ABOUT 
Background:
Davis Cable Channel 17 was conceived of at a board retreat of the Davis Chamber of Commerce, one of the Chamber's missions is to bring the Davis County community together and create more awareness of the wonderful place to live and work. The concept, created by Chris Dallin, the CEO of the Davis Chamber of Commerce, has been worked on since November of 2002. Finally, the Channel will begin broadcasting its signal beginning on October 1, 2004. The Cable Channel Committee that oversees Channel 17 in Davis County wants to ensure that the residents of the County understand what the channel will do and how it will work. Each resident in Davis County with cable access will receive the channel; it will consist of community events and information both in slate form (like a PowerPoint slide) and video. An editorial committee representing the communities in Davis County will govern this information. The editorial policy, already in place, ensures that quality information and programming will take place. The channel will broadcast talk shows, events, and voter education, always allowing both sides of the issue to be broadcast. After all, it will be critical to broadcast quality, true information and allow the voter to make the decision on what is right for them. Quality information will be the job of the cable channel, interpreting that information will be the job of the cable watcher.
The Davis County Cable Channel committee is purely volunteer and consists of some of the most recognized experience in Utah broadcasting, among the committee members are successful business people, city representatives, a current radio announcer, a former WB weather personality, a Silver Microphone Award winner, a Tele Award winner, two Emmy Award winners, and a retired NFL football television broadcaster. Not to mention the former voice of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and current Vice President of the Utah Travel Council, Spence Kinard, in my opinion the most profound voice in Utah.
Cable Channel 17 will be the voice of the cities and the county in Davis County. For the most part, the channel will consist of information and events that carry no controversy. Events like the buffalo round-up on Antelope Island, meet the candidate nights, city parades, plays, concerts, high school and college sporting events and there is even talk of a Davis County video festival with videos to be shown on the channel with a Davis County focus. From time to time it will become valuable for voter education information to be broadcast and it is the responsibility of the editorial board to provide all aspects of the issue. If you can imagine such a controversial issue as Fluoride in Davis County, the only way to present the issue is to allow both sides to present facts about the issue and let the voter sort out and make their own decision on this important issue.
Even though the Channel will be part of the Davis Chamber of Commerce, and make no mistake the Chamber takes positions on issues, the Cable Channel will always be neutral supplying good information on the topics chosen by the editorial board.
Thanks to the generous contributions of the Davis Applied Technology College, Channel 17's studio will be located at the DATC; they have provided cameras, lighting, and location for equipment and the filming of certain programs. Not to mention the opportunity for students to learn and participate, in short Channel 17 will truly be community channel promoting public, educational and governmental information.
Davis County Cable 17 will provide one of the best resources for real time information, whether it is information on how to donate blankets and food to those displaced from their homes after a fire, or a High School Football game.
Like every responsible government entity, the channel will live off of volunteerism, donations, and sponsorship. These private donations will leverage the finances in such a way that we will be able to provide an incredible resource to the community. The cities in Davis County, for the most part are not accessing their residents for the cable channel, rather using marketing and contingency funds to fund the channel, in contrast other cities across the nation charge their residents specifically for the cable channel.
Those supporting the channel understand the tremendous potential for economic development and quality community information. Throughout the last several years, Davis County has recognized that it is a strong force in the state of Utah; Channel 17 is another way that the county will become closer, stronger, and more educated about the incredible people that live and things that happen in Davis County. The Cable Channel committee is taking voter education seriously and will closely monitor voter turnout on issues.
We need your help, we need your donations to ensure that the funding is in place to allow the channel to work, sponsorships and volunteerism opportunities are available, get involved and make our community a better place to live and work. Businesses can sponsor programs like high-school sports, the arts, parades; there has even been talk about a filmed physics day at Lagoon and other events throughout the community. For more information please contact the Cable Channel located in the Davis Chamber of Commerce offices at 295-6944.
