YSTV Policy

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Introduction

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York Student Television (often referred to as YSTV) is a student media group based at the University of York which provides a television service for, but not limited to, the staff and students of the University. Its purpose and main rules are found in its Constitution. This document outlines the day-to-day operating procedure of the media group, and should be read within the context of both the current Media Group Constitution and with the constitution of YUSU (the University of York Students’ Union, at yusu.org).

Terms and Definitions

  1. YSTV is an abbreviation of York Student Television.
  2. YUSU is an abbreviation of University of York Students’ Union.
  3. YUM is an abbreviation of York University Media, the informal collection of media groups at the University of York.
  4. AGM and EGM are abbreviations of Annual General Meeting and Extraordinary General Meeting respectively.
  5. The terms “YSTV” and “the Media Group” refer to YSTV’s membership as a whole.
  6. An “Officer” is a member of YSTV elected to a named position concerned with the running of YSTV.
  7. The “Committee” is a subset of the Officers, defined as those roles specified in the Constitution. Committee members have certain powers and responsibilities, as laid down in the Constitution and Policy, which exceed those of the remaining Officers defined in the Policy.
  8. “The Station” refers to the rooms occupied by YSTV that are used for the production of television programmes.
  9. “Facilities” refers to all of the rooms and equipment owned or occupied by YSTV.
  10. “The Studio” is the room within the Station used for the set of television programmes.
  11. “The Control Room” is the room within the Station which holds the electronic and computer equipment used in the production of programmes, YSTV’s server system and the editing stations.
  12. “The Tech Cupboard” (formerly known as “The Workshop”) is the room within the Station used for maintenance and storage of equipment.
  13. The “OB Cupboard” refers to the larger cupboard located outside the station whilst the “computing cupboard” refers to the smaller cupboard located outside the station directly next to the front entrance.
  14. “In writing” means either a printed or handwritten document, which must be signed in person, or an email, or a formal message in Slack.
  15. “OB” is an abbreviation of Outside Broadcast. Any live programme produced outside of the Studio is considered an Outside Broadcast.
  16. Any piece of video is referred to as a work. This includes anything produced by YSTV, shown on YSTV or being considered for showing on YSTV.
  17. An idea for a potential future work is a concept.
  18. A YSTV production is a work or concept which has been ratified by YSTV (see 3.2).
  19. A programme is a work of televisual content that has been or will be produced by YSTV.
  20. An episode is a specific instance of a serial programme.
  21. A producer is a person who takes overall control of producing a work, accepting responsibility for one or more Productions.
  22. An Executive Producer oversees and takes responsibility for a Production that includes a subset of more than one producer running the production on a day-to-day basis.
  23. An Ordinary Member is any member of YSTV that does not hold a formal position within YSTV.
  24. ‘A show of hands’ is a vote where all ordinary members present are required to vote (by raising their hands at the appropriate point) either in favour of the motion, against the motion, or abstain from the vote. Any member directly affected by the outcome of the vote (e.g, producers when ratifying a production) must not be present for the vote. The motion shall be passed if there are more votes in favour than against.
  25. Computing Service refers to an aspect of YSTV’s computing software and equipment.
  26. Any non-commercial project being published has to also be uploaded to YSTV’s website or other archive.
  27. The decision to not upload a production or to take down a production or remove our branding from a production is initially taken by the Head of Presentation.
    1. Reasons for above must be adequately justified.
    2. The producer must be notified in writing when any action is taken.
    3. If the producer disagrees with this decision, they can petition the station director or production director to hold a majority vote between the Head of Presentation, Production Director and Station Director to reverse this decision.
    4. The Production Director and Station Director can also independently trigger the above process
    5. Exceptions to this rule include if contributors have withdrawn their consent or YUSU have asked for the content to be taken down.

Rules and Regulations

  1. YSTV shall conduct its affairs in accordance with the YUSU Media Charter. It is the Station Director’s responsibility to uphold this (see 5.6).
  2. Further to the above, YSTV shall conduct its affairs without discrimination on the grounds of gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other basis. Any member who feels that discrimination has occurred should contact the Station Director or YUSU Welfare Officer.
  3. YSTV shall be guided by the ITC Programme Code, the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct & Promotional Marketing (CAP Code), the NUS Student Media Guide and by the NUJ Code of Conduct.
  4. No member of YSTV shall be liable for any loss, damage or misfortune which may be incurred by YSTV during any YSTV business. However, this does not affect their liability for the consequences of any wilful misconduct or negligent act on their part.
  5. A decision may be taken by an Admin Meeting (or, in an emergency, by a Team Leader) to withdraw the use of any YSTV facilities from a member if it is decided that the Constitution has been or would have been breached. Any action taken by a Team Leader under this provision must be reported to and ratified by the next Admin Meeting.
  6. Key-card Access to the Station may be allocated to Ordinary Members at the discretion of the Station Meeting. The holding of key-card access to the Station, including that held by Team Leaders, can be removed by a majority vote at an Admin Meeting. Unauthorised holding of a key-card may be grounds for disciplinary action involving YUSU, the University or the Police.
  7. All members of YSTV are required to abide by YUSU’s Health and Safety Procedure and YSTV's Computing Policy. Failure to do so may result in ejection from the Station. It is the responsibility of the member who signed out the key to make sure that visitors are aware of, and abide by, these rules.
  8. All members of YSTV are to treat individually-owned equipment (equipment or items owned by one or more members that have been temporarily entrusted to YSTV) with special care, although YSTV will not be held accountable for insurance, damage or loss to these items, unless these occur due to wilful misconduct or negligence, where in this case the member responsible for the damage is responsible (refer to 3.4)

Membership

In addition to the types of membership in the constitution, Honorary membership may be conferred upon anyone by means of a majority vote at an Admin Meeting. It may also be withdrawn by majority vote at an Admin Meeting, but the member in question should receive at least three days’ notice, by email, of the impending vote. Honorary members do not pay a subscription. They may not serve as Officers and have no voting rights at a Admin Meeting.

Officers

  1. All Officers have a responsibility to uphold the YSTV Constitution and Policy and to carry out their duties as defined by the Constitution and Policy.
  2. All Officers are to ensure that all visitors to YSTV are aware of and abide by YUSU’s Health and Safety Policy and YSTV's Computing Policy.
  3. All Officers have a right of access to the Station via the key list, and key-card access to the Station; and have a right to an official YSTV email address.
  4. All Officers are expected to keep members up to date on station occurrences under their responsibility where necessary, orally in an Admin Meeting, or through another relevant medium.
  5. All Officers are responsible for organising and providing adequate training of new and existing members in areas relating to the Team to which they belong.
  6. Officers must resign if they take office in Parliament or a sabbatical position within YUSU.
  7. The activities of YSTV have been divided into five distinct areas. Each area has a Team of members associated with it, and each Team consists of one or more Officers and any other interested members.
    1. The Administration Team are responsible for the maintenance of YSTV’s records, both secretarial and financial, and other general administrative matters.
    2. The Production Team are responsible for overseeing all in-house productions, seeking and producing new commercial productions and any rebroadcasting of third party material.
    3. The Technical Team are responsible for the technical operations of YSTV, the maintenance of YSTV’s equipment, and liaison with other Officers of YSTV with respect to technical matters.
    4. The Computing Team are responsible for all computer and network equipment of YSTV, their operation, and maintenance.
    5. The Marketing Team are responsible for the promotion of YSTV both as a media group and a television station to the student population, as well as overseeing YSTV’s branding.
  8. Within each Team, one officership is defined as the Team Leader. These positions are as follows:
      1. Administration Director (Leader of Admin Team);
      2. Production Director (Lead of Production Team);
      3. Technical Director (Lead of Technical Team);
      4. Computing Director (Lead of Computing Team);
      5. Marketing Director (Lead of Marketing Team).
    2. Team Leaders are responsible for coordinating the activities of their Team and YSTV’s functions within their remit, and report directly to the Station Director.
    3. Team Leaders are responsible for carrying out the duties of any vacant officerships within their Team.
    4. Team Leaders are advised to hold a Team meeting, open and publicised to all, at least once a term.
  9. No member may hold more than one Officership at any one time. After the AGM however, vacant posts may be covered by assigning the responsibilities of the post to another Officer. Otherwise, the responsibilities fall to the appropriate Team Leader.
    1. A delegate to a post is defined as an Officer who has been assigned the responsibilities of an otherwise unoccupied post.
    2. A post to which a delegate has been assigned is defined as a delegated post.
    3. The positions of Station Director and all Team Leaders are exempt from delegation. These posts must be held by a dedicated Officer. If the Team Leader post is vacant then the responsibility is shared as necessary between the Station Director, and the team Deputy.
    4. An Officer may only take on one delegated post in addition to their primary Officership.
    5. An Officer can be delegated to a post by a simple majority vote at an Admin Meeting. This vote occurs in the same way as a regular election and is open to all paid members. A show of hands vote is sufficient, although the Officer must leave the room and, as always, any present member may request a secret ballot, as described in section 9.
    6. Should another member (who does not hold an officership) wish to stand for the delegated post at a later date, a normal by-election should take place. The delegate to the post shall be required to relinquish the duties if the election decides in favour of the candidate, however if the election result is to reopen nominations, the delegate to the post shall continue their responsibilities.
    7. Any delegated posts will be reset at the AGM as with any normal officership.

Non-Committee Positions

  1. Deputy Computing Director
    1. A member of the Computing Team;
    2. The duties of the Deputy Computing Director include:
      1. assisting the Computing Director in their responsibilities, as directed by the Computing Director;
      2. Managing the computing teams’ Kanban board system;
      3. Keeping the Kanban board system up to date with regards to the computing meetings outcome;
      4. Minuting the computing meetings.
  2. Training Officer:
    1. To oversee YSTV training;
    2. To coordinate with the team leads to ensure training is delivered consistently, effectively, and frequently;
    3. Set out learning objectives for training;
    4. To be the point of contact for training requests and defer to team lead's where necessary;
    5. To ensure that communication of training is handled correctly;
    6. Aim to give at least a week's notice for any training opportunities;
    7. Communicate training opportunities on appropriate mediums;
    8. Recommend members to appropriate training opportunities;
    9. Where possible, encourage and develop different mediums of training delivery;
    10. Maintain list of who has been trained;
    11. Maintain list of training opportunities
    12. Liaise with the production team to ensure the application of training is upheld.
  3. Equipment Officer
    1. To ensure all equipment owned by YSTV is adequately maintained and safe to use
    2. To report any equipment faults to the Technical Director
    3. To advise, alongside the Technical Director, YSTV on technical equipment purchases
    4. To oversee equipment bookings, allocations and hires through the internal equipment booking system
    5. To work with the Technical Director and Treasurer to maintain the society’s storage organisation and kit management.
    6. Checking the kit hire list and adjusting prices based on an appropriate kit hire website once a year, before the end of the Autumn Term
    7. To work with the head of Training to ensure all members are able to use equipment appropriately
  4. Head of Commercial
    1. A member of the Production Team;
    2. The duties of the Head of Commercial include:
      1. Managing commercial opportunities and seek out new ones;
      2. Assigning producers to commercial projects;
      3. Managing and Distributing contracts and invoices.
      4. Ensuring commercial productions are completed on time and to the best standard possible liaising with Head of Presentation;
      5. Assisting the Production Director in their responsibilities, as directed by the Production Director;
      6. Reviewing total commercial income, inventory and pricing lists/guides once per year assisted by the Technical Team, Computing Team, Station Director and Treasurer. Ensure these are updated on the website and in records;
      7. Collaborating on all of the above with the Station Director keeping them appraised of all ongoing contracts through to the point of payment and completion.
    3. All potential productions external to the society YSTV should be consulted on with the Head of Commercial and Production Director to determine if the production should become commercial. This includes other YUSU society productions ONLY when it is not for the purposes of YSTV content.
    4. All unsigned commercial contracts will expire after 28 days of first drafting,
    5. All commercial contracts must be signed by both parties before the production starts.
    6. Head of commercial and Production Director must collectively decide if a production classes as commercial before taken further. Productions should be considered commercial if YSTV does not have overall creative control or if the project is not commissioned primarily for YSTV platforms.
    7. YSTV must front prior costs of commercial projects before invoicing the client
    8. All commercial contracts must be signed by 2 of YSTV’s signatories.
    9. Commercial contracts with YUSU societies, must be signed by 2 signatories of the client’s society.
  5. Head of Factual
    1. A member of the Production Team;
    2. The duties of the Head of Factual include:
      1. Assisting the Production Director in their responsibilities with relation to factual content (excluding sport) as directed by the Production Director;
      2. Working with head of outreach they are responsible for liaison with persons external to the university for the creation of content and outside opportunities.
  6. Head of Scripted
    1. A member of the Production Team;
    2. The duties of the Head of Scripted include:
      1. Assisting the Production Director in their responsibilities with relation to scripted content as directed by the Production Director;
      2. Overseeing the weekly running of YSTV's Writers' Room meetings.
  7. Head of Sport
    1. A member of the Production Team;
    2. The duties of the Head of Sport include:
      1. assisting the Production Director in their responsibilities relating to sport, as directed by the Production Director;
      2. Being the first point of contact for York Sport or the York Sport President;
      3. Working with head of outreach and head of commercial they are responsible for liaison with sports teams external to the university for the creation of content and outside opportunities.
      4. Preparing the station for Roses throughout the year with sports streams, and establishing connections with the Sport Union and Sports Clubs
  8. Head of Entertainment
    1. Member of Production Team
    2. The duties of this role include:
      1. Assisting in the creation of non-scripted entertainment content including: Music (working with head of outreach), Live studio shows, One off or episodic entertainment shows and behind the streams;
      2. Working alongside the social secretary on arranging content that doubles as a social;
      3. Speaking to the YUSU activities officer to find out about ongoing activities on campus.
  1. Head of Archives
    1. A member of Admin Team;
    2. The duties of the Head of Archives include:
      1. Managing the digitisation of materials, including video cassettes, photographs and paperwork;
      2. Ensuring the secure storage of both digitised and original source materials;
      3. The ability to create a supporting team and to assign roles that they must coordinate;
      4. Working with the Computing Director and Head of Presentation to release digitised content on the website;
      5. Maintaining the YSTV History Wiki; keeping information up-to-date; creating new articles respecting the online privacy of the station’s members.
  2. Head of Engagement
    1. A member of the Marketing Team;
    2. The duties of the Head of Engagement include:
      1. Responding rapidly to time-sensitive marketing needs, such as advertisement of new videos
      2. Assisting the Marketing Director in growing YSTV’s audience both within and outside of the student population;
      3. Actively seeking out new audiences for YSTV’s content, and utilise the most appropriate platforms to engage them;
      4. Being responsible for the consistent upload of “behind the scenes” content to social media at YSTV events, either by fulfilling these responsibilities themselves or delegating this responsibility to another member;
      5. Assisting the Marketing Director in the upload of content to YSTV’s social media.
  3. Head of Outreach
    1. A member of the Marketing Team;
    2. The duties of the Head of Outreach include:
      1. Assisting the Marketing Director in raising of money for YSTV through advertising and sponsorship;
      2. Assisting the Marketing Director in coordinating recruitment campaigns for new members;
      3. Being responsible for outreach to other student groups, the Students Union and the University in order to promote YSTV’s content;
      4. Assisting the Marketing Director in the upload of content to YSTV’s social media.
      5. To be the key contact for external clients alongside the Production Director, Head of Commercial.
  4. All paid members of YSTV are considered to be Ordinary Members.

YSTV Productions and Producers

  1. Any work/production concept/production may be ratified by the Production Director or a member of Production Team, provided it has at least one assigned producer. The Station Director may also approve works/concepts/productions in exceptional circumstances.
  2. In the case of large OBs/event-based productions (e.g. YUSU Elections, Roses), two co-producers or at least one assistant producer are required. It is recommended that at least one (assistant) producer focuses on the technical aspects of the production, and at least one other (assistant) producer on the show's content.
  3. Before being ratified a new work/concept/production should be pitched at a Production Meeting and the members present offered the opportunity to ask questions or give suggestions to the producers. A vote of confidence may also be taken by show of hands, at the discretion of the Production Director or the Chair.
  4. A ratified YSTV production is afforded the following facilities:
    1. Use of the Station’s Facilities including the Studio, Control Room, and technical equipment.
    2. Advertising to members via the use of the website’s calendar system and the weekly Media Group email (where the Station Director is given appropriate information and notice).
    3. Support from the Production Director and other officers as defined in their respective roles.
  5. On becoming a Producer, a member accepts the following responsibilities:
    1. To meet with relevant members to receive training on the relevant aspects of producing where needed before commencing production.
    2. To read and abide by the YSTV Constitution and Policy.
    3. To regularly attend Production Meetings to provide updates on their production in the period that their production is active. If a producer doesn’t attend three Production Meetings in a row or there is no update for three Meetings in a row then the production is to be seen as “inactive,” and to be moved to the slide of inactive productions. (Note: Whilst “inactive” the production is still seen as “current”). At the request of the Producer to the Production Director, the production can be made active again.
    4. Use of a YSTV domain account and corresponding email address, where necessary and requested, and any email aliases for the production.
    5. An overall responsibility for the production they are in charge of, making sure it is of a high standard and does not break the rules of YSTV’s or YUSU’s Constitution, or any applicable laws (e.g. copyright).
    6. To mark all programmes as a YSTV production by the inclusion of the YSTV copyright slide at the end of each programme.
  6. It is expected that YSTV Producers will make efforts to liaise with the Production Director and the Head of Presentation as appropriate to develop their skills and produce high quality output, the Station Director regarding legal risk, and with the Technical Team to ensure that the facilities they need/request are feasible and available. In return they can expect to receive help and advice from these Officers in making and improving their productions.
  7. A YSTV production ceases to be recognised as current (and therefore the producer ceases to be a YSTV Producer) if no new programmes are made within one academic year of the University of York. Should the same individual or someone different wish to restart production at a later date, the concept must be re-ratified via the same procedures as for a new work/concept/production.
  8. Should a Producer wish to stand down and/or end a production or pass on the role of Producer to another member, they should inform the Production Director or announce this at a Production Meeting.
  9. Any production may also have any number of assistant producers. These members do not take on the overall responsibility for the show in terms of copyright and so on, but are expected to assist the main producer(s) in making the programmes, and are encouraged to attend Station Meetings.
  10. Productions with societies should be actively encouraged to improve the development opportunities offered to the members of YSTV. Mutually acceptable terms for these Productions should be negotiated on an individual basis, and a written agreement produced.
  11. Any complaints regarding YSTV productions should be brought to the Station Director’s attention. These will then either be dealt with at a Station Meeting or on an informal level based on the Station Director’s judgement. If an individual feels that the Station Director has not or is unable to deal with the complaint sufficiently then they should contact the YUSU Student Activities Officer.
  12. Requests for the removal of a YSTV Production, or an episode of a production, should be passed to the Station Director, and will be discussed at a Station Meeting based on whether there are legal or welfare grounds for its removal. A majority vote will decide whether the production or episode is removed. If this is deemed insufficient then the YUSU Student Activities Officer should be contacted.
  13. Any non-commercial project made by YSTV has to be uploaded to our website.
  14. The computing and technical teams need to be informed in writing at least 48 hours before any live broadcast. If they are not, the production cannot go ahead.
  15. Technical team and computing team reserve the right to veto any production if the resources are not available.
  16. Producers should liaise with the technical team and, when relevant, computing team with regards to their production.
  17. In extreme situations, the production may encounter exceptional circumstances resulting in the immediate cessation of the production.
    1. Such exceptional circumstances are as follows:
      1. The production poses immediate health and safety concerns to persons involved.
      2. The production involves the misuse of equipment and/or computing equipment.
      3. The production includes content damaging to YSTV’s image.
      4. The production poses serious ethical concerns which are potentially damaging to persons involved.
    2. In each event, the producer is expected to recognise the risk and cease the production. In the event they do not, the following members of committee have the ability to, as an executive decision, cease the production:
      1. For issues outlined in 17.1.1: Administration Director, Production Director, Station Director;
      2. For issues outlined in 17.1.2: Technical Director, Computing Director, Production Director, Station Director;
      3. For issues outlined in 17.1.3: Head of Presentation, Production Director, Station Director;
      4. For issues outlined in 17.1.4: Administration Director, Head of Presentation, Production Director, Station Director.
    3. Cessation is defined as the immediate halting of production, with equipment made safe and returned to the studio.
      1. For live broadcasts, this includes the immediate stoppage of the broadcast.
    4. The production may be reinstated at any time by the person responsible for the cessation, with the expectation that the issue has been resolved.
    5. If a person believes the cessation to have been unfair, they may appeal to the Station Director directly, but if this is not immediately revoked the appeal decision goes to the committee, with the possibility of the cessation being revoked if their appeal is upheld by a majority committee-only vote.
  18. When handling Scripted Intellectual Property, YSTV needs to be credited when YSTV equipment or the studio space has been used and hold the right to upload the finished content on the YSTV platforms.


Computing Policy

  1. Computing Service
    1. For any website maintenance that may affect availability of the website, the member responsible for the work must ensure that the website retains at minimum the same degree of functionality after maintenance as prior to maintenance, otherwise rollback the change or contact the Computing Team.
    2. Any Computing Service that is not public-facing should be secured by an authentication mechanism.
    3. Anything that is exposed on the public internet should be secured by HTTPS.
  2. Team
    1. Any member can request to join the computing team. Can join with director or deputy computing director.
    2. Computing Team members will have administrator privileges and dedicated accounts to the Computing Services where possible.
    3. Any member of the computing team can initiate IT Support requests on-behalf of YSTV, ensuring that the rest of the team is included in the support email.
  3. Meetings
    1. Chaired by the Computing Director, if they are unavailable the Deputy Computing Director will chair.
    2. Both the computing director and the deputy are required to attend; apologies need to be sent if not attending.
    3. A computing meeting should be held at least once a term, ideally per-week if possible.
    4. Can be called by anyone on the computing team.
    5. Unless in the case of an emergency, advance notice of at least 24 hours must be given for the meeting.
    6. The Deputy Computing Director or an appointee of the Computing Director/Deputy Computing Director should minute the meeting.

Technical Policy

  1. Meetings
    1. Chaired by the Technical Director
    2. Both the technical director and the deputy are required to attend; apologies need to be sent if not attending.
    3. A technical meeting should be held at least three times a term, ideally per-week if possible.
    4. Can be called by anyone on the technical team.
    5. Unless in the case of an emergency, advance notice of at least 24 hours must be given for the meeting.
    6. Appointee of the Technical Director should minute the meeting.

Marketing Policy

  1. Meetings
    1. Chaired by the Marketing Director, if they are unavailable a member of Marketing Team will chair.
    2. The Marketing Director, Head of Engagement, and Head of Outreach are required to attend; apologies need to be sent if not attending.
    3. A marketing meeting should be held at least three times a term, ideally per-week if possible.
    4. Can be called by anyone on the marketing team.
    5. Unless in the case of an emergency, advance notice of at least 24 hours must be given for the meeting.
    6. A member of Marketing Team should minute the meeting.

Meetings

YSTV meetings (referred to as Station Meetings) shall be held weekly during the term time of the University of York. At least 24 hours of notice is required to be given to all members.

  1. All Officers are required to attend Admin Meetings, or present a verbal or written apology to the Administration Director, Station Director, or their Team Leader, giving reasons for their absence.
  2. If an Officer does not attend, and fails to provide an apology, for three consecutive Media Group meetings, a vote of no-confidence may be taken in them, in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution.
  3. The meeting shall ordinarily be chaired by the Station Director. In their absence, the person present who is highest in the following list shall chair the meeting:
    1. Station Director
    2. Production Director
    3. Technical Director
    4. Computing Director
    5. Treasurer
    6. Marketing Director
    7. Head of Presentation
    8. Social Secretary
    9. Administration Director
  4. There are two separate Station Meetings: the “Admin Meeting” and the “Production Meeting”. Matters likely of interest only to those involved in the running of YSTV should be brought to the Admin Meeting, though any member may attend if they wish. The separation from the Production Meeting is to allow those members only interested in production work (direct involvement in shows) to attend only the section that interests them and avoid topics such as the passing of budget funds.
  5. The specific format of Admin Meetings is at the discretion of the Chair, however it is advised that they include:
    1. Apologies for absence
    2. Elections for vacant posts
    3. Officer Reports and Questions
    4. Any other business
  6. The Chair of the meeting may be required to defer the Chair to the next available person on the above list if they are deemed to be unfit to chair the meeting or have a perceived conflict of interest in the matter under discussion. The decision to defer the Chair shall be taken by a simple majority vote.
  7. All binding decisions regarding the Media Group (except where explicitly described elsewhere in the Constitution) shall be passed by a simple majority vote of quoracy except the Chair of the meeting. Proxy votes (via a secure and sufficiently real-time method) are permitted in the case of unavoidably absent officers, agreed at the start of the meeting. Members may abstain, in which case their vote does not count towards either side. In the event of an even split, the Chair of the meeting shall have the casting vote. After the vote, the Chair should announce that the motion has been carried or defeated, and the results and voting figures noted in the Minutes.
  8. Quorum for a Station Meeting shall be 20% of the total number of media group members or 10 members of the media group, whichever is greater.
  9. Votes should ordinarily be taken by show of hands, but any member of YSTV present at the meeting may request a secret ballot. In this case, the ballot should be counted by the Chair. The results shall be recorded by the Administration Director.
  10. The Administration Director should circulate copies of the Minutes of all previous meetings that have not been previously circulated through an electronically publicly available platform to all members. The Minutes should be circulated to the membership within two days of the Station Meeting. A member may contest that the Minutes are a true and accurate record of the events of the meeting, and a vote may be taken to amend the document. If amended, the new minutes shall be circulated as above.
  11. The Media Group shall hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) once per academic year, typically during week 3 of the Summer term. Ten days’ notice should be given in writing or by email to all members of the Media Group. The AGM has the full powers of an Admin Meeting and replaces it for that week.
  12. The outgoing Committee shall review the YSTV Constitution and Policy in advance of the AGM to determine if revisions are required to reflect current practice and conditions.
  13. The Admin Meeting may create (by majority vote) a working party to address specific matters. This must report to the Admin Meeting on request.

Elections

Annual YSTV elections take place in the week following the AGM to allow for appropriate time between meetings should any role definitions be updated. All YSTV officerships come up for election. The Officers shall serve from the end of the annual election until the end of the following annual election, subject to their resignation or being deprived of their officership by a vote of no confidence at an Admin Meeting.

  1. The Returning Officer shall be the Chair of the Station Meeting, as described above. They are entitled to vote in the elections or abstain as they wish. If the Returning Officer wishes to stand for an individual officership they must pass the Chair of the meeting to the Administration Director for the individual position. If both the Administration Director and Returning Officer are standing for the same position, the duty of Returning Officer for the position passes to the next most senior position.
  2. Only paid members of YSTV are eligible to stand.
  3. Candidates for Officer positions must have read the YSTV Constitution and Policy before standing for election.
  4. If more than one position is up for election, they will be decided in seniority order:
    1. Station Director
    2. Administration Director
    3. Production Director
    4. Technical Director
    5. Computing Director
    6. Marketing Director
    7. Treasurer
    8. Head of Presentation
    9. Social Secretary
    10. Head of Factual
    11. Head of Scripted
    12. Head of Commercial
    13. Head of Sport
    14. Head of Entertainment
    15. Training Officer
    16. Equipments Officer
    17. Deputy Computing Director
    18. Head of Engagement
    19. Head of Outreach
    20. Head of Archives
  5. All candidates shall be invited to give a speech, which is not longer than two minutes for Committee positions, other than Station Director, which would have a maximum of three minutes. For all other officerships they would have a maximum of one minute to speak. During each speech other candidates for the same officership shall be excluded from the room. Candidates should be invited to give speeches in alphabetical order by surname. When all of the candidates have given their speech, the candidates shall return to answer questions put to them jointly. The order of answering shall be determined by the Chair. Those running for a position are excluded from voting on said position.
  6. Voting in all elections shall be by secret ballot, according to the Single Transferrable Vote system, with the addition of an option to reopen nominations (commonly known as RON). However, if there is only one candidate standing for an officership, a vote of confidence may be taken by show of hands, with the candidate excluded from the room.
  7. Only paid members of YSTV present at the meeting are eligible to vote. An exception may be made, at the discretion of the Chair, to allow paid members to vote remotely in real-time via a secure connection.
  8. The Returning Officer may release the voting figures with the consent of all the candidates, or by request of a majority of two-thirds of the membership present at the meeting.
  9. Any candidate who is elected to an officership shall be deemed to have resigned at the end of the meeting from any other officership that they may hold in YSTV. Their new officership commences from the end of the meeting.

Equipment for External Filming

  1. Live broadcasts from locations external to the Station must be authorised and coordinated by the Technical Director and Computing Director.
  2. Any person taking equipment from the Station for YSTV business is responsible for returning the equipment and restoring it to its original state at the request of the Technical Team. This includes both booking out equipment online through the designated booking system.
  3. Before taking any equipment off campus, the equipment must be booked out online and signed out.

Equipment Loans

  1. If any member of YSTV removes any equipment, it must be signed out on an Equipment Borrowing Form, and either registered in the Bookings system or (where it is unbookable) known to a Comittee Member. When it is returned, the form must be signed by a member of YSTV to state that the equipment has been returned in the same condition as when it was lent out. The member who has borrowed the equipment is responsible for the equipment and also for returning it to its original state.
  2. Technical test equipment may not be borrowed from YSTV for non-YSTV purposes without the consent of the Technical Director. The above procedures listed under Equipment Borrowing must also be followed.
  3. YUSU societies may borrow equipment providing that full responsibility is taken for its safe and timely return (normally within 24 hours), and it is signed out by a Team Leader, and passed at an Admin Meeting beforehand. Before equipment is lent out the Treasurer should be consulted regarding charges.
  4. Any person or group making use of YSTV equipment for non-YSTV purposes should be charged according to fees laid down by the Treasurer, with advice from the Technical team.
  5. It is the responsibility of the borrower to protect the YSTV equipment in their care. In the event of damage to YSTV equipment while on loan not covered by insurance, the borrowing party will be charged for the repair or replacement of the damaged equipment. This charge may be reduced or waived by majority vote at an Admin Meeting.
  6. Any person that wishes to borrow individually-owned equipment or items that has been temporarily lent to YSTV for use in their work, must additionally contact the original owner of said equipment and/or items. The owner must give written permission before the equipment/item can be taken out and used. These items will not appear on the Online Booking System.

Station Keys

  1. YSTV key-card access to the Station is the responsibility of the Administration Director.
  2. The key list is a list of YSTV members who are allowed to hold key-card access to the Station, which is managed by James Porters. The list may be accessed at any time at ystv.co.uk/keys. Anyone not on the key list will not be allowed key-card access.
  3. All officers of YSTV should be on the key list. The Station Director or Administration Director may add any member to the key list. The Administration Director is responsible for maintaining the list and members are advised to contact the Station Director or Administration Director if they would like to be added to the list.
  4. The Station Director may remove any member from the key list for reasons including, but not limited to, breaking rules laid down in YSTV’s Constitution or Policy. This may be appealed against at an Admin Meeting.
  5. Ordinary members who wish to have key-card access should consult the Station Director or Administration Director.
  6. Any member found to hold unauthorised YSTV key-card access will be asked to surrender it. If key-card access is not surrendered after a formal request, disciplinary action may be taken in conjunction with YUSU, the University, or the Police.

Purchases

  1. All agreed purchases made on behalf of YSTV will be refunded to the purchaser from YSTV’s YUSU grant or Own Funds account upon completion and submission of a claim form via the YUSU Finance System in accordance with their guidelines.
  2. Any spending of money from YSTV’s accounts must be approved by a simple majority vote at an Admin Meeting, except in the following cases:
    1. One-off purchases not exceeding £60 may be approved by a majority vote at a Tech or Computing Meeting
    2. Where an Admin Meeting cannot take place before the spending is due, the purchase may be made with the consent of a majority of the Committee. In this case the spend must be announced and minuted at the next Admin Meeting.
    3. Purchases that have specific funding from an external provider ring-fenced for them, for example monies applied for and received from the YUSU Media Grant or YuFund, may be made without the need for a vote. In this case the spend must be announced and minuted at the next Admin Meeting.
    4. Purchases for a specific ratified production, not exceeding £20 (across all purchases made for that production), may be authorised by the production’s designated producer or the Production Director.
      1. For the purposes of this paragraph, individual episodes of a recurring or episodic series are not considered distinct productions, and the £20 limit applies to the entire series.
  3. The treasurer (or Station Director where the Treasurer is unavailable) must be consulted before any spending is done under sub-clauses 1,2 or 3.
  4. All new purchases of equipment must be added to the inventory/insurance list by the Treasurer in liaison with the Technical or Computing Director.

The Station

The Station must not be entered by any student without the presence of a member whose name is on the key list.

  1. The producer of a programme is responsible for the tidiness of the Station at the end of that programme. All members of YSTV are responsible for ensuring that the Station is kept tidy, and is a safe place to be.
  2. Any person choosing to eat or drink in the Station becomes fully responsible for any damage caused to any equipment as a result. See item 14 for regulations regarding alcohol. The privilege to eat in the Station may be removed by any team leader for an individual or as a whole, due to continued failure to clean up after oneself.
  3. The Technical Director may withdraw any item of YSTV’s equipment from use for technical maintenance or repair. This may be questioned at an Admin Meeting.
  4. All members are responsible for placing their rubbish into the bins provided. All members of YSTV are responsible for ensuring that the litter bins within YSTV are emptied. This is to be coordinated by the Treasurer and the Administration Director in liaison with the University cleaning service.
  5. The Treasurer, Technical Director and Computing Director are responsible for ensuring that all items owned by YSTV are insured and for maintaining a list of this equipment.
  6. Upon entrance to the Station, it is the responsibility of the key-card holders present to ensure that all persons within the Station abide by the policy defined here for the use of YSTV.
  7. Only those persons associated with the activities of the television service are permitted to make use of the Station.
  8. No fewer than two people can occupy the Station if work is to be carried out on the internals of any mains-powered equipment.
  9. Any member changing stream output away from the Video Server becomes responsible for all output until the Video Server is returned to stream.
  10. No modification is to be made to the structure of the station, and no University-owned furniture is to be removed without the prior consent of the James College administrator.
  11. No smoking is permitted within the Station.
  12. The consumption of alcoholic beverages within the Station is forbidden. However a reasonable quantity of alcohol (less than 2 units) may be consumed within the Studio in front of a camera for the purposes of broadcast. Where possible it is advised that a substance similar in appearance (e.g. apple juice) is substituted.
  13. Anyone in a state of intoxication should be removed from the Station for the duration of their intoxication by the most senior member present at the time.
  14. On no account is the Station to be used for the purpose of sleeping.
  15. Upon leaving the Station the RCD-protected power circuits (1, 2, 3, 4) must be switched off, unless any power equipment which must temporarily remain on, e.g. that being used for stream output; the window must be closed; the blinds must be shut; and all doors locked.


External Websites

  1. The Computing Team are ultimately responsible for all online accounts held by YSTV on external websites. The passwords may be requested by any Team Leader or by the Station Director.
  2. Any member of the YSTV officership, including non-Committee roles, may request the account details of YSTV’s social media accounts from the Marketing Director. The granting of these details may be refused by the Marketing Director, Computing Director, or Station Director if they feel the individual in question should not be allowed access. At a Team Leader’s discretion, they may provide details or access to a trusted Ordinary Member in order for them to perform a specific role in a Production.
  3. Any show may request publicity on one of YSTV’s social media accounts by means of contacting the Marketing Director. The response to the request is the responsibility of the Marketing Director.
  4. Any show may create an account with a social media website or similar service, however this shall be coordinated with the Marketing Director, and the access details shall be stored on file by the Computing Director. Accounts for YSTV shows must acknowledge their connection to YSTV and link to YSTV’s official account on the relevant service or YSTV’s website.
  5. Passwords for all external accounts should be changed within two weeks after committee elections, to ensure that new committee members have full access to their addresses. Contact details should be checked to ensure they are not locked to an address that no longer exists or is no longer associated with YSTV.
  6. YSTV accounts created with any organisation or website must be registered to a position-named email address (e.g. station.director@ystv.co.uk) or a dedicated alias (e.g. news@ystv.co.uk), not a personal YSTV email address.
  7. Publishing any content on websites other than YSTV’s own on behalf of YSTV or a Production must be coordinated with the Marketing Director. Publishing or re-publishing YSTV programmes on other services must not take place before the initial release of the content on the YSTV website. All content published on-demand by YSTV (on ystv.co.uk and external sites) must include license information, preferably in the form of a relevant version of the standard licence slide graphic.
  8. In the case of co-productions, terms of publication and republication will be defined in the Production Agreement.
  9. Embedding YSTV content does not require permission, and the embed code for videos is freely available on the video page. A separate credit and link back to ystv.co.uk is required.

The Constitution

  1. It is the Administration Director and Computing Director’s joint responsibility to ensure that whenever the Constitution is amended, the out of date copies are destroyed or marked as invalid, and that a new edition is published.
  2. The YSTV Constitution should be made available in electronic form on YSTV’s website.
  3. The Administration Director should also ensure that YUSU hold an up-to-date copy of the YSTV Constitution.

The Policy

  1. The YSTV Policy sets out the rules, regulations, and procedures governing the day-to-day use of YSTV’s facilities and equipment. It covers matters such as equipment loans, production guidelines, charges for commercial services, safety, security, purchasing, and other such matters. Amendments to the Policy should be discussed at an AGM, EGM or Admin Meeting and may be voted on by a simple majority vote of those members present at the meeting.
  2. It is the Administration Director and Computing Director’s joint responsibility to ensure that whenever the Policy is amended, the out of date copies are destroyed or marked as invalid, and that a new edition is published.
  3. YSTV’s Policy should be made available in electronic form on YSTV’s website.
  4. Any amendments successfully made to the policy must be communicated to all committee members
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