If you think sunshine is the best disinfectant and that transparency is mandatory for open govenrment, then you'll appreciate a new feature allowing the public to listen to legislative debates -- even ones that occurred days or weeks before. Sponsored by the N.C. Center for Voter Education, the new service is called VoterRadio and it's accessible here.
Of course, the legislature has made its sessions available live for a long time on its Web site www.ncleg.net, but this service gives interested folks a central place to learn a lot more about what's going on.
It's part of a plan to offer a closer look not just at legislative sessions but also interviews with candidates for office, with legislative leaders and other pieces about election. Next year the plan is to also offer audio recordingss of committee sessions -- where the real nitty-gritty decisions are made -- on the VoterRadio.com Web site.
Here's a news release from the center:
N.C. Center for Voter Ed. Launches VoterRadio.com
RALEIGH The nonpartisan N.C. Center for Voter Education has launched VoterRadio.com, an online radio station covering politics and elections in North Carolina.
With state lawmakers at work in Raleigh, VoterRadio.com offers live
broadcasts and rebroadcasts of daily sessions in both the N.C. Senate and N.C. House. Each session can also be heard on-demand at VoterRadio.com,where visitors can also download podcasts of daily sessions.
Other programming on VoterRadio.com includes "Judge for Yourself: Election 2008," a series of in-depth, one-on-one interviews with statewide candidates. With a runoff election for state labor commissioner approaching on June 24, voters can learn about the two contenders, John Brooks and Mary Donnan, by tuning in to VoterRadio.com's live stream or by listening on-demand at VoterRadio.com/judge.
VoterRadio.com produces "The Voter Update," a weekly newsmagazine covering Tar Heel politics. This week¹s episode features an interview with N.C. House Minority Leader Paul Stam (R-Wake) and a look at Chapel Hill's new Voter-Owned Elections program with Chase Foster from N.C. Voters for Clean Elections.
VoterRadio.com also covers special events and speakers of importance to North Carolina voters, including the Sunshine Day Conference at Elon University this spring.
"From airing live audio of state legislative sessions, to offering in-depth interviews with statewide candidates, the goal of VoterRadio.com is to empower North Carolina voters with facts about their government and the candidates courting their support," said John Thompson, executive director of the N.C. Center for Voter Education.
In addition to being available at www.VoterRadio.com, programming from VoterRadio.com can also be heard 24-hours daily on iTunes Radio under the "Talk/Spoken Word" category.
The N.C. Center for Voter Education is a Raleigh-based nonprofit and
nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving elections in North Carolina.
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Online: http://www.VoterRadio.com
