March 10, 2010
STATE LAWMAKERS CELEBRATE 11TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE CONNECTICUT NETWORK
Connecticut lawmakers on Wednesday are celebrating the 11th anniversary of the Connecticut Network, the state's television network that provides gavel-to-gavel coverage of executive, legislative, and judicial branch hearings and meetings, calling it one of the most significant reforms to open government in state history.
"CT-N has provided an enormous service to the state for its ability at making state government even more open to its residents, allowing citizens to watch hearings and meetings from beginning to end, putting a watchful eye on the proceedings of the state," said State Representative Bob Godfrey (D-Danbury), who was the lead proponent in the General Assembly for constructing the network. "Eleven years after its launch, as newsrooms continue to take devastating blows, we've certainly seen the need for CT-N grow more and more so that people can turn to their cable TV to find out exactly what is going on in their three levels of government."
The network launched on March 10, 1999 with live coverage of a House of Representatives session and has since gone on to cover more than 10,000 events, chronicling state proceedings and making it a national model for open government in the digital age. Originally limited in its distribution, the 24-hour network now reaches nearly 1.2 million Connecticut homes and has over a million online visitors each year.
"CT-N has shone a light on government," said State Representative David McCluskey (D-West Hartford). "Even though we live in the so-called Information Age, there is no guarantee that public officials will always govern in openness. But because of CT-N, citizens can rest assured that government leaders are not hiding in the shadows."
The lawmakers highlighted the network's recent working relationship with the state's Board of Education and Services for the Blind (BESB), applauding the work of the network's two newest team members – both of whom are visually-impaired BESB clients who in their positions work to create the closed-captioning feature for the hearing-impaired on the network's programs each day. CT-N is the first state in the nation to close caption 100% of its programming for the hearing-impaired, and the first to do it all in house.
"We really want to commend the service that the network's visually-impaired staff members have been able to provide for the state's hearing-impaired community. They have been able to accomplish a lot in a short period of time," McCluskey said.
"CT-N's fundamental mission is about citizen engagement, and the first step of that engagement process is accessibility," according to Paul Giguere, network President & CEO. "Whether we're talking about providing the deaf community with closed captioning, exploring new ways of delivering our coverage through emerging internet technologies and new video services, or expanding our educational offerings through our collaboration with Connecticut's Old State House, our commitment is to make our state government visible and accessible to every possible audience in Connecticut. We're very proud of what we have accomplished to date in the service of our state, and all of us at CT-N thank the General Assembly and its leadership for their confidence and support through the years."
CT-N is available full-time on expanded basic cable statewide, and on AT&T's U-Verse system. On-demand programming can be streamed online at ct-n.com. The network is managed and operated by the Connecticut Public Affairs Network, Inc., a nonprofit company founded to educate citizens about state government.