Well, it seems like People-Powered Media assisted in bringing the silliness surrounding broadcasting local government meetings to light. The email response to the video presentation outlining the claims by the Mayor Boughton and Common Council President Joe Cavo was incredible. In a matter of days, the video has been seem by over 100 people and generated over 70 emails in support.

Fortunately, the mayor has somewhat seen the light and is now buying the equipment needed to broadcast the meetings from City Hall to public access. Although this is a step in the right direction, I really hope those who fought for getting the shows on the air don't stop now..and here's why.

1.) The mayor only agreed to purchase the playback equipment needed to broadcast the meetings on the air. This DOES NOT take into consideration, the video camera(s), tripods, mics, and audio cables (to hook into the sound system at City Hall) needed to record the meetings. As of right now, the volunteers use one camera and one mic from Comcast and lets just say, it's a little outdated. In order to do this right and have the professional quality that Boughton and Cavo stated they wanted, the city really needs to purchase the following:

* One or two digital cameras that have the capability to attach a boom mic to it (for non-geeks, a boom mic can pick up sounds from a far distance. In other words, you don't need to have a normal mic near someone's mouth to pick up their voice, just point the boom mic in their direction and walla),

* Tripods

* Equipment needed to transfer a digital video signal into the computer (guys, the age of videotape is gone. If you use a computer, you can store it on DVD AND transfer it back to VHS tape if needed). This involves buying a firewire card (if the computer didn't come with one).

Let me give you an example of how easy this is.

I use the following for all the personal video footage you see here (i.e. State of the city speech).

* Canon ZR500 (aprox 250.00)
* Macintosh Powerbook G4 (2002 model aprox 1,200)
* digital tapes (3 for 15)
* iMovie (free)
* iDVD (free)

Now, you do the math. Note that I don't own a boom mic and I can easily pick up all the audio in Common Council chambers from the back of the room while the audience is talking.

Now, here's the real kicker...The city doesn't really need to buy all this stuff. It's already available at the Danbury High School...in fact the school has a AUDIO/VIDEO department!

Are you thinking what I've been thinking for the last year...why doesn't the city just do what Ridgefield do and set up an internship program between City Hall and the High School!!! Not only would this solve everyone's concerns, it would give the kids at DHS a chance to get some real on-hand experience in broadcasting.

This idea is TOO easy and I'm SURE I'm not the only person who thought this...remember, our Mayor is a former schoolteacher you know. The ball could have been rolling on this back in the summer when the unnecessary stonewalling was going on and these meetings on the air by January; hopefully, I, with the assistance of readers and supporters, can propose this to our local officials and make this a reality.

Don't let this issue be placed under the rug. Purchasing equipment is a good first step but it's not the last...in fact it's far from it. All the equipment will do is give the volunteers a place to drop their tapes off so the entire meeting can be broadcast. They still have to use their old cameras and mics to get the job done and as I heard from many, the amount of money it will cost for the equipment purchased in NO WHERE near the 60-90,000 dollars Boughton estimated. In fact, it should cost well under 6,000.

Make sure to hold the mayor accountable for his words: he wanted professional quality on the air so tell him to purchase the professional quality equipment needed to give him the results he wanted to achieve. Also, PLEASE remember that it was the mayor and Joe Cavo who were SO against this whole thing as early as two weeks ago and all of the sudden, 24-48 hours before his state of the city speech, he alerts everyone that not only is he buying the equipment, but he addresses public broadcasting of meetings in HIS state of the city speech (after stonewalling for over 6 months). If he's NOW going to try to use this as a feather in his hat, lets make sure he goes all the way before he takes credit for broadcasting meeting in his re-election mailers.

UPDATE: I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that WCSU has an audio/visual department and could do an internship program with the city also.