The Senate’s official video webcast is up now. You can check it out by clicking here.
My immediate thoughts: This is certainly better than what’s been done in the House, which has approved only audio webcasting. And it’s way better than what the Senate was doing before, which was nothing.
But the Senate had the ability to place three cameras in the chamber, with one in the back and two that would zoom in on senators’ faces when they spoke. They opted against doing that.
Instead, they installed one camera in the back of the room. You can see the desks of nine of 42 senators.
The stated goal was to give people watching over the Internet the same view of the Senate floor that those sitting in the public gallery behind senators get. This doesn’t accomplish that.
It’s a step forward, to be sure. But we can do better.