Reporting from the Board of Trustees meeting

Back in February, we posted that we were going to live blog from the Board of Trustees’ meeting, in an effort to provide transparency and information in the moment.  Understandably so, we were blocked by the University, namely because we failed to inform them of our intentions.  But they were intriguied by the idea and promised to help us gain access to the BoT meetings, extending their rules of “pen-and-paper” only reporting.

They kept their promise, and we have been working with GW’s media handlers throughout the last several months to try to liveblog from today’s meeting, which will take place at 9 a.m. in Duques Hall.  We managed to convince Michael Freedman, vice president of communications, who was initially wary of the liveblogging idea.  Efforts to try to expedite the process were stalled this week however, when some trustees were still apprehensive of the new technology and its potential effects on their meetings.

So, once again, we will not be live blogging from the BoT meeting.  However, we will continue to work with the University and present our proposal the legal way–that is, through the External Affairs Committee, who will give their recommendation and change the Board’s rules.  We’re hoping that by the next meeting, we can work to convince the Board that blogging is in fact a safe and effective communication tool that should not be feared.

That said, we will be attending the Board of Trustees meeting this morning, with our pen and paper.  Check back here this afternoon for the latest news that comes out of that meeting.