Local govt. in the age of television

and there were some on the board who made clear that such a move was unnecessary.

Board Chairman Bob Carty was clearly not keen on the idea of videotaping, noting that the board's meetings are already reported on by three newspapers, and the official minutes are available to the public. Moreover, Carty said that the board essentially gives as much time as necessary for any member of the public who wants to ask questions of the board or to offer a comment to do so.

There are those, no doubt, who resist bringing public meetings into the video age on the grounds that some meeting participants — whether someone on board or a member of the public — might not be able to resist the temptation to play to the camera, and that such grandstanding will make it more difficult for the board to get about its business in an effective and serious manner.

But as Mr. Carty pointed out there is no way to prevent someone from videotaping the meetings right now. The Inter-Lakes Board is required under the state's Right to Know Law to allow electronic recording of its open proceedings. The person making the recording does not need the board's permission any more than a member of the public needs permission to sit in on the meeting.

Perhaps there are some on the board who are self-conscious about being on camera, or who are afraid of being embarrassed if the camera happens to be on them at a moment when they are out of character.

But the fact is the Inter-Lakes School Board, like other public boards in the area, is just going to have to get used to the fact that having their meetings televised is a fact of life.

Lakes Region Public Access devotes a great deal of time and resources to airing the proceedings of public bodies such as the Laconia City Council, numerous boards of selectmen and even some planning boards.

There are probably some on the Inter-Lakes board who can recall the anxiety on the part of some when 30 or so years ago reporters from local radio stations started showing up at meetings with tape recorders. This was not received with universal glee either, and a few heavy-handed officials went so far as to try and block tape recorders from their meetings altogether. But in time, public bodies grew used to the tape recorders and no longer considered them as out of place.

The Inter-Lakes School Board should just take an unconditional position that anyone who wants to videotape their meetings is more than welcome to do so. Obviously the board is well within its right to require that any recording be done in a way that does not create blatant distractions. If those who are making the recordings then want to provide the tapes to Public Access TV, fine.

The board will find that there is much to be gained from this kind of wider exposure

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