How Can They Show That?
SCC is a public access TV station, meaning it is programmed by you and other local residents who choose
to place programming on our channels. Most of the programming you see on SCC is actually produced by members of your
community -- private individuals, community-based organizations, or the city government.
This public access station is an electronic forum for free expression by you and your neighbors. Sometimes, viewers call in
and say "There ought to be a law about what I saw on SCC last night!" There IS a law, in a way, actually: the
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The First Amendment guarantees that "Congress shall pass no law
abridging the freedom of speech..." Basically, any community member is free to say or do anything he or she wants on
their own SCC program, provided that they can assure us that their program does nor contain any illegal content.
We have agreed to maintain a public forum for the free expression of ideas -- even ideas you or I might despise -- as long
as we prohibit all of the following types of content in programs:
- Commercials or advertising
- Defamation or obscenity
- Obscenity and pornography
- Any violation of copyrights, publicity rights, or invasion of privacy
- Any violation of FCC regulations
- Any violation of any local, state, or federal law.
If you see something on this channel which does not fall into one of the above categories, but which upsets
you anyway, you have the right to join us at SCC. You can learn how to produce your own program or message on the channel, to
counteract the programming that upset you. As Supreme Court Justice Brandeis said: "...avert the evil by the process of
education... the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."
