Saturday, January 26, 2019

Local and County Government Television


Last Sunday, the News-Gazette highlighted the folks behind the scenes of local government television in Champaign, Urbana, and the County government offices. Here are some links and excerpts from the News-Gazette article available in full here:

City of Champaign:
Links:
Champaign Government Television
Champaign City Council webpage.
CGTV City Council videos webpage here.

Excerpt:
Working in a small room off to the side of the chambers with four monitors, a laptop and a small touchscreen in front of them, Jeff Hamilton and Janet Ahern make sure the quality stays high.

The duo, who make CGTV run on a daily basis, control five cameras — two facing the audience and three facing the council.

During a meeting last Tuesday, Hamilton monitored the sound coming out of the dozens of microphones in the chamber with a touch-screen while Ahern flipped from camera to camera, switching between several pre-programmed positions and adjusting them with a joystick.

City of Urbana:
Links:
Urbana Public Television
Urbana City Council (with links to City Council meeting videos)

Excerpt:
Walking back and forth between a small studio and the main council chambers, Jason Liggett prepares to air Urbana’s city council meeting live online and on UPTV, as he’s done for the past 12 years.

It’s a routine repeated every Monday council is in session, plus on nights of any important board and commission meetings, which Liggett says happen more frequently than in other Illinois cities he’s checked in on.

For many, the image of public access television is a quick flash before changing the channel. But if you want to get a pulse of the community, it’s the best way to find sermons from local churches, keep up with city affairs or even watch some semi-pro wrestling.

Champaign County:
Links from the County Clerk's webpage:
County Board Meeting Broadcast Schedule & Airtimes

The meetings are replayed on UPTV, Comcast Channel 6, AT&T U-Verse Channel 99 or online at http://urbanapublictelevision.yolasite.com/ airs the most recent Champaign County Board Meeting, Committee Meeting, Special Meeting or Study Session each Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m.

The meetings are also replayed on the City of Champaign Access Channel, Comcast Channel 5, AT&T U-Verse Channel 99 or online at http://champaignil.gov/city-managers-office/communications-division/cgtvvideos/ on the Tuesday following the meeting at 12:00 p.m.

The meetings are streamed live at www.ustream.tv/channel/champco1776

The meetings are also uploaded to YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/champaigncountyclerk at a later date.

Excerpt:
Bryan Allison attends Champaign County Board meetings, but his presence likely goes unnoticed by many.

After all, the county systems administrator for administrative services is hidden from sight by a one-way mirror. Positioned behind where County Executive Darlene Kloeppel sits, he’s manning the control booth for the four mounted cameras that film the happenings in the Lyle Shields meeting room...

Armed with a cheat sheet that tells him which camera is best to film whichever county board member is speaking at any particular point in time, Allison determines what viewers at home see during the government meetings.

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