Minutes Cable Teleprogramm. 9 12 06
MINUTES OF CABLE COMMUNITY TELEPROGRAMMING COMMISSION MEETING
September 12,2006
CITY HALL ANNEX - 2nd FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM #2
MEMBERS PRESENT: Pauline Maloney, George Herrig, Jennifer Tigges, Sr. Carol
Hoverman.
MEMBERS ABSENT: Burton Everist. Two seats remain vacant on the Commission.
OTHERS PRESENT: Jim Barefoot, Mediacom
Craig Nowack, City of Dubuque Cable TV Coordinator
Sr. Hoverman called the meeting to order at 5:43 p.m.
1. Acceptance of the Agenda.
Upon a motion by Ms. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Herrig, the agenda was accepted
unanimously as published.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the August 8, 2006 Meeting
Upon a motion of Ms. Tigges, seconded by Ms. Maloney, the Minutes of the August
8, 2006 Commission meeting were approved unanimously.
3. Public Comment
Ms. Maloney relayed some comments she has heard about people missing the
community bulletin board on Channels 15 & 16. Mr. Barefoot explained that since
moving to 24n server-based playback, he doesn't have a way to automatically
switch from the server to a graphic bulletin board and back. He noted, however,
that once his new network is up and running and his employee back, he would like
to resurrect the bulletin board on a limited basis.
Mr. Nowack mentioned that his new graphic system, audience.tv, is on the air less
often since switching to server-based playback in August. The server allows him to
play more programming more often.
4. Access Equipment Expenditures
Mr. Nowack provided a financial overview of the PEG fund.
There was a short discussion of the wireless camera transmission system that Mr.
Barefoot requested at last month's meeting. Neither Mr. Herrig nor Ms. Tigges
could find any consumer feedback - good or bad - about it.
Mr. Barefoot queries the Commission for its direction on future of PEG equipment
needs. Among the items discussed were a production van, a character generator,
and an HD non-linear editing system. Mr. Barefoot noted an overall trend away
from studio production and now towards field production. Smaller, cheaper
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equipment make this possible. He also mentioned the editing setup at Loras
College, where all material is stored on a central server, enabling an editor to
subsequently edit the material from any workstation, not just the one on which it
was input.
5. Access Programming and Promotion
Mr. Barefoot reported that access programming has really taken off. People he
has never seen before are dropping programs off to be aired. A three-part series
on Linwood Cemetery, concerts from various venues, and a mental health forum
are just some of the new programming.
Mr. Nowack suggested the "PEG Cross-Promotion Initiative" (PCPI) whereby Mr.
Barefoot, representing the public access channels, Gary Olsen, representing the
school district channel, and himself, representing the local government channel,
would each create promos for their channel and give them to each other to air in
order to build awareness of the local PEG channels.
6. Mediacom Cable Report
Mr. Barefoot reported that he is always trying to improve the on-air look of his
channels and come up with procedures to make his operation more efficient. He
wants to free up time to go give talks to service organizations to make them aware
and get them to participate in program production. His in-house networking is
mostly done.
He also said that he is close to hiring a new assistant who has editing experience
and leadership abilities and will be glad to have this person on board. He also
hopes to fill a part-time position as well.
Mr. Barefoot attended a Video On Demand meeting recently.
7. Cable TV Division Report
Mr. Nowack thanked Mr. Barefoot for televising a City Council meeting while Doug
McCallum was out and he was attending a conference. CityChannel 8 has recently
been showing locally produced show, City Journal and Dubuque Health Matters.
Mr. McCallum will be returning to work on a limited basis tomorrow.
He reported that the City is being sued by someone who claims the franchise fee is
an illegal tax. The City has hired a consultant to do an analysis of how much it
costs to administer its various franchises.
8. Future Agenda Items
No new agenda items were suggested.
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9. Adjournment
Upon a motion of Ms. Maloney, seconded by Mr. Herrig, the meeting was
adjourned at 6:50 p.m.
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