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Technology Propels Legislative Data: Podcasts, Wireless Give Public Greater Access to Government, Officials

Posted on: Monday, 27 February 2006, 12:00 CST

By Dionne Desiano, The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.

Feb. 27--Technology is helping the state improve public access to government information and elected officials. New Internet and television features, and even improved cell phone reception on the Capitol Campus, are helping to beam important happenings in Olympia to residents around the state and beyond. And many features allow users to access the information at their convenience. "Technology is another way for us to show transparency in government and for information to go straight to the people," said Sen. Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla. At the beginning of the legislative session, the Senate Republican Caucus was the first group on the Capitol Campus to offer podcasts, or audio files, on its Web site. TVW -- the state public affairs channel aired locally on Channel 23 -- and the House Democratic Caucus followed soon after. "We wanted to be the first to introduce podcasts and bring in the younger generation. There are many things going on in the Legislature that are of interest to them," said Rebecca Japhet, Republican Caucus communications director. People can download podcasts of committee hearings and floor sessions and listen to them on computers or portable MP3 players such as iPods. " 'Podcasts' are a catchphrase. It's a fad that is practical. We are trying to stay on the cutting edge as much as financially possible," said Scott Freeman, TVW's information technology director. More than 11,000 people have downloaded podcasts from TVW's Web site in the past month, Freeman said. "We want Legislature information to be more available to more people," Freeman said. "A lot of tech-savvy youth find this more convenient." The Republican Caucus Web site has had about 2,000 podcast downloads, said Erich Ebel, a public information officer for the caucus. Its Web site has streaming video, and it's trying to develop podcast videos. Other developments on the Capitol Campus are wireless Internet availability and clearer cell phone reception inside the buildings, so people can access the Internet and make phone calls at their convenience -- while attending a committee hearing, for example. TVW is trying another avenue to improve access to the Legislature: video on demand through Comcast. It has signed a contract with the cable provider to offer weekly episodes of "Inside Olympia,""Olympia On-Call" and "Legislative Review." Throughout the year, an additional 10 hours a week of hearings, events and "Faces and Places" programs will be available for viewing. Freeman said he expects the programming to begin in March. "We want to capture and broadcast almost everything going on on-campus with video and develop an interface to allow people to download and burn video files as well as watch them at home," Freeman said. Next year, TVW will use technology that converts spoken words into text. The program has an 86 percent accuracy rate, and Freeman said it will work well as part of an online search engine that allows people to search for something that was said during a hearing. The program would take the viewer straight to the moment it was recorded.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.

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Source: The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.

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