Local Government TV

▼

Friday, March 05, 2010

Northampton County Council Livestream Draws 250 Viewers

Media maven Jeff Pooley has spoken in favor of it. So has Morning Call columnist and blogger Bill White. I've been pushing the idea for years.

Practically no attempt has been made to tell the public that Northampton County Council are now being webcast. I think there may have been one small article about it in one of the local papers. No one has even told the county workforce.

In speaking against webcasts, LC Comm'r David Jones huffed, "There's not a huge demand, beating on the door, for this." Well, guess what? After last night's meeting, IT Director Al Jordan reports that 250 people had tuned in to the livestream. That's twice the most attended meeting in the last five years, when a little over a hundred people squeezed into the peanut gallery. So taht unobtrusive camera does promote an interest in local government.

Now you can watch the saved video, too. The last three meetings have been posted on the County Council webpage. Click on "County Council Minutes," and you'll be taken to a page from which you can view the entire meeting, or just a segment.
at

6 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 5, 2010 at 12:56 AM

    Just checked out the videos of past meetings for the first time. LOVE IT! But can the County hide the video link any more? I practically had to hire a private detective to find the link to it. It should be more prominent, maybe appear also on the home page. Click here to see the lastest Council meeting. It's the most interesting and important part of the website in my humble opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMarch 5, 2010 at 2:31 AM

    The Morning Call quoted a IT official who stated less than 50 people watched the videos so far. They also said it is impossible to tell how long they tuned in or if they hit it accidentally looking for something else.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bernie O'HareMarch 5, 2010 at 2:34 AM

    3 AM troll,

    The information I just provided is accurate. Whatever account you have read was not written after last night's meeting.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMarch 5, 2010 at 8:18 AM

    There should be a link to the video site on the home page. A "new" starburst with a video camera icon and caption "Council Meeting Video" would be great. Otherwise it is harder to find than a peanut in a box of Cracker Jacks.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bernie O'HareMarch 5, 2010 at 8:22 AM

    Good point. Al Jordan did tell me they would be putting a link on the home page, which is where it belongs.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousMarch 5, 2010 at 12:09 PM

    i love reality tv. can we intersperse interviews w/council members?

    ReplyDelete

You own views are appreciated, especially if they differ from mine. But remember, commenting is a privilege, not a right. I will delete personal attacks or off-topic remarks at my discretion. Comments that play into the tribalism that has consumed this nation will be declined. So will comments alleging voter fraud unless backed up by concrete evidence. If you attack someone personally, I expect you to identify yourself. I will delete criticisms of my comment policy, vulgarities, cut-and-paste jobs from other sources and any suggestion of violence towards anyone. I will also delete sweeping generalizations about mainstream parties or ideologies, i.e. identity politics. My decisions on these matters are made on a case by case basis, and may be affected by my mood that day, my access to the blog at the time the comment was made or other information that isn’t readily apparent.