This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
WASHINGTON - Beat the reporters to the scoop, pre-empt bad news and deal directly with constituents: Blog it!
More and more politicians are bypassing the mainstream news media and turning to blogs, or Web logs, to post information and interact with constituents. Blogging even made it as a topic at this week's meeting of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Washington.
A prime example: the Utah state Senate's blog, at http://www.senatesite.com, the unofficial-slash-official journal of the state Senate Republican majority.
The groundbreaking site posted news, audio and reactions during the 2006 legislative session, allowing Utahns to click on to a wide array of information about what their lawmakers were up to, and respond to actions through comments. Unlike other politicians' blogs, written mainly by individuals, the Senate site posted thoughts by multiple senators, including an occasional Democrat.
"New media is changing the way people understand and participate in self government," Senate aide Ric Cantrell said during a panel discussion. "Citizens sitting 500 miles away from the Capitol can see what we're doing."
Though around since 1995, blogs have hit it big time in the past few years, with some 8 million Americans blogging by the end of 2004, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Some 27 percent of Internet users now read blogs, researchers said in a 2005 report.
It's unclear how many lawmakers are blogging, but the numbers are rising. The National Conference of State Legislatures lists 48 different blogs from 26 states on its Web site. It's becoming the hip thing to do.
"Politicians have been over time adopting blogs and other forms to reach their constituents and outflank traditional media," said Rich Hanley, graduate program director and assistant professor of communications at Quinnipiac University. "It gives them an unfiltered avenue."
And that was what the forum discussion was about Friday with lawmakers from around the country.
Cantrell, who runs Senatesite.com, said politicians face three problems in communicating with their constituents: reporters who don't quote lawmakers correctly, broad stereotypes of politicians and disengaged residents. Those worries led the Senate Republicans to approve buying a domain name and to launch their Web journal.
Since its inception, Cantrell says the site has seen 386,000 hits, and all for the cost of about $150, plus staff time. "It's very simple to do," Cantrell said.
Besides the Senate's combined blog, five Utah lawmakers have their own personal journals. Rep. Steve Urquhart led the way with his colleagues and even live-blogged a day on the Hill during the recent session on http://www.steveu.com.
Texas state Rep. Aaron Pena, who runs his own site, acapitolblog.blogspot.com, said blogging has been a popular tool for him to communicate with voters and constituents. It's more than the "couple sentences" that he might get in a newspaper story.
"I'm always amazed about who reads this thing," he said Friday. "I don't think there's a need for Web sites anymore, I can do it all on my blog."
Of course, as blogs spread, readers need to understand what they are seeing and who is behind it, cautions Hanley. When searching for information on a candidate or lawmaker, readers should be wary of what site they peruse because some information may be missing or skewed.
"The independent voter should very much be aware that many of these blogs are controlled by parties or by political candidates," he says.