Statehouse Blogging in Utah

posted by Ellen Perlman

Talk about variety. The Utah Senate has a blog that one day has pols and citizens squabbling over how to spend a $1 billion surplus, and on another suggests that lawmakers head for the Senate freezer because it is packed with Aggie ice cream, courtesy of Utah State University.

Called the unofficial voice of the Utah Senate Majority, the Web dialog also includes items from the minority Dems, and House members too. The Utah Senate is the first legislative body to make blogging a lawmaking tool, according to a stateline.org story.

The political editor of the Salt Lake Tribune thinks the blog is a mouthpiece for the Republican party but the aide who maintains the site says it gives senators a way to bypass the press corps. One blogging topic even turned the tables on the press corps, telling readers that one local paper got a tax reform story correct, while the other did not.

Lawmakers seem to like being able to offer their own version of daily events, and their opinions on various and sundry topics. Such as their take on the transportation of nuclear waste. Or their preference for Cookies 'n Cream versus Toffee Crunch.

Comments

[The Senate Site]

Thanks for the mention, Floor 13. The Utah Senate Blog has been an interesting little experiment. And when you finally experience Aggie Ice Cream, you will understand why we gave it such a prominent place on the site! Come on over – we’ll treat.

Hope you won’t mind if I clarify one thing.

While it is healthy to address irresponsible, gratuitous newspaper attacks, like the one we saw last week, we don’t see the blog as a tool to bypass our press corps. As a whole, our reporters are a sharp, conscientious bunch; we don’t really need or want to supplant them. (You can kiss independence, free-thinking and accountability goodbye the minute all your information springs from official corporate or government sources.)

The Senate Site just offers a little extra depth and perspective to those who are paying attention.

Thanks again for the mention.