In the interest of providing consistent, neutral, and transparent coverage of live and recorded government meetings, the following guidelines are set forth:

  1. CATS will provide coverage of any public meeting in accordance with the definitions established in Indiana code IC 5-14-1.5. Public Meetings (Open Door Law). Though CATS has contractual obligations to cover specific government meetings, CATS will endeavor to cover other public meetings upon request from local individuals or organizations.
  2. In an effort to provide viewers with the best possible sense of proceedings in the room or chamber, CATS will employ an establishing wide shot at the beginning, ending, and for all recesses during public meetings.
  3. CATS crew members will avoid the practice of taking reaction shots unless there is an active dialogue taking place. Similarly, tight close-ups will not be employed, as they could represent an element of visual editorializing, and hence the perception of a departure from neutrality.
  4. Whenever possible, CATS will employ the use of lower-third graphic superimpositions (name supers) to identify officials, name of meeting, and date. When technically possible, CATS will also provide a live “bug”, which will be removed for replay of the meeting.
  5. Whenever possible, CATS will present meetings, boards, and councils via live telecast on its designated cable channels, as well as via its website. CATS will also work to ensure that all meetings will be available on its website by 9 AM the following day.
  6. As neutrality of CATS governmental coverage is an essential function of its network and is a vital component of local democracy, CATS reserves the right to refuse suggestions from any individual, group, or organization to turn off the cameras, alter established protocols for shot composition, or to limit the public comments of any person speaking during a public meeting. Any public discussions or demonstrations which occur when meetings are adjourned or in recess will not be televised.
  7. CATS will feature royalty-free music in the background during wide shots, before and after meetings, and during all recesses.
  8. To ensure the integrity and neutrality of all meetings appearing on CATS government channels, CATS will only telecast, stream, and archive government meetings produced by CATS. Customers or organizations wishing to share their noncommercial programming or meetings may do so via the CATS Public Access Channel, upon the submission of a written request. 
  9. Following the guidance of Library health and safety procedures as informed by local, state and national authorities, members of any CATS production team may contact CATS management when procedures aren’t being followed, to determine whether the meeting or event coverage should be canceled. Should cancellation occur, CATS management will communicate with both Library Administration and the governmental body/community organization in charge of the meeting/event, to explain the decision in writing.
  10. When CATS' coverage of government meetings or events occur from an electronic platform such as Zoom, CATS reserves the right to mute and/or discontinue LIVE video coverage should a malicious disruption occur. CATS will resume live coverage when the disruption has ended. A recording of the meeting, designated for delayed playback, will have the offending portion edited out. An unedited version of the meeting will be saved/archived to determine if any disruption is a form of protected speech. Depending on the nature of the disruption, meeting hosts may be notified for further action, up to and including prosecution.

Approved by the Library Board of Trustees December 16, 2020