Welcome to The Senate Site

So, if you’re highly interested in the special legislative session happening today, where would you look for current information? The newspapers? TV? Utah Policy Daily? Wrong.

If you want instant information, live audio and video of committee and floor action, commentary by legislators themselves, tweets from Twitter, links to mainstream media coverage, links to a variety of blogs, YouTube video, podcasts on Senate Radio, including full audio of press conferences, then you would tune in to the Senate Site and the Legislature’s official site.

Ric Cantrell and his merry band of communications staffers, are running what amounts to a multi-media legislative “channel” that, combined with the Legislature’s official site is probably the most sophisticated and informative such web site in the country. Of course, traditional reporters will note that what you won’t find is objective reporting and analysis because the site is designed to support the Senate majority. However, most of it is pretty straightforward without a lot of spin and partisanship. Some of it is amateurish and a little slap-dash, but it’s still remarkably good and informative, and it is clearly a forecast of things to come.

Although, I must admit, I’m not so sure about thisTwitter stuff. Tweeting may be great if you’re a parakeet but, personally, I like my public policy in more substantive chunks. But maybe it’ll grow on me.