08/11/2003 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• • • City Scope is a program that staff and cities can be very proud of. Aric Otzelberger has done a phenomenal job in developing and improving both the look and the content of the program. In examining what could be done to further improve our local news coverage, staff kept returning to one issue...the name of the show. When City Scope was first created it was a half -hour news magazine program. Now it is a weekly news program. We've found that the name City Scope isn't very descriptive or intuitive as the name of a news program. Staff feels very strongly that the program should be renamed the "North Metro News." No explaining necessary. The name is clear, concise, and to the point. Our goal is to transition to our new name as a part of our move to the new facility. We will produce video promos and teasers months in advance of the change. Staff will develop new logos, find new music, and of course, develop the news set as part of the three new permanent staff sets already discussed in this report. The unveiling of the new look and name of our news program will coincide with the move to the new facility. The potential uses of the I -Net represent a brave, new, unexplored world for us. According to our franchise, the upgrade of the I -Net must be completed by July 15, 2004. It will include a hybrid fiber /coaxial infrastructure capable of transferring large amounts of data. Currently the I -Net is used only for the transmission of video programming. (The Government and School District channels.) It has the potential to do a great deal more, and to save cities quite a bit of money. Once the system is finished, and we have a detailed map, we will need to design a system for routing information from institution to institution. We will need to hire a consultant to do so. Fortunately for us, two individuals largely responsible for the development and design of our I -Net are no longer with Comcast and are available as consultants.