Can the Public Record and Livestream Maine Government Meetings?
When Ryan Michaels was instructed to stop livestreaming a public Government Oversight Committee meeting, he assumed there must be a policy he didn’t understand. Four months, six emails, and a public discussion later, Maine lawmakers acknowledged that members of the public have the right to record and livestream public proceedings. This installment of The Paper Trail follows the complete documentary record from the initial question to the final clarification.
A Quiet Moment Inside Maine’s Government Oversight Committee Raises Bigger Questions About Transparency and Independent Journalism
After being stopped from livestreaming a public Maine Government Oversight Committee meeting while traditional media cameras were allowed to continue recording, independent journalist and advocate Ryan Michaels began asking larger questions about transparency, equal access, and who gets to document government in the modern media era.