Letter from the President
By Renee Radcliff Sinclair, President and CEO
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTNERSHIP!
Dear Friends of TVW:
As I sit down to write this note, the legislature is in the throes of budget writing — operating, capital, and transportation. This is the most important work they do and I am grateful the citizens of our state have the option to follow along at home, either by television or online, thanks to the work of TVW.
When TVW was a youngster, a big day for us amounted to covering four events live for television during the legislative session, while taping four other events for later viewing on TV. Today, thanks to the broad capabilities of the world wide web, TVW is regularly live-streaming and televising upwards to 50 events a day. And (spoiler alert, here’s the amazing part), each one of those events is getting an average of 10,000+ live views per event. And, because we archive all our work, that doesn’t even begin to account for the views our content gets after the event occurs.
That’s great news for civic engagement, but it comes at a significant cost. As the state portion of our annual operating budget continues to diminish, your support has never been more important, or more appreciated. Thank you. I say it often, and it has never been more true, we could not do what we do without you.
Renee
Programming Update
By Mike Bay, Vice President, Programming
COMING SOON: “SINE DIE!”
The 105-day 2023 legislative session will come to its scheduled conclusion on Sunday, April 23. The last day of session is known as “sine die,” latin meaning “without day” – because the Legislature adjourns without setting a day to reconvene.
It’s a day that mixes excitement and exhaustion, the end of 3-1/2 months of intense work and long days (and sometimes nights).
In terms of TVW programming, sine die features our trademark gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Legislature’s final hours. Often it’s a long day, with key bills still being finalized, and final votes on those bills being taken in House and Senate, sometimes well into the evening. Typically, after the final gavel falls, the governor holds a post-session media availability to discuss the legislative session, which we cover live.
For 40 episodes of the year, The Impact host Mike McClanahan hosts interviews in the TVW studio, just off the Capitol Campus. But on sine die, The Impact takes its “studio” inside the Capitol Dome, and conducts live interviews with state legislators and the governor as they look back on the last 105 days, assess its impact, and give their perspectives on the hot topics of the legislative session.
The sine die episode of The Impact is one of our programming highlights of the year, despite factors that should make for not-so-good TV. The acoustics are bad: as opposed to a controlled studio setting, the voices from hundreds of conversations echo off the marble walls (I actually think the hubbub sounds great). The lighting is tough for TV, as on a typical April day, bright sunlight alternatingly streams onto the set and hides behind the clouds. Scheduling the interviews is dicey, given that legislators may need to be on the floor for votes at any time.
But because of the guests, the interviews, the timing, the location, it’s a memorable show, the epitome of what TVW hopes to give viewers with its interview programs:
- It happens in the heart of the action
- Viewers hear directly from their state legislators, unedited, in more than soundbites
- They hear from both sides – majority Democrats and minority Republicans
- There’s a special energy and completeness to this episode, as legislators give their unvarnished thoughts on a broad variety of public policy issues
Teach with TVW Update
By Brett Hanson, Director of Education
This was a big year for our flagship program Capitol Classroom now in its 13th year with 3 new schools joining along with three new volunteer lobbyists. During the 2023 legislative session, the program reached over 450 students in 21 participating classes across Washington, from Naselle to Chewelah and many in between.
Each class chose issues to advocate for and against, ranging from the state dinosaur bill and gun rights to child support and free meals for all in schools. As the students tracked, researched and discussed the issues, their lobbyists guided them through the process, briefing them on the progress of their bills and inviting guests to speak on the issues. Several legislators and elected officials visited classrooms to answer students’ questions about legislation including Treasurer Pellicciotti, Senator Nguyen, and Representatives: Hackney, Walen, Paul and Mena.
As the students learned about state issues they wrote letters to committee members and leadership to inform and advocate on their positions. A few students even provided public testimony in committee meetings.
One of our standout program participants, Lake Washington High School, researched and presented a bill addressing gender pricing discrimination to their Senator, Manka Dhingra, who chose to become the prime sponsor of SB 5171. Under the guidance of their lobbyist Michael Moran, the students worked tirelessly advocating for their bill at every step, including talking with stakeholders, writing letters and testifying in public hearings. Unfortunately, their bill did not make it to the finish line, but their efforts were featured prominently in many regional news outlets and certainly raised awareness of the issue.
During the interim we will continue to expand the reach of our programs including strengthening our Capitol Classroom+ platform which allows for many more students to learn from our civics resources.
Legislative Review: Host Angela Nolasco brings you the most compelling debates from committee hearings and floor action daily, weekly, and an end-of-session news report on the hottest topics under the dome.
TVW Joins GiveBIG: As a non-profit organization, TVW is proud to participate in the 2023 GiveBIG celebration. Learn more and make an early gift at: TVW GiveBIG