KTOO staff leaves Capitol, robot cameras to fill in

By
Suzanne Downing
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3

COVERAGE IN A TIME OF COVID-19 IS TURNED OVER TO ROBOTS

During what is expected to be the last week of the Legislature this year, KTOO will no longer have a physical presence in the Capitol Building with camera operators for Gavel to Gavel coverage on 360North.org. and public television.

That coverage will be provided by the Legislative Affairs Agency Media Services for committees. Gavel Alaska has developed a way to send those grainy video feeds to the KTOO control room for broadcast on television.

For floor sessions in the House and Senate, the public broadcasting station will use robotic cameras starting Monday.

Gavel Alaska provides live coverage of the Alaska Legislature, including committee meetings, floor sessions, press conferences, and other legislative events.

3 COMMENTS

  1. Gavel Alaska will continue to cover the legislature by converting to more remotely controlled cameras and collaborating with the Legislative Affairs Agency. The coverage will include both the Senate and House chambers as well as the committee rooms. This will reduce the number of people in the Capitol.

    There is a joint plan in place between Gavel Alaska and LAA that was approved earlier to replace most of the manually operated cameras with multiple remote high definition cameras in the in the committee rooms and the chambers to provide better and higher quality service.

    This plan will be available at the start of the next legislative session. Gavel Alaska is an important way to bring the legislative sessions as well as other governmental activities to Alaskans throughout the state and it will continue.

  2. That is what need; a legislature that has no oversight. Being in Juneau pretty much isolates them from any transparency. Now the media is unwilling to cover their shenanigans. So we allow them to pick and choose Gavel coverage. Shameless!

  3. Could you tell us how the legislature will continue at this time? Will they suspend meetings? If the city of Juneau shuts down public meetings, like we’ve done in Anchorage, then what does the legislature do? And if flying is shut down, do they stay there? That story is waiting to be told, don’t ya think? They either get their job done quickly, pass the budget and scoot out of town, or Alaska in toto is done for. Of course they all want to end this session pronto, really, to escape the invisible bugs and to start their now virtual campaigns this year.

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