Further to the decision taken earlier in the year to have a ‘dry run’ of filming full council meetings – to iron out technical issues and test picture quality – it’s now been agreed that all such meetings will be filmed and streamed on line. The filming will start with the Council AGM on 24th May and will be embedded on www.birminghamnewsroom.com as well as made available to outside media organisations.

Full public report:

BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL
PUBLIC REPORT
Report to: COUNCIL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
COMMITTEE
Report of: COPORATE DIRECTOR OF GOVERNANCE
Date of Decision: 6 MAY 2011
SUBJECT:
LIVE VIDEO STREAMING OF FULL COUNCIL
MEETINGS
Wards affected: ALL
1. Purpose of report:
1.1 To propose the live internet streaming of full Birmingham City Council meetings from
May 24 2011.
1.2 To report the findings of a trial run on April 5 2011.
2. Decision(s) recommended:
2.1 That the City Council allow live internet streaming of Birmingham City Council meetings
from May 24 2011. This feed will then be made available to external media
organisations.
2.2 That funding is identified for this new service.
2.3 That the entire meeting be projected onto the council chamber screens to allow
uninterrupted streaming
Contact Officer: Deborah Harries
Telephone No: 0121 303 4777
E-mail address: deborah.harries@birmingham.gov.uk
Signature:
Chief Officer(s): ……………………………………………………………
Dated: ……………………………………………………………
List of Background Documents used to compile this Report:
Nil
Audio Visual Streaming of City Council meetings.doc
Page 2 of 2
3. Relevant background/chronology of key events:
3.1 On March 22 2011 the Council Business Management Committee agreed to an internal
trail of web-casting at the April meeting of City Council and requested that the Corporate
Director of Governance report on the outcome of the trail.
3.2 On April 5 2011 we ran a test streaming of footage from the full Council
meeting. The dry run took footage from the existing cameras in the council chambers
was broadcast (password protected) via http://www.ustream.tv.
The findings:
a) Audio taken directly from the council chamber sound system was of high quality
when broadcast online.
b) Initial problems with the video quality were overcome by streaming footage
through Adobe Flash Media Live encoder.
c) We are in a position to begin live streaming of full council meetings from May 24.
d) The stream produced will be embedded on http://www.birminghamnewsroom.com and
can also be made available to the media for use on their websites.
e) By providing this feed we avoid the need for additional cameras in the chamber.
This approach is successfully used in Westminster to avoid disruption.
f) At the moment, footage from the cameras is only screened after oral questions,
with the city crest shown for the first part of the meeting. We recommend that footage
from the meeting should be screened throughout.
3.3 Going forward there are two options with ustream
1. Free service
Pro: cost
Com: ustream is free because it is ad-supported and we have no control over the
content of those ads.
2. Ad-free broadcasting
Pro: Still inexpensive (around £65 a month) and no concerns about inappropriate
ads.
Con: There is a cost, albeit minimal, and funding must be identified.
The ad-free service is the better option is the preferred option because it avoids the danger of
inappropriate ads being juxtaposed with serious political debate.

Congratulations to David Pears for being re-elected as one of Trinity Ward’s three Conservative councillors. The results were as follows:

Result – Sutton Trinity – Con Hold