Spring Break
Eyeing up government
Wisconsin Eye airs unedited footage of state government proceedings, hopes to improve public awareness, understanding of state
Jacob McCormick
Issue date: 10/8/07 Section: Campus News
With 70 cameras set up inside the Wisconsin state capitol building already, a network aims to provide constant coverage of the state's government.
After Wisconsin Eye launched on the Internet in May, WisconsinEye President and CEO Christopher Long said the network began broadcasting coverage of the state Assembly and Senate floor sessions along with the Joint Finance Committee meetings.
In July, Charter Communications and Time Warner picked it up and have since aired the station on cable that serves about 75 percent of Wisconsin, Long said.
"We're able to produce two live events at any particular time," he said. "The feed is live on the Internet and is on delay on cable … all the coverage is gavel-to-gavel unedited."
In order to expand coverage, Long said the network plans to add two additional control rooms at its production facility in Madison so it can produce four events out of the capitol at any time. Also, a state-wide public affairs network is in future plans for the company.
"Our broader mission is to cover civic Wisconsin as a whole," he said. "A lot happens all over the state that has to do with community and local activities."
Long said a key aspect to the project is its ability to rely on private money.
"Out of the 24 different states that have public affairs networks, we're the only one that doesn't rely on taxpayer's money," he said. "We rely on donation to fund everything from the cameras to the production facilities."
Long said WisconsinEye recently began covering the state Supreme Court and portions of the executive branch in addition to its coverage of the legislature.
"The idea is to provide a general, unedited window to the public," Long said. "We cover all floor activity and certain conference committee meetings, including the recent ones surrounding the budget process."
Junior Allen Crandall said the idea behind WisconsinEye is one that should bode well with the public.
"It's probably a good thing so the public knows what the government is doing," Crandall said. "It would be interesting to see some of the individual reactions."
After Wisconsin Eye launched on the Internet in May, WisconsinEye President and CEO Christopher Long said the network began broadcasting coverage of the state Assembly and Senate floor sessions along with the Joint Finance Committee meetings.
In July, Charter Communications and Time Warner picked it up and have since aired the station on cable that serves about 75 percent of Wisconsin, Long said.
"We're able to produce two live events at any particular time," he said. "The feed is live on the Internet and is on delay on cable … all the coverage is gavel-to-gavel unedited."
In order to expand coverage, Long said the network plans to add two additional control rooms at its production facility in Madison so it can produce four events out of the capitol at any time. Also, a state-wide public affairs network is in future plans for the company.
"Our broader mission is to cover civic Wisconsin as a whole," he said. "A lot happens all over the state that has to do with community and local activities."
Long said a key aspect to the project is its ability to rely on private money.
"Out of the 24 different states that have public affairs networks, we're the only one that doesn't rely on taxpayer's money," he said. "We rely on donation to fund everything from the cameras to the production facilities."
Long said WisconsinEye recently began covering the state Supreme Court and portions of the executive branch in addition to its coverage of the legislature.
"The idea is to provide a general, unedited window to the public," Long said. "We cover all floor activity and certain conference committee meetings, including the recent ones surrounding the budget process."
Junior Allen Crandall said the idea behind WisconsinEye is one that should bode well with the public.
"It's probably a good thing so the public knows what the government is doing," Crandall said. "It would be interesting to see some of the individual reactions."
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