contentious.com

(NOTE: I published a slightly different version of this article today in Poynter’s E-Media Tidbits.)

News organizations, bloggers, advocacy groups, think tanks, and others routinely cover the legislative process – especially about the real or potential effects of bills and laws. In most cases the full text of those bills and laws, and information about their status, are available online.

Why, then, is it so rare to see an online news story that links to the bill or law being covered? Or that at least cites the reference number so people can look up and follow the legislation on their own? It just seems odd to me that many organizations (especially news media) routinely cite the party and state/district of legislators, but omit brief citations and links to the products of their efforts on our behalf.

For example, today’s Washington Post includes this story: House Passes Bill Ending Ban On Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling. Nowhere does that story cite the specific bill number, let alone link to the bill text and info via the Library of
Congress’ Thomas online database. (For the record, the bill discussed in that story is H.R. 4761. There – see how easy and brief that was?)

Similarly, an AP story which ran today on Philly.com reports on the Penn. General Assembly: “School districts would have to conduct exit interviews with students who are dropping out or withdrawing from school, or who have accumulated more than 10 unexcused absences, under a bill passed by the House 164-28 and sent to the Senate.” Which bill? Hey, statehouse legislative info is online too! I found this bill: HB 1729.

Here’s why this common oversight bugs me so much…

The reason people report on the legislative process is to empower citizens to more easily follow what their government is doing. That makes it easier for citizens to get involved in the legislative process (something I discussed in my blog The Right Conversation yesterday).

In legislative circles, having correct reference numbers goes a long way toward helping you find the right people to deal with and learning when and how to get involved in the process. This makes civic involvement more effective, efficient, and rewarding. Little links and citations in news stories, fact sheets, etc. can help make all that happen.

…And yes, I realize legislative documents are long and ugly. So what? If key portions of the text are buried way down in the document, link to the document and then also provide a separate window or page giving the relevant text, with section citations. That content isn’t protected by copyright, after all.

This is an easy – and important – problem to fix. Looking up legislation online and crafting a link from the reference number shouldn’t be considered a burdensome task or a luxury. I think these days it’s essential for legislative coverage wherever it appears, but especially in mainstream news media. Remember: Empowering your audience always enhances loyalty.

Maybe use the upcoming Independence Day holiday to launch a new policy of consistently linking to legislation. You might be surprised how much your community will appreciate this service.