Everett Adds Closed Captioning To Council Meetings

November 30, 2016

Everett Government

Beginning tonight meetings of the Everett City Council and Everett Planning Commission will have closed captioning added to their broadcasts on The Everett Channel. Here’s a news release just in from the city…

closed captioning

Closed captioning begins with tonight’s Everett City Council meeting.

The City of Everett’s government access channel has added closed captioning to the live and recorded broadcasts of Everett City Council and committee meetings and Everett Planning Commission meetings, beginning with the Nov. 30 City Council meeting.

“We want community members to be able to access all of the information that’s being shared and discussed at these important public meetings,” said Meghan Pembroke, communications director. “Closed captioning will provide a better experience for those who are deaf or have partial hearing loss.”

The closed-captioning service will be provided by a remote captioner who will watch the meetings and provide the captioning in real time. A transcription of the meeting dialogue, including presentations and citizen comments, will appear as text in the lower part of the screen.

In addition to adding closed captioning, the City has also developed a standard template for PowerPoint presentations by City staff at council meetings, which will be introduced in the coming weeks. The template is designed to increase readability for people with most forms of low vision.

“We know that when presentations use certain colors, fonts or graphics, it can be more difficult for those with a visual impairment to view and access the information that’s being shared,” said Pembroke. “Whether someone’s in the chambers or watching from home, we want them to be able to fully engage with the presentations.”

Victor Harris, a member of the City’s Diversity Advisory Board, was instrumental in helping City staff develop the PowerPoint template.

Everett City Council meetings and committee meetings are broadcast live on the Everett Channel and rebroadcast throughout the week. The Everett Planning Commission, which also meets in the City Council chambers, is broadcast live on Tuesday nights and rebroadcast during the following week.

For the full Everett Channel schedule, visit www.everettwa.gov/everettchannel.

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