GLENDALE : First TV Broadcast of Council Nears

A longstanding debate over whether the Glendale City Council should air its meetings on local cable television will finally come to an end Feb. 7, with the first live broadcast from City Hall.

Video cameras have been installed inside the council chambers, and council members began practicing their on-the-air skills this week in a mock broadcast of Tuesday’s council meeting. Much as the neighboring city of Burbank has been doing since 1991, city officials said Glendale will not only air the weekly workings of the council and redevelopment agency, but also produce its own local-interest shows, such as Burbank’s “Ask the Mayor” program. The programs will be seen on Sammons Communications Channel 6, officials said.

“It’s taken us a long time to get here and I can’t wait to get started,” said Mayor Eileen Givens, who proposed putting council meetings on TV as part of her 1991 election campaign.

In 1992, the Glendale city manager’s office conducted an informal survey of other cities in the Los Angeles County area and found that many were broadcasting their government meetings on local stations. A majority of the council members, however, cited the cost of video equipment in opposing plans to do the same in Glendale. The policy changed after the 1993 election, when three new council members took office.

The cameras are to be remote-controlled and wired to a console in the City Hall basement that will be operated by Studio Spectrum, an audiovisual firm hired last year by the city to provide technical support for the broadcasts. The system can also produce graphics that will display the name of the person speaking on-screen and to display details of the agenda item being discussed.