With 70 cameras set up inside the Wisconsin state capitol building already, a network aims to provide constant coverage of the state’s government.

After Wisconsin Eye launched on the Internet in May, WisconsinEye President and CEO Christopher Long said the network began broadcasting coverage of the state Assembly and Senate floor sessions along with the Joint Finance Committee meetings.

In July, Charter Communications and Time Warner picked it up and have since aired the station on cable that serves about 75 percent of Wisconsin, Long said.

“We’re able to produce two live events at any particular time,” he said. “The feed is live on the Internet and is on delay on cable . all the coverage is gavel-to-gavel unedited.”

In order to expand coverage, Long said the network plans to add two additional control rooms at its production facility in Madison so it can produce four events out of the capitol at any time. Also, a state-wide public affairs network is in future plans for the company.

“Our broader mission is to cover civic Wisconsin as a whole,” he said. “A lot happens all over the state that has to do with community and local activities.”

Long said a key aspect to the project is its ability to rely on private money.

“Out of the 24 different states that have public affairs networks, we’re the only one that doesn’t rely on taxpayer’s money,” he said. “We rely on donation to fund everything from the cameras to the production facilities.”

Long said WisconsinEye recently began covering the state Supreme Court and portions of the executive branch in addition to its coverage of the legislature.

“The idea is to provide a general, unedited window to the public,” Long said. “We cover all floor activity and certain conference committee meetings, including the recent ones surrounding the budget process.”

Junior Allen Crandall said the idea behind WisconsinEye is one that should bode well with the public.

“It’s probably a good thing so the public knows what the government is doing,” Crandall said. “It would be interesting to see some of the individual reactions.”

Rep. Jeff Smith, D-Eau Claire, said he agrees with open government and the intentions the video cameras offer to the public. But he feels that many people become too aware of the cameras to say what they really feel in committee meetings.

“People get in front of cameras and do not behave naturally and are very careful about what they say,” Smith said. “We don’t get the type of open discussion that we should be getting behind closed doors.”

Smith said it is common to begin a meeting open and declare it closed, where everyone that isn’t a part of the caucus has to leave the room. He said the press has made complaints about it, but he feels if there is always someone watching the discussion won’t lead to much accomplishment.

“We need open discussions to accomplish anything,” Smith said. “The press doesn’t always report the full context of a discussion . I don’t blame the press because they only have so much space to work with, but there’s a lot of fear of the press by politicians because often times what they write doesn’t come out in the best light.”

The Legislature has oversight for WisconsinEye, and Long said they delivered a positive progress report a week ago.

“The reception has generally been very good,” he said. “They were engaged and positive about the coverage.”