IBEW Local 1547 (Anchorage AK) Helps Fund TV Coverage of State Legislature

From the Juneau Empire:

Gavel to Gavel Alaska is produced by KTOO-TV in Juneau. It will air Gov. Murkowski's State of the State address, expected to be delivered to a joint session of the Legislature today at 7 p.m.

Throughout the session, cameras in the state capitol will televise unedited, start-to-finish coverage of House and Senate floor sessions, key committee hearings, news conferences and other state government activity.

The cable television service is scheduled to run from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. each weekday, with expanded coverage when legislative activity warrants. The City & Borough of Juneau has once again provided a major grant to support the coverage. ACS provides the Internet webcasting service. GCI Cable and several other cable systems are providing cable channels on 37 cable systems in the state.

KTOO is raising private sector funds to round out the $557,000 budget for the project. In addition to the City & Borough of Juneau, sponsors as of early January include ACS, GCI, the University of Alaska, AT&T Alascom, ConocoPhillips Alaska, the Alaska Association of School Boards, West Group, NEA-Alaska, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1547, the Alaska Power Association, Bartlett Regional Hospital, Alaska USA, the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce, the Juneau Chamber of Commerce, Wostmann and Associates, AARP, the Juneau Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Alaska Conference of Mayors and The Alaska Committee.