Live streaming of BART Board meetings to start Thursday, May 13
The public will have unprecedented access to the inner workings of the BART Board of Directors beginning Thursday as the agency is now streaming its meetings live on the Internet. In addition, Board meetings will be available on-demand on the web for those who wish to view the meetings at a later time.
"This represents a real breakthrough in transparency and accountability for BART governance," BART Board Vice President Bob Franklin said. Franklin has long advocated carrying the meetings on the Internet. "Now, our riders and taxpayers will be able to more easily access both current and past BART Board meetings through live streaming and archived video."
MEETING AGENDAS LINKED TO VIDEO
Board meetings will be streamed live on www.bart.gov/board. Once the meeting is complete, the public can watch a recording of the meeting on demand. Viewers interested in a particular topic can click on the topic’s agenda item and the video will cue up to the appropriate part of the meeting.
"Live streaming is just one more way BART is reaching out to the community it serves," BART Board President James Fang said. "This really empowers people who want to be well-informed. People can watch BART Board meetings anywhere, anytime they have Internet access and be able to feel they have insight into the decisions that affect this agency."
ONLINE SURVEY FEATURES TICKET GIVEAWAY
BART is publicizing the beginning of Board webcasting and gathering input from the public by launching an online survey at www.bart.gov/board. Survey participants will be eligible to win one of 200 TransLink cards, each loaded with $5, for answering questions such as “What other suggestions do you have to increase transparency at BART?” The survey will end June 24, 2010, and winners will be selected at random.
WEBCASTING ADDED AT NO SIGNIFICANT COST INCREASE
BART’s Communications Department is able to provide Board webcasting without a significant increase in its operating budget by contracting with San Francisco-based Granicus, Inc. to host Board webcasts and BARTtv News video features at about the same cost as another out-of-state vendor was charging to host BARTtv News content alone.
BARTtv NEWS RECEIVES EMMY NOMINATION
The launch of live streaming comes on the heels of another significant event for BART’s Communications Department: the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has nominated BARTtv News for a regional EMMY Award for its feature on street musicians. The nomination signals peer recognition for BARTtv News, which has produced hundreds of videos since its inception in April 2007. See the EMMY-nominated story, called “Street Musicians Add to the Atmosphere at BART Stations,” at www.bart.gov/BARTtv. The regional EMMYs will be awarded Saturday, May 15, 2010.