By Giovanni Roverso
Chances of the much-awaited budget getting completed by the end of the current Washington State Legislature specialsession are slim, which would prompt a second special session in June, according to front line news agencies.
On March 10, two Buccaneer staff members sat down in rainy Olympia with Rachel La Corte, Associated Press Statehouse Bureau chief. Her focus is on politics and breaking news.
With Legislature-related news slowing to a relative trickle lately, she’s been following Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley closely. Troy Kelley was recently indicted following a series of charges that included tax evasion.
La Corte works at a well-aged press building called the “White House” a few hundred yards from the State Capitol building with Bob the cat and NPR reporters Austin Jenkins and Tom Banse.
AP is the only news organization to effectively cover every State House in the country. Even with her credentials, La Corte said that working for AP is not easy.
“Not everyone can properly make complex issues understandable by the public,” she said. Furthermore she said she is constantly fighting for access because of uncooperative legislators. She said that her biggest challenge every day isn’t in finding something to write about but deciding what or what not to write about, given the limited number of hours in a day. She compared it to triage. Nonetheless, she is passionate and stands by her duty in her press role, watchdog for the American people.
-
Zak Hoskins in front of the White House. – Photo by Giovanni Roverso
-
AP Olympia Bureau Chief Rachel La Corte. – Photo by Giovanni Roverso
Buccaneer staff then met with Anita Kissée and Christina Salerno of TVW, a non-profit which, like La Corte, works to provide transparency to the legislative process. Some refer to TVW as Washington State’s version of C-Span. At one time the largest robotic camera facility in the world, TVW has 39 robotic cameras spread throughout the State Capitol campus, and is planning to upgrade them to HD next year.
Anita Kissée, is executive producer and host for “The Impact” on TVW. Her show touches on a variety of public affairs. Christina Salerno is The Capitol Record blog Editor and is producer of “Legislative Review,” a show for which she hosts a summary of the day’s legislative action.
TVW, which had a rough start in 1993 when it faced tough opposition, has since taken on a dominant role and was touted as the largest cable station of its kind in any U.S. state with 25 employees.
-
TVW headquarters. – Photo by Giovanni Roverso
-
In TVW lobby. – Photo by Giovanni Roverso
-
From left to right, Anita Kissée, Zak Hoskins, Giovanni Roverso, Christina Salerno in TVW recording studio. – Photo by Rich Riski
