Policies and Bylaws

Click the links below to see important Cheshire TV rules and policies

Policies and Procedures

CTV bylaws

City of Keene Operating Agreement 2019

A Word on Copyright

Copyright law is actually pretty simple and easy to adhere to. Most problems arise when a person is trying to get around the law, and people have come up with many justifications as to why their actions are legal. The truth is, more often than not, when someone thinks they are not infringing on copyright law, they are. In fact, the best rule to follow is “if you THINK you MIGHT be infringing on a copyright, you probably are”.  Infringement of copyright law can cause trouble for you and for Cheshire TV.  Please be careful to avoid it.

Here are some facts that you need to know:

Any work is considered protected by a copyright as soon as it exists.
This includes incomplete work. As soon as something is tangible, it is protected.

You don’t need to make money from something to commit an act of infringement.
Many people believe that if they tape something for their own use, or tape something and then give it away, or do not profit, they are doing nothing wrong. This is not true. Copyrights protect the owner from anyone COPYING the work. In other words, if your child is in a play at school, and you tape it just for your home movies, you have broken the law. 

Mature Content Programming

“Mature Content” is defined as:

  • Nudity – depictions of buttocks, genitalia or female breasts;
  • Depictions or descriptions of sexual or excretory material or behavior in a manner so patently offensive as to breach local, state, or federal law;
  • Adult language – defined as that which would not normally be heard on an over-the-air network at the same time of day;
  • Graphic violence – visual and/or audio depiction of especially vivid, brutal and/or realistic acts of violence or similarly graphic medical procedures.

The Producer is required to inform CTV of mature content when the Request for Cablecast is submitted. CTV will then schedule the cablecast between the hours of 10:00 pm and 4:00 am, commonly known as “safe harbor” hours.

In addition, a program containing mature content must have a 10-second disclaimer following the standard opening disclaimer consisting of a slate of black background with white text in a plain font such as Arial or Times New Roman in a point size that fills the screen without affecting the aspect ratio of the text, with no music or movement, that states the following verbatim, both in visual text and a clearly verbalized voiceover:

“The following program contains mature content which may not be suitable for all viewers.

Parental and viewer discretion is advised.”

The producer had the option of CTV placing this disclaimer on the program for a fee.

In the event a program airing on CTV receives a complaint that the mature content policy has been violated the program will be immediately removed from the schedule and reviewed. If the policy has been violated the program will be cablecast only in the safe harbor hours and the Executive Director will determine further appropriate action if deemed necessary.

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