TITLE VII - SECTION 7500

Protocols for

Televising the Meetings of the

Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors

1. Recording and televising meetings

- Meetings shall be televised from gavel to gavel live without any substantive alteration. Recording will not begin before the meeting is called to order and will cease as soon as the meeting is closed. No recording or televising will occur before or after the Board is called into session.

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- Live coverage may include informational videotapes, agendas, or other messages televised during meeting breaks, recesses, and closed sessions.

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- Community Television of Santa Cruz County (CTSCC) may replay recordings of Board meetings at other times.

- Camera shots will be limited to coverage of persons who have been officially recognized to speak, or the cameras will show a wide shot of the Board. There will be no reaction shots or "cutaways" shots of people who are not speaking.

- During slides, over-head projector, or video presentations, the cameras will attempt to shoot the screen.

- Cameras will focus on the podium only when a person has been recognized by the Chair to speak.

- Cameras will not intentionally get close-up shots of Board members who are not speaking or engaging in dialogue.

- Close-up shots of Board members will be consistent in terms of camera angles and size of image.

- Graphics used to enhance meeting coverage, such as "name supers," will be fair and accurate.

2. Use of videos as a record

- Although video recordings of Board meetings are public record, they are not official records of the Board's actions.

- CTSCC will provide one VHS copy of each meeting to the County Administrative Office. The County may obtain additional copies at the established government access rates.

- The Clerk of the Board will archive videotapes of the first Board meeting of each calendar year and those meetings, which have great apparent historical importance, as determined by the Board or the County Administrative Officer.

- Community Television will make a copy of the videotape of each meeting available for inspection by the public at the CTSCC offices for no fewer than 30 days after each meeting. Members of the public can obtain copies from Community Television at regular copy prices.