I'm in ur monitor, makings ur laws
(Headline cultural reference for the humor impaired.)
Listening to legislators may not be enough. A House panel says you should see how the sausage is made.
From our friends at the Associated Press:
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A state House panel says the chamber should broadcast live video on the Internet of its daily sessions and some committee meetings.A House committee approved the idea Thursday, sending the findings to House Speaker Joe Hackney for consideration.
Democratic Rep. Cullie Tarleton of Watauga County, the committee's chairman, said all the equipment should produce broadcast-quality video.
He wants television stations to be able to use the footage, and said someday the equipment may be used to broadcast sessions on television.
The Legislature currently provides only audio from the House and Senate floor and two committee rooms. Setting up video coverage could cost the state more than $1 million in upfront costs, and hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
Comments (6)
To report abuse of the comment feature on this site, please use the feedback form at the bottom of any page.
I'm listening to (and recording) the via audio as I type this, and I would LOVE for the sessions to be televised (and streamed on the Internet) because it would help raise awareness of just exactly what is going on in Raleigh.
Posting videos of the proceedings will be a boon.
Posted on December 18, 2008 12:08 PM
Just curious...what would you get out of the video that you don't get from the audio?
Posted on December 18, 2008 12:16 PM
I can has Senate debatez?
Posted on December 18, 2008 8:48 PM
Broadcasting their sessions sounds like a great idea until you see the cost. How many people would even watch the broadcast? Would it be worth $1 million that could be appropriated for other, higher priority issues?
Srs bizniz aside, that headline is epic win.
Posted on December 19, 2008 10:52 AM
Andrew: I think it may take an act of ceiling cat, or at least a successful run in the House, to get the Senate video online.
Kitty/all: As someone who regularly has the opportunity to see the debates in person, I can tell you the visual doesn't add a lot.
Now if they were to take that $1 million and develop a document tracking system that immediately displayed amendments, hand-outs-and the like, THAT would be something.
Posted on December 19, 2008 11:02 AM
Setting up video coverage could cost the state more than $1 million in upfront costs, and hundreds of thousands of dollars annually* Mark
Who cares what it costs! Good government is always open to the Public via the net or the airwaves. The trick is to view the Reps when they go a International House of Pancakes restroom so we can all see open corruption in action........
Posted on December 24, 2008 3:41 PM