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GSTV » constitution
I. Statement of Purpose

A. GSTV will offer to the interested students of this college a means of expression in the medium of television and it will train them in the various technical aspects of television production.

B. GSTV will provide alternate programming for the entire college community. It will supply the campus with entertaining and/or intelligent television programs that cannot be obtained from commercial television stations. GSTV also holds an important responsibility: the use of this medium for the promotion of campus events and activities.

II. Membership

A. Membership in GSTV is open to all full-time, fee paying students at SUNY Geneseo.

B. An eligible student can gain membership after satisfying the following requirements:

1. Those involved in any technical aspect of GSTV must show an understanding of basic equipment operation and safety precautions to the satisfaction of the engineering department.

2. Every member must complete the minimum number of transmissions shifts as designated by the Personnel Director at the beginning of the semester.

3. Any member found disobeying rules and regulations set down by this station may be dismissed or suspended by majority vote of THE EXECUTIVE BOARD.

III. Executive Board

A. The Executive Board may be composed of the following eleven members, excluding assistants:

  1. General Manager
  2. Executive Producer
  3. Chief Engineer
  4. Public Relations Director
  5. News Director
  6. Events Coordinator
  7. Programming Coordinator
  8. Webmaster
  9. Business/Sales Director
  10. Marketing/Advertising Director
  11. Arts and Graphics Coordinator

B. GSTV in an organization of Student Association. The Executive Board will appoint a liaison from the general GSTV membership to act as GSTV's representative to the Student Association.

C. The General Manager will act as chair of the board.

D. Members of the Executive Board Elect are elected by the Executive Board.

E. Each Executive Board member, excluding the General Manager, has one vote and in case of a tie, the decision lies with General Manager.

F. All policy revisions and additions passes by the Executive Board must be approved by the SA Executive Committee.

G. All Executive Board members are expected to attend Executive Board meetings and no valid vote may be taken unless at least five members are present, excluding the General Manager.

H. All board members must post hours when they will be available to GSTV members.

I. All board members will be given a warning after missing two meetings and will be reviewed by the entire Board after missing three meetings during the semester.

J. The General Manager, Executive Producer, Chief Engineer, and Business/Sales Director must attend a meeting concerning the budget.

K. Assistant positions may be made by the General Manager elect or by the position requesting the assistant, in which case a majority of the Board is needed for approval.

L. If deemed necessary by a majority vote of the Executive Board, co-positions may be voted for any position with the exception of General Manager, Executive Producer, and News Director.

M. All members must submit a year-end report to position-elect.

N. Members of news board elected are appointed by the News Board.

IV. Executive Board Assignment of Duties

A. General Manager

  1. In charge of and responsible for all station operations.
  2. Acts as liaison between the station, administration, and public.
  3. In charge of arranging at least two general staff meetings per school year.
  4. In charge of election proceedings, excluding the election for General Manager.
  5. Responsible for training the Assistant General Manager.
  6. Must assist Business/Sales Director in preparing GSTV's budget for the SA Executive Committee.
  7. Must prepare a key authorization list for the Union and fill out room reservations each semester.
  8. Must approve equipment suggestions made by the Chief Engineer.
  9. Does any clerical work needed to run the station.
  10. Must meet requirements of Student Association and the Student Association Executive Committee to receive stipend.

B. Executive Producer

  1. Acts as consultant to the producers. Responsible for developing and teaching skills in video editing programs and the character generator.
  2. Initiates new programming ideas. Includes working with the events coordinator to find new ideas for live programming. In the case an event does not fall under the jurisdiction of events, executive producer is responsible for acting as liaison between GSTV and the event coordinator.
  3. In charge of designating studio time and equipment usage in consultation with the Chief Engineer.
  4. In charge of training and maintaining producers in equipment and production program usage.
  5. In charge of assisting producers in assembling a crew for productions other than news.
  6. Expected to oversee all live events in conjunction with the chief engineer and events coordinator. This includes working out the logistics of the broadcast. Executive producer will work on location with producers to set up a graphics system as well as provide intermediate material such as credits and other graphics until such time as the producer can create them.
  7. In charge of organizing weekly producer meetings.
  8. In charge of meeting with producers for devising tape requests.
  9. Has the power to cancel a producer's show if it is not meeting requirements as set by GSTV.
  10. Is required to watch and review all original GSTV programming within three days of notification of completion.
  11. Responsible for station air look for both live and non-live programming, including enforcing the code of conduct.
  12. Promotes the advancement of GSTV through mutual contact with other SUNY schools.
  13. Oversees the continuity and programming staff.
  14. Oversees post-production on live events if requested.
  15. Must meet the requirements of Student Association and Student Association Executive Committee to receive stipend

C. Chief Engineer

  1. In charge of all station engineers.
  2. Responsible for care and maintenance of all equipment.
  3. Makes suggestions for equipment purchases to the General Manager.
  4. Keeps accurate inventory of all station equipment.
  5. Keeps and up to date technical log.
  6. Is responsible for maintaining a relationship with a professional engineer.
  7. Provides input in all equipment purchases.
  8. Forwards all equipment purchases to the General Manager for budget acquisitions.
  9. Must meet requirements of Student Association and Student Association Executive Committee to receive stipend.
  10. In charge of designating at least one assistant.
  11. Either Chief Engineer, the assistant, or any other qualified and approved member of GSTV must be present at each live event

D. Public Relations Director

  1. Liaison to the campus community and Communication department.
  2. Takes accurate minutes at all Executive Board meetings and makes them available to Student Association, the general staff, and GSTV's advisor.
  3. In charge of promoting the station, its programming, and events.
  4. Produces GSTV promotional spots.
  5. Works with the programming director to publicize GSTV program schedule.
  6. Must attend all Student Association Meetings or appoint a delegate.
  7. Updates the alumni list and notifies them of GSTV events.
  8. Responsible for assigning an assistant and/or committees to assist with the work load.

E. News Director

  1. In charge of auditioning anchors and weather people each semester.
  2. In charge of getting writers, directors, crew, and producers for the news.
  3. Must train news staff in the format of the script, stories, and other parts of the news.
  4. Must create a list of substitutes for the news staff.
  5. In charge of organizing weekly staff meetings.
  6. Must have one semester of News experience as producer or Assignment Editor.
  7. News Director will serve as chair of the News board
  8. The News Board will meet at least bi-weekly and will be composed of at least: News Director, Assignment Editor, Graphics Director, Sports Director, one head anchor from each new day, chief reporter, and one producer from each day.
  9. Is responsible for running News Board Elections (i.e. the elections of Assignment Editor and Sports Director).

F. Events Coordinator

  1. Initiate new ideas for advancement of GSTV
  2. Responsible for organizing internal events for the station
  3. Must arrange two broadcasted special events per semester (Examples, Springfest, Coffee Talk). One special event per year must be the annual telethon.
  4. Responsible for planning and organizing Hockey Broadcasts.
  5. In charge of the creation and oversight of any committees for events. (Ex: Telethon committee, Hockey Broadcast committee).
  6. Must meet requirements of Student Association and Student Association Executive Committee to receive stipend.

G. Programming Director

  1. Creates a list of the personnel of GSTV, as well as separate lists for individual shows.

  2. In charge of all program scheduling.

  3. Must devise a program guide, to be revised each semester and work the public relations director to publicize it.

  4. Makes sure GSTV members run transmissions daily.
  5. *It is the individual producers' responsibility to fill the minimum transmissions requirements each week. If the show fails to adhere to this policy, the Programming Director reserves the right to pull that show from programming for the next broadcast after consultation with the Executive Producer.
  6. In charge of maintaining program library.
  7. Must work with campus organizations and GSTV members to schedule taping and the copying of tapes

  8. Promotes advancement of GSTV through mutual program exchange.
  9. In charge of delineating responsibility to the GSTV Work Study, if one exists.

H. Webmaster

  1. In charge of maintaining and updating the GSTV website.

I. Business and Sales Director

  1. Responsible for preparing a budget with the General Manager each year.
  2. Keeps an accurate account of all station purchases and receipts, and post it when changes occur.
  3. Must attend all Student Association Treasurer and training meetings.
  4. The Business and Sales Director, Executive Producer, General Manager, and Chief Engineer are the only ones authorized to sign any purchase orders and charge authorizations.
  5. Responsible for soliciting underwriting and/or advertising from businesses or campus organizations.
  6. Works with the Marketing and Advertising Director in the production of spots.
  7. Works under the Business Director and SA Finance Director in the drawing up of contracts.
  8. Must meet requirements of Student Association and Student Association Executive Committee to receive stipend.

J. Marketing and Advertising Director

  1. Produces spots with the business and sales director.
  2. In charge of Digital Image Scroller (DIS).
  3. In charge of producing yearly up-to-date commercial reels.
  4. Assists business and sales director in selling spots when requested.
  5. Works with the public relations director to do any publicity as requested by the public relations director.

K. Art and Graphics Coordinator

  1. Designs graphics, pictures, and any other art work requested by the station for GSTV.
  2. In charge of office appearance by maintaining window decorations.
  3. Teaches GSTV members in Photoshop, Illustrator and related software.
  4. Design graphics, pictures, and any other art work requested by the news director and will attend News Board and general news meetings upon request.
VII. Programming

A. Programming origination, purchase and broadcast scheduling is under direct supervision of the Executive Producer.

B. The production of GSTV original programming is under the direct supervision of the Executive Producer.

C. Programs received from non-commercial units must be screened by the Executive Producer before airing. Any questionable material should be forwarded to the General Manager.

D. All programs must comply with the Code of Conduct as established by the Executive Producer.

D. The station will check for and remove any libelous materials from its programming.

E. Obscenity and/or profanity will be allowed if and only if:

  1. the language is necessary within the context of the program.
  2. removing the materials would seriously hinder the communication and plausibility of the program.

F. The station as an entity will not take a political stand nor endorse a candidate for college or public office.

G. Each GSTV original program must have a producer.

H. Duties and Responsibilities of a producer.

  1. Creates original GSTV programming
  2. Must be an active member of GSTV for at least one half of a semester.
  3. Knows how to use all studio and mobile equipment.
  4. Attends weekly producer meetings.
  5. Manages cast and crew.
  6. Must receive approval from Executive Producer before starting production.

I. Members will only use tapes and DVD's that are assigned by the Executive Producer.

VIII. Engineering Department

A. All technical directors are under supervision of the Chief Engineer. The Chief Engineer is responsible for all studio engineers and all equipment used in production.

B. Every engineer must have a working knowledge of all studio equipment.

IX. Elections

A. The General Manager will arrange for the election of the General Manager- Elect at least two weeks preceding spring finals.

B. If in case there is a co-position, every position only holds one vote from one person.

B. Those eligible for candidacy as General Manager must meet the following qualifications:

  1. Must be a board member for at least one semester.
  2. Must attend an Executive Board meeting to present his/her qualifications to the general staff.

C. Election Proceedings

  1. The General Manager must inform all candidates about elections at least two weeks prior to proceedings.
  2. All candidates may speak for no more than 10 minutes at the Executive Board meeting, including answering questions from the staff.
  3. Elections must take place at least two weeks preceding spring semester finals each year.
    • A secret ballot will take place at an Executive Board meeting. However, the Executive Board may vote for open elections if deemed necessary.
    • They will follow Robert's Rules for elections.
    • The ballots will be counted by the General Manager and two impartial board members.
    • The winner will be announced by the General Manager first to the Executive Board and then to the candidates.

D. Duties of the General Manager Elect:

  1. Must attend all Board meetings.
  2. Will become familiar with all station business and policies, programming, production, and Student Association.

E. It is the intent of the Constitution that the General Manager-Elect will continue as General Manager through the following year.

F. The term of General Manager may not exceed two years.

G. The General Manager will arrange for the election of the Executive Board on or before two weeks preceding spring finals.

H. Election proceedings for Board members:

  1. The General Manager must meet with all candidates on or before two weeks preceding spring finals.
  2. All candidates may speak for no more than 10 minutes at this staff meeting, including answering questions from the staff.
    1. A secret ballot will take place at an Executive Board meeting called by the General Manager.
    2. The ballots will be counted by the General Manager and two impartial Board Members.
    3. The winners will be announced by the General Manager first to the candidates and then to the entire staff that evening.

I. Duties of the Executive Board-Elect:

  1. Must become familiar with duties of respective positions.
  2. It is the intent of this Constitution that the Executive Board-Elect will assume positions the following year.

J. Potential candidates for Executive Board can run by proxy if approved by Executive Board.

X. Editorial Policy

A. Any student, faculty, or administration member may request editorial time by submitting a type written version of exactly what is to be stated in the editorial to the Executive Board, which will discuss and approve or disapprove the request.

  1. All editorials must be on subjects relevant to the campus community.
  2. Content of the editorials shall be free of libel and profanity.
  3. The spokesperson must be a full-time, fee-paying student or faculty member.
  4. Air time will be given during Newscene 4.
  5. There will be a time limit of 2 minutes.
  6. Editorial must not include a call to action.

B. The Executive Board may make editorial comments, having approved by a majority vote a typewritten version of what exactly is to be stated. The editorial must state the origins of the views being held.

C. GSTV will grant equal time to any responsible individual who submits a written request, subject to the above standards.

D. Personal commentaries on GSTV's news or public affairs programs shall be attributed to the individual who presents them and are not subject to equal time provisions.

XI. Complaints

A. Complaints regarding taped programs shown over the cable shall be submitted in writing to the General Manager, who will present them at the next Board meeting to discuss whether or not the tape should be removed from air play; a majority vote of the Board will rule.

B. Complaints on other areas of station operation should be brought up as new business at the regular Executive Board meetings.

C. Other complaints will be handled as quickly and efficiently as possible with rational decision being sent to the Activities Center in the College Union.

XII. Discipline

A. GSTV members facing complaints or breaches for GSTV policies or SA policies will first receive a verbal or written warning from the General Manager or the Executive Board, depending on the circumstance (to whom, in what way the complaint was expressed, and how severe it was).

B. If more complaints are raised against the same individuals or the same individuals breach more GSTV/SA policies, they will face temporary suspension with denial of station privileges. At this point, the issues will be brought up as new business at the next possible Executive Board meeting. The board will summarize the complaints at hand, give the individuals an opportunity to respond to the complaints, allot some time for questions, and then deliberate and vote on the length of the suspension (if a suspension is decided upon).

C. If any more complaints are raised against the same individuals, or the same individuals breach other GSTV policies face dismissal from the Executive Board and the Station, depending on his or her status at GSTV. The same disciplinary procedure mentioned in Section X, paragraph B of the GSTV Constitution will then be applied at the next possible Executive Board meeting.

D. GSTV's Executive Board reserves the right to make final decisions regarding disciplinary issues.

XIII. Amendments

A. Amendments to the Constitution must be made through the entire Executive Board.

Appendix A. GSTV Code of Conduct for Show Production and Live Broadcast

All content aired on GSTV is a direct representation of the core values of the organization as a whole. It is our goal to portray GSTV as an organization dedicated to fostering the creativity, diversity, and talents of the student body in a positive light. It is not designed as an outlet to degrade, alienate, or cause discomfort to any student viewer, group, or GSTV member. This is to be kept in mind in all production at GSTV to reflect the core values and goals of the organization as a whole.

Language: Profanity is to be generally avoided in production and broadcast. Use of harsh profanity and derogatory language is to be limited and must be submitted for review by the Executive Producer.

Nudity: No nudity will be aired on GSTV. The maximum level of exposure that will be accepted is limited to what typical undergarments or a bathing suit would cover up.

  • For males this means the least amount of clothing allowed is limited to boxer shorts, brief-style underwear, or a Speedo.
  • For females this means the least amount of clothing must be that of which a full coverage bra and panties or a bikini would cover.

Lewd and Indecent behavior (Sexual activities): Lewd and / or indecent behaviors are to be limited and submitted for review by the Executive Producer.

Drug and Alcohol Use: There is to be no actual use of drugs or alcohol in production and broadcast. The implied use of alcohol and drugs must be submitted for review by the Executive Producer.

If at anytime there is confusion or lack of clarity as to what may be aired on GSTV, the Executive Producer is to be contacted first, prior to broadcast, in order to avoid future negative actions taken against a show.