OLYMPIA…In December 2005, the Senate Republican Caucus gave Washington citizens access to legislative commentary, bill proposals and legislative solutions to their daily challenges in lawmakers’ own words via legislative podcasts. Now the caucus has added video podcasts, or vodcasts, to its Web site, http://src.wa.gov.

“More and more people are buying MP3 players that can play not only music, but video as well,” said Senate Republican Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla. “It makes sense that this technology would take off, especially with the tech-savvy people of Washington state. That makes it another good tool for providing citizens with information about their government.”

Senate Republicans were the first caucus in Olympia to offer podcasting. To date, there have been more than 3,000 visits to the SRC’s podcast page, where citizens will now be able to find the new vodcasts (http://src.wa.gov/podcast/). The caucus expects to offer additional vodcasts as the 2007 session approaches and unfolds.

Vodcasting and podcasting offer users a way to connect with their government on a more personal level. When a person sets his or her computer’s podcast- or vodcast-search program to automatically download new “episodes” from a specific site, the episodes are automatically uploaded to that person’s MP3 player to be viewed or heard at his or her leisure. Vodcasts and podcasts are different from streaming media, which the SRC also offers, because streaming audio and video clips can only be downloaded manually.

“The responses I’ve received about our new podcasts have been very positive, and I expect to get that same response to our vodcasts as well,” Hewitt said. “The 2007 session is shaping up to be a lively one full of topics that will have a direct impact on people’s lives. Now they’ll be able not only to listen to legislators talk about them, but they will be able to see them – anytime and anywhere they please – as well.”

Citizens can watch for new content at the SRC’s Web site, http://src.wa.gov.

For more information contact Rebecca Japhet at (360)786-7516 or Erich R. Ebel at (360)786-7395