The webcast that couldn't

January 4, 2007

THE CONSTITUTIONAL Convention on Tuesday was one of the most widely anticipated legislative sessions of recent years in Massachusetts. Thousands of people wanted to watch it live, but they could not tune in to Channel 44, as they had for the past 22 years. Instead, they encountered an incoherent transmission on the House web site. Both the House and Senate need to enter the modern communications era and make their sessions easily watchable on the Internet and television.

Massachusetts legislators have only to look to Connecticut as an example. That state established a nonprofit corporation in 1999 that offers both House and Senate sessions over the Internet ( ctn.state.ct.us), on cable television, and via podcasts. Legislative committee hearings are covered, plus special programming on state government. "We have become the state public affairs network, like C-SPAN," said Paul Giguere, president of the Connecticut Public Affairs Network, in a telephone interview yesterday.

Contrast that with the pitiful state of public access to legislative proceedings in Massachusetts. The Senate does not allow its sessions to be broadcast at all, while the House abandoned a tried-and-true 22-year arrangement with WGBH for broadcasts over Channel 44 in favor of an inferior web site.

The Channel 44 service did cost $300,000 a year, relied on aging equipment, and went off-air at 6 p.m. for regular programming, though telecasts could be extended by special arrangement. At least the sessions could be watched by thousands of people at the same time. When 30,000 people tried to view the constitutional convention debate on gay marriage Tuesday on the House website (housetv .hou.state.ma.us), they endured gaps in sound, picture freezes, and blurry video. Public access programming should be designed precisely for times of peak public interest.

After an hour or so, technicians made adjustments to minimize the video stuttering, but the experience was still inferior to conventional television. Yesterday, when the House was swearing in new members, the webcast didn't experience any problem, when it no doubt had far few viewers.

The Connecticut network costs $2 million a year, which comes from a small portion of a state tax on cable television proceeds. There being no similar tax in Massachusetts, the money will be harder to find. House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi and Senate President Robert Travaglini should work together to provide the funding, end the Senate blackout on telecasts of its work, and arrange for telecasts to be carried by cable companies.

Massachusetts prides itself on being technologically advanced, but regarding public access to its proceedings, the Legislature has taken a step back from the Channel 44 service. It is an embarrassment. Legislators ought to remedy this woeful condition before their constituents have to endure another stop-and-start webcast.