The old transparency chestnut again

As Cornwall Council wrestles with its conscience over whether or not to allow broadcasters to record meetings (the score so far - Council 1, conscience 0) some senior officials might be interested in the view of Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, whose contribution to the Conservative Home blog is enlightening:

"...it's disappointing that some council officers seem stuck in the analogue age: with some banning videoing, tweeting or liveblogging. One councillor was even suspended after uploading clips from the council's own public livestream onto youtube. Meanwhile, another council decided that only accredited journalists would be allowed to tweet from council meetings. When councils make these sorts of petty decisions, at best they look foolish and out of touch; at worst they look like they have something to hide."

This is one of those issues where the council's elected members, generally, are ahead of some officials: the members get the fact that the council is still a local authority, and not (yet) a PLC. While the council's webcasting is a great step forward, the demands of TV and radio journalists will not go away. By excluding the broadcasters' cameras and microphones from meetings, the council is demonstrably less transparent than its predecessor, the old Cornwall County Council.