Open Meeting Law: Right to record audio and video

(Ed. note: The following is text from the sample Mass. Open Meeting law regarding taping of public meetings as well as video. P. 25. Click on the post for the full text.)

"Except when a meeting is held in executive session, any person in attendance may record the meeting with a tape recorder or any other method of sonic reproduction, so long as no active interference with the conduct of the meeting arises as a result of the recording. The Law also allows any person attending an open meeting of a municipal or district governmental body to videotape the meeting from one or more fixed locations as determined by the governmental body, so long as there is no active interference with the meeting."

The Observer has posted this so all my dear readers may know that taping public meetings is not only normal for the news media, but is normal and customary in open meeting law legislation.

There is one important proviso however-----it would appear that the person recording could not move around during the meeting hoping to get a better audio or video position and thereby disrupt the meeting.

So there it is. The purpose of recording is to get the story straight. And it is not only allowed and tolerated, but it is protected by law. Make a note of it.