State's Department of Administration outlines proposed rules for TV coverage of Legislature

By Tom Sheehan

Friday, October 31, 2003 12:57 AM CST

Lee Newspapers Madison Bureau MADISON - You might get a closer look at the inner workings of state government on Wisconsin's proposed version of a C-Span-type public affairs network, but don't expect the adrenaline rush offered by reality TV.

A 15-page outline of requirements for such a service released Wednesday shows legislators would have a lot of discretion over what's covered and how it's presented to viewers.

Coverage of the Legislature must be "professional, dignified and non-partisan," according to a preliminary plan for proposed coverage of the Legislature issued by the state Department of Administration.

Whether cameras would continue rolling if behavior of legislators lands outside those parameters isn't exactly clear under proposed rules, which are part of a "request for proposals" now being advertised by the state.

"Proposer shall record and cover the actions of legislators as such actions are intended to unfold by the Legislature. To that end, the committee chair or presiding officer, by calling on members or witnesses to speak, shall determine the focus of proposer's camera and audio coverage" the plan states.

Extreme close-ups, split or modified screens and "arbitrary reaction shots" would be forbidden under proposed rules for the Legislature. Rules also would have to be worked out before coverage of the Supreme Court and governor's office before coverage of those branches of government could begin.

To date, just one nonprofit group, WisconisnEye Public Affairs Network, has shown interest in providing the service. WisconsinEye officials have said they want to mount about 50 cameras in the state Capitol to provide "gavel-to-gavel" coverage of state government.

WisconsinEye officials have said they want to retain the copyright for coverage in exchange for providing equipment and setting up the service at no cost to the state. But under the plan released Wednesday, the state would hold the copyright of the audio-video signal picked up by equipment mounted at the Capitol, said Mary Offerdahl, an attorney for the Legislative Council.

WisconsinEye, or another provider approved by the state, could use the state-owned signal in its own programming. But that company also must make the state-owned signal available to any bona-fide news outlet, public affairs programmer, or provider of telecommunications, satellite, broadcast or information services on a "nondiscriminatory basis at a reasonable cost" approved by a legislative committee.

WisconsinEye, which has support from the state's two largest cable television providers, has proposed prohibiting satellite companies from using the signal.

Broadcasting live coverage of the Legislature may help cut down on rancorous behavior, said Rep. Terry Musser, R-Black River Falls. Last week, a protesting Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, pulled the chief clerk's microphone out of its socket during a roll call vote in a scene that some legislators said nearly came to blows.

"If I did something like that, there would be people back home watching it who didn't like it," said Musser, who has served 18 years in the Legislature.

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