BRENDA BLAGG: Letting Arkansans in

State Senate moves toward more transparency

Last week, when Americans from every walk of life looked in on that historic hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, we took for granted the fact that we could observe it.

No one doubted for a second that he or she could turn on a TV and hear for themselves the questioning of, first, the accuser then of the nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court she was accusing of sexual misconduct.

It was must-watch TV and the news outlets were there in full force to cover every nuance.

Americans have been able to see such proceedings before both houses of Congress and their committees for so long that we think such access is a given.

It isn't. We needn't look far for evidence.

Check out the Senate's counterpart at the state level. Last week, the Arkansas Senate too action to make its proceedings and those of its committees available to a wider audience.

A state Senate committee authorized roughly $330,000 to purchase cameras, equipment and microphones for video streaming the Senate and its committees. There will be more costs down the line to staff the system and to archive the recordings.

The Senate action is an important development, one that should make it easier for people all over Arkansas to look in on the work their senators do.

The Arkansas Senate is one of just 13 in the country that does not already do webcasts. But there had been a strong reluctance in past years for the Senate to subject itself to such constant scrutiny.

Certainly, when the state Senate has been in session, broadcast TV cameras have routinely peered over a Senate balcony to capture major events, just as the national media swarmed the U.S. Capitol last week for that confirmation hearing.

But the state Senate itself hasn't previously committed its sessions to video coverage.

That will change starting Jan. 14, when the Arkansas Legislature convenes for its 2019 regular session.

State Sen. Jim Hendren, R-Sulphur Springs, who will be at the Senate helm then as president pro tem, has pushed for the change. Greater transparency, he maintains, is another step toward restoring and protecting the integrity of the Senate.

This push comes, of course, in the aftermath of federal investigations that have led to recent convictions of several former state lawmakers.

The Senate needs to shore up its integrity. Efforts to open its proceedings could help. At least it shouldn't hurt.

The House of Representatives has been video streaming its sessions since 2010. It added committee meetings in 2011.

The House hasn't been immune to scandal, but the real value in live-streaming legislative sessions is less about salvaging individual members' credibility than with educating the people they serve.

Constituents need this direct line to the Legislature, although most of us will have to learn to take greater responsibility for our own edification. We will have to go online to get the live streams and do some newsgathering for ourselves.

Here's the reality. News organizations are sending fewer reporters to the state Capitol. It is another byproduct of the economic challenges in a changing media climate.

Arkansas is hardly alone. This is a trend in statehouses all over the country.

Consequently, a lot of what goes on in any of these capitols, even in meetings of lawmakers, will go uncovered. Legislative sessions are busy, with multiple meetings happening at any given time. Reporters necessarily choose to cover those meetings where discussions are likely to be most newsworthy. Fewer reporters means the rest of the Legislature's business will get less scrutiny, if any.

As individuals rely more and more on social media and don't subscribe to newspapers, they contribute to this devolution of news coverage in all arenas.

It is the world we're creating for ourselves. At least video streaming will offer those who care another way to monitor the Legislature.

Commentary on 10/03/2018

Upcoming Events