Council / Broadcasting council meetings live would ‘open up the chamber’
THERE are hopes that the decision making process within Shetland Islands Council could become more transparent if plans for live streaming meetings come to fruition.
A business justification case for a “fully integrated” system to broadcast public meetings is going in front of councillors this week.
It seeks funding for £70,000 for one-off deployment costs, plus £25,000 in annual revenue licence costs.
At the moment council meetings are held online via MS Teams. The main committee meetings are recorded and published on the council’s YouTube channel.
In more recent times councillors have been present in Lerwick Town Hall, while socially distanced, and some link in from home alongside members of the media.
The pandemic has essentially forced the council to go digital quicker than anticipated, but the current set-up is not deemed appropriate to let the public view meetings live.
At a meeting of Shetland Islands Council’s policy and resources committee on Monday, elected members said live broadcasts should give greater transparency.
“It improves democracy, and it improves accountability in terms of the public being able to see exactly what decisions we’re making and why we are making them, and get the all round broader picture of what decisions councillors are making,” councillor Ryan Thomson said.
“It might potentially open the doors for folk considering standing for council, but may have transport issues.”
North Mainland councillor Emma Macdonald said broadcasting live would “open up the chamber” and hopefully increase the public’s interest in the decision making process.
She said what the media chose to report from meetings is often “not a full picture of what actually happens”.
Some of the existing council meeting videos on YouTube vary in popularity, however, with a three-hour full council meeting in December for instance only viewed 36 times so far.
Become a supporter of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider start paying for their dose of the latest local news delivered straight to their PC, tablet or mobile phone.
Journalism comes at a price and because that price is not being paid in today’s rapidly changing media world, most publishers - national and local - struggle financially despite very healthy audience figures.
Most online publishers have started charging for access to their websites, others have chosen a different route. Shetland News currently has over 600 supporters who are all making small voluntary financial contributions. All funds go towards covering our cost and improving the service further.
Your contribution will ensure Shetland News can: -
- Bring you the headlines as they happen;
- Stay editorially independent;
- Give a voice to the community;
- Grow site traffic further;
- Research and publish more in-depth news, including more Shetland Lives features.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a supporter of Shetland News by either making a single payment or monthly subscription.
Support us from as little as £3 per month – it only takes a minute to sign up. Thank you.
Already a supporter? Sign in to hide this message.
