City Provides Livestream on YouTube! Now Let’s Increase Access.
A little over ten months ago I wrote my first opinion piece for Irvine Watchdog, in which I called upon Irvine to livestream its City Council meetings on YouTube and store them there for subsequent viewings. Today I’m happy to report that Irvine has provided for half of my ask. For about a week now, ICTV livestreams 24/7 on the City of Irvine YouTube channel.
And praise is due to the city. It is easier than ever to watch City Council and Great Park board meetings live. Cord cutters with Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, or other smart TV solutions can now watch the City Council on the big screen without tying up a computer or mobile device. And viewing on mobile devices while on the go is easier too.
But more needs to be done.
As I wrote back June of last year, “11 of Orange County’s 34 cities already offer video of their meetings on YouTube.” Make that 12. But many of those cities have playlists of past meetings posted on YouTube so that citizens can easily find and view the history of the decision-making process of their community without navigating byzantine and outdated municipal websites. ICTV’s livestream occasionally re-airs the most recent meeting. But that is not the same thing.
Having had a chance to view ICTV’s other offerings besides government meetings, it’s a wonderful resource for this community, and Irvine’s many YouTube users are richer for having it at their fingertips. But I hope they finish what they started: namely, turning Irvine’s YouTube channel into a one-stop resource for active and engaged Irvinites. Aggregating City Council, Great Park Board, and Commission meetings into playlists is the next step.
I’m more hopeful than ever that we’ll see it made manifest.
