On-line Coverage: TVW & CSPAN

Open government has been enhanced by camera coverage of meetings.  You can watch goverment in action, not only on television, but on the web.  You may be able to watch the meeting live or access the archives to catch up on one you missed.

TVW was created in 1993 to give Washington residents better access to legislative proceeding, the meetings of agencies, boards and commissions, and better coverage of politics in our Capitol.  In 1995 it added coverage of the Supreme Court proceedings.  In addition to live gavel-to-gavel coverage of meetings, TVW produces its own programs exploring state politics and offers significant resources for civics education.

CSPAN was created in 1979 to cover Congressional action on television.  It was the inspiration for TVW.  It offers tremendous coverage of federal government politics and issues, books and other programming.   You may watch the video or listen to a radio feed.  The archives are a great resource.

Local governments in some areas have also created cable access to their proceedings.  You might consult your local cable provider or your county or city to identify what cable TV or web access they provide.