"The materials now bearing on the public mind will infallibly restore it to its republican soundness... if the knowledge of facts can only be disseminated among the people."
- Thomas Jefferson, 1799
If a tree falls in a forest, and nobody hears, does it make a sound?
If a state holds open meetings and people cannot attend, are they really open?
Like many of you, I live in a big state. Richmond, the state capital, is a couple of hours away from me by car, and even further for citizens living in places like the southwestern panhandle. So, even though the Commonwealth has an open meetings law, it is effectively physically impossible for most of us to attend sessions of the legislature, committee meetings and the other public gatherings where our state is governed. Even those lucky enough to live close enough to the state capital to attend meetings run into the difficulty that most sessions and meetings are held during "normal business hours", when most of us have to be at our "normal business."
On the other hand, a sailor on an aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean on the other side of the world, can see the U.S. House and Senate in session, many committee meetings and other public events. The reason, of course, is C-SPAN.
The cable television industry created C-SPAN (Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network) in 1979 to provide live, gavel-to-gavel coverage of the U.S. House of Representatives. Since those early days, C-SPAN has grown into a diverse information service that provides public affairs programming 24 hours a day in a variety of formats.
On its web site, C-SPAN outlines its mission: "to air unedited, balanced views of government and public policy forums, and to provide viewers with direct access to elected officials, decision-makers and journalists." If that's a good idea for our federal government, and it is, then it's certainly a good idea for all of its states.
We need a "StateSPAN" (State Public Affairs Network) in each of our states. StateSPAN would provide live, uninterrupted coverage of the legislature in session, legislative committee meetings and other important state events. Initially, it can be provided over the Internet through streaming media, and made available by satellite to cable and satellite providers and broadcast stations in the Commonwealth.
The exact organization of each StateSPAN will need to be decided. C-SPAN is a private, nonprofit business. Its operating funds are derived from monthly fees paid by affiliated cable TV systems and other distributors of C-SPAN programming. C-SPAN receives no funds from the government. This model may not be a good fit for every state with its smaller base of cable and satellite homes, and state funding may be necessary. Nevertheless, editorial independence is critical, and any funding source must be free of the influence of party or politics.
A truly representative government depends on a well informed, knowledgeable electorate. The best way to ensure the potential of a knowledgeable electorate is to open the doors of government. StateSPAN will throw open the doors of state government to citizens across the state (and even outside it, via the Internet). It is long overdue.