interest may be posted on the KSUN-15 bulletin board.
5. City-originated programming:
Programming may be produced or acquired by City departments and programs to accomplish City public information objectives. Resources to develop programming would be allocated from specific program budgets for this purpose.
6. Elections Programming:
KSUN-15 may carry voter information programming produced for municipal or other local elections affecting Sunnyvale. Such programming can include candidate forums, video candidate statements, or other presentations regarding ballot measures which are available to all official candidates or representatives of issues. Candidate or issue forums should be co-sponsored by non-partisan community organizations. The costs of producing programming regarding non-municipal elections shall be borne by the sponsoring organizations. The costs of producing video candidate statements shall be borne by the candidates in accordance with state elections laws.
7. Outside-produced programming:
Other public or non-profit agencies may apply for time on KSUN-15 if the activity or information may affect Sunnyvale residents, if programming time is available, and meets the general criteria outlined in this policy.
8. Other programming:
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Other programming would be considered for scheduling on KSUN-15 if the activity or information may affect Sunnyvale residents, if programming time is available, and meets the general criteria outlined in this policy.
69. Prohibited programming:
Programming, events, and bulletin board announcements not permitted on KSUN- 15 include:
A. Commercial programming;
B. Fund solicitations or lotteries;
C. Partisan, political, or persona lly identifiable information, viewpoints and events, (including any endorsements of political candidates, commercial products or brand names) unless part of an overall programming goal to solicit a range of viewpoints with equal time provisions; D. Information, programs or events not relevant to the Sunnyvale community or oriented to private interests;
E. Legally-protected confidential information;
F. Illegal activities;
G. Obscene, offensive or defamatory material. Community standards for good taste will be adhered to at all times.
Programming Criteria
Criteria for programming in this policy shall guide decision-making regarding the selection, development and scheduling of public information programs on KSUN-15. The criteria are intended to achieve a reliable source of community information regarding public policy issues and municipal services which is non-biased, accurate, practical and relevant. Programming which does not meet these criteria or priorities will not be cablecast on KSUN-15.
1. General Criteria
A. Relevance to community: The subject matter for programming on KSUN- 15 should be substantially relevant to the Sunnyvale community and to City municipal services, programs, policies and issues.
B. Practical and objective: The program content should be practical, accurate, objective, non-partisan, and balanced in order to be useful for citizens to become better informed about civic issues and services.
C. Technical quality: The technical quality of the program should meet professional cable production standards comparable to or better than the cablecasting of City meetings.
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D. Government focus: KSUN-15 programming will focus on government public information; it will not be used as a forum to benefit any individual person, office or organization.
E. Content and editing: KSUN-15 programming developed by either City departments or outside agencies may be subject to acceptance or rejection, modification and editing as necessary for suitability for cablecasting in terms of quality, schedule, length or content.
2. City Produced, Sponsored or Acquired Programming
A. City public information objectives: KSUN-15 programming developed by the City should be aimed at accomplishing specific public information goals related to issues and services of the City.
B. Public information and communications planning: Use of KSUN-15 to provide public information should be planned in the context of the full public information media available for City programs in order to achieve the most effective and efficient use of resources.
3. Outside Requests for Programming
A. Originators of requests: Requests for programs may be made by other government agencies (including local, state and federal agencies and legislative offices) or non-profit and community organizations which provide services to or affect Sunnyvale. Requests from individuals will not be considered unless they are sponsored by an appropriate outside agency or City program.
B. Policy relevance: Program content from outside agencies should be limited to issues that under the jurisdiction of the agency, that have substantial relevance to the Sunnyvale community, or that have relevance to City of Sunnyvale programs, services or issues.
C. Cost considerations: There should be no additional production or programming costs to the City for programming produced by or replayed at the request of outside agencies which is not otherwise sponsored by the City. Costs of production shall be paid for or reimbursed by the requesting agency.
D. Program evaluation: Each request for programs to be replayed on KSUN- 15 prepared by a non-City entity will be evaluated individually against the criteria contained in this policy; approval of a particular program does not imply approval of subsequent submittals or programs by others in similar positions or organizations.
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E. Equal time: All programming will be non-partisan and consistent with criteria in this policy. Cablecasting of programs on KSUN-15 shall not lead to the subsequent need for “equal time” or rebuttal programs.
F. City’s right to decline: The City reserves the right to decline to cablecast any programming furnished by outside sources, using the criteria in this policy.
Scheduling Criteria
1. City Responsibility:
The City is entirely responsible for all scheduling decisions for KSUN-15 programming, including start and stop dates, frequency of playback, times of playback, and modifications of schedule.
2. Programming Schedule Requests:
Requests for scheduling taped programming for play on KSUN-15 should be submitted at least three weeks in advance of the requested replay date to provide time for City review and for scheduling of requested programs and for providing announcements regarding the program on the KSUN-15 bulletin board.
3. Production requests: Requests for the production and cablecasting of public meetings or events should be received at least six weeks in advance to allow for scheduling KSUN-15 operations staff.
4. Priorities:
Scheduling priorities generally will be according to the following order:
A. Regular City Council meetings and replays, including the annual workshops of the City Council. Regular Council meetings shall be replayed a minimum of two times.
B. Events and meetings as directed by the City Council as a body, such as the State of the City, sub-committee meetings, or Council candidate forums and video statements.
C. Regular meetings and replays of the Planning Commission, and special meetings of other City advisory boards and commissions. Board and commission and other City meetings shall be replayed at least one time.
D. Public information programming produced, acquired or sponsored by City departments for specific public education objectives.
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E. Programs requested by outside public or non-profit agencies which meet the criteria in this policy.
F. Any other programming request will be evaluated according to the criteria in this policy. Generally, requests by individuals will not be considered unless sponsored by a City department or by a public or community agency which provides services affecting the Sunnyvale community.
5. Frequency and duration:
Replays of programs generally will be scheduled to allow multiple opportunities for public viewing. City meetings will be shown as indicated in this policy, and the frequency of replays and the duration of replay periods for other programs will be determined according to relevance and timeliness, and schedule availability and constraints.
6. Constraints
Operational constraints on programming production and replay may limit the frequency and duration of replay scheduling. These constraints include conflicts with other priorities, availability of operations staff for tape changes, and equipment limitations.
Programming Costs
1. City-produced or sponsored programming:
Resources for KSUN-15 programming for departmental public education purposes shall be provided through City program budget allocations.
2. Outside Programming:
The costs of production of outside programming, including live cablecasts such as town hall meetings or forums, shall be paid by the sponsoring organization.
Responsibility for Programming Decisions
The City Manager will designate City staff to coordinate, review, produce and schedule KSUN-15 and Channel 26 programming using the criteria outlined in this policy. IfWhen the City Council desires specific programming to be produced or played on KSUN-15 or Channel 26, it should specifically direct the City Manager for this purpose.
(Adopted: RTC 96-166 (5/7/1996); (Clerical/clarity update, Policy Update Project 7/2005); Amended: RTC 26-0628 (8/11/2026)))
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Lead Department: Office of the City Manager
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