Broadcast Center Would Cost $500,000

By Jon A. Brake

How can you have "good government" without a propaganda center? The City of Manhattan would like to bring you "good
government" but it is going to cost.

Manhattan City Commissioner Ed Klimek told the Intergovernmal Meeting Monday that Cox Communications was providing
a free Cable TV channel to the City, School District and Kansas State University and now is the time for a Manhattan
Community Communication Center. This would be a center to produce programming for the three cable channels. Start-up
costs would be $350,000. Annual personnel costs would be $200,000 and annual operations would run $80,000.

The University suggested the Bob Dole Center at KSU has space available with all of the equipment. That idea was rejected
because "The Community needed a place they could call their own." It was also suggested that parking would be problem at
the University.

Here is a proposal to develop given to the members:

The Manhattan Community Communication Center would afford the community the ability to communicate and connect with
itself through a broad range of community-based programming opportunities.

Broadcasts of community events, special speakers, and entertainment performances are only a few of the possibilities.

School district activities, school programs and student productions could be broadcast.

Community groups and volunteers could be trained to produce their own programs on topics or issues of public concern, or
to provide programs of direct interest to their members.

City and County governmental bodies and offices could communicate directly with citizens on important issues.

Regularly scheduled news and public affairs programs staffed by student journalists and producers would provide
much-needed local coverage of the news and information vital to the Manhattan and Riley County community.

Reporting on public affairs will be more than just covering city council meetings, as programs produced in advance can put
issues and matters decided in context.

The Manhattan Community Communication Center would be offered jointly by multiple community entities,
including:

City of Manhattan

Riley County

Manhattan-Ogden U.S.D. 383

A nonprofit corporation created to operate the center

Cox Communications

The A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications

Kansas State University

The Center would have multiple areas of operation:

Primary service would be a community cable channel similar to public access television of the past, but significantly enhanced.

One to three traditional PEG (public, educational, governmental) cable channels provided.

University news and information cable channel would serve as a training ground for students who would take courses at,
serve internships at, and/or be employed by the center.

Estimated Costs for the Center would include:

Annual Personnel costs +/- $200,000

Annual Operations costs +/- $80,000

Start-up Equipment costs +/- $350,000