By stating that your show meets BCTV requirements, you as Producer agree to the following:
a. I am thoroughly familiar with the nature of the program material and take full responsibility for its content.
b. I warrant and represent that the program does not contain prohibited material as defined in BCTV’s Policies and Procedures, including:
- Any program that is commercial in nature, intends to defraud the viewer, or contains a lottery, raffle, contest or game.
ii. Any material which is libelous or slanderous or is an unlawful violation of privacy.
iii. Any material that violates state or federal laws relating to obscenity.
iv. Any material subject to copyright, ownership, royalty rights or residuals unless releases, licenses or other permissions have been obtained.
c. I am required to obtain all necessary releases, clearances and permissions from any and all organizations, individuals and groups and provide BCTV with copies prior to broadcast.
d. I agree to hold harmless and indemnify BCTV, its Board of Directors, and employees from any liability, loss, claim, cost, or damage of any nature stemming from the telecast of the program, including all legal fees and expenses involved in defending such a claim or action. Should a dispute arise between myself and BCTV which cannot be resolved by direct negotiation, I agree that my sole and final recourse will be arbitration by the Vermont Public Service Board.
e. I agree to abide by all BCTV Policies and Procedures.
What does that mean? Program Content Rules Explained
As a free speech vehicle, BCTV has a very short list of prohibited program content. Unlike other media outlets, public access centers do not have editorial control over what goes on BCTV. Staff members do not pre-screen programs before they are scheduled to run on our channels, but we are responsible for making sure producers know what is not allowable. In submitting content to BCTV, producers confirm that their program does not contain:
- Commercial programming. Because BCTV receives quasi-public funding, we are not allowed to compete with commercial media outlets by offering free advertising. The test of whether material is commercial is whether the program makes:
- Qualitative or comparative claims – “This is the best book ever written on this subject, much better than this other book”
- Direct inducements or calls to action – “Come to this particular bookstore and buy it now for only $9.99”
- Overly promotional material – mentioning a product over and over during a program.
- Fraud/Lottery. The public funds supporting BCTV cannot be used to conduct a game of chance or any other activity which might defraud the viewer by offering a prize or incentive.
- Libel/Slander. Producers or members submitting programming are responsible if the program they create or sponsor contains libel (written defamation) or slander (oral defamation). Material that is an unlawful invasion of privacy is also prohibited and is the producer’s responsibility. In general, producers should ask themselves if they are recording where there may be a presumption of privacy (such as using a camera to shoot into someone’s window or record a private conversation).
- Indecency/Obscenity. Because of federal laws protecting free speech on PEG channels (47 U.S.C.A. §531), BCTV cannot prohibit indecent material, but can schedule programming identified by producers as containing adult material (excessively violent material, excessive adult language, nudity or sexually explicit material) during “safe harbor” hours between 10 PM and 4 AM. Federal law allows for the prohibition of any program meeting the federal definition of obscenity.
- Hate speech. Federal law protects hate speech as a form of free speech – as the Supreme Court has held, “if there is to be free speech, it must be free for speech that we abhor and hate as well as for speech that we find tolerable and congenial” (1966). BCTV policies require us to schedule these programs with the same frequency as similar ones of the same length. When we receive complaints about controversial programming, we offer our training and equipment so that all views can be heard.
- Copyright/Releases. BCTV requires the producer to obtain all necessary releases, clearances and permissions prior to broadcast. The two most critical pieces are copyright and appearance release.
- Copyright for video includes ownership of original video or music, the “synchronization” of the two, and the “mechanical license” to record the image. For instance, BCTV producers cannot submit a Disney movie to air on the channel and upload it to our YouTube channel. Copyrighted content will be flagged by YouTube and your video is likely to be blocked. Find out more about copyright for videomakers and avoid these problems!
- BCTV requires a signed Appearance Release Form for anyone appearing in a significant way in the video, such as the speaker or performer. If the video involves a group, one person may sign for the group if they have the authority.
Bottom line: You don’t want to put in all the work to produce a video and have someone request to remove it because they didn’t agree to be online (this happens, folks!). Note: for public municipal meetings there is no presumption of privacy, so no appearance release is needed.
