Blogs at the (Texas) Legislature

Governing Magazine has a great discussion of the role that blogs are playing during the Texas legislative session:

The Texas legislature convenes only in alternate years. The last time lawmakers met, in 2003, nobody had even heard of blogs. This year, seemingly from out of nowhere, there is a sort of "fifth estate" in Austin, popped up on the Internet like bluebonnets in springtime. The Texas blogging corps includes political junkies, college students, the producers of a talk-radio show, mainstream journalists, a lobbyist, and a couple of state reps who blog directly from the House floor (see sidebar). Not only do most people in Texas political circles now know what statehouse blogs are; many read at least a couple of them as part of their daily media diet. It amounts to a sudden and remarkable change in the political culture. With so many independent voices launching small-scale ventures that specialize in satire and stinging commentary, the Texas capitol is beginning to look like an American legislature of two centuries ago, in which slashing editors took out after ideological enemies with venomous low-budget broadsheets.

Check it out.

Elsewhere
Representative Aaron Pena's Capitol Blog: "The cover story contains a who's who of the Texas Blogger Establishment. There, of course is no such thing! Actually this group of bad-news bears misfits is the most anti-establishment bunch you would find in Texas."
Off the Kuff: "Thankfully, we seem to have come to a point where coverage of blogs isn't necessarily cutesy or breathless."
Masson's Blog: "I was glad to see that the Governing article described the blogger's self-described non-partisanship versus her actual articles which came across as anti-Republican."
Adam Groves: "The Texas Legislature is the one covered in the article, but the insight in the article is telling for all blogs that cover politics and legislatures."
VA Conservative: "Frankly, I don’t really desire to have press credentials (heaven forbid someone should call me a journalist), but I can understand why some bloggers would."
A Nation of the People and IP Addresses: Wireless peanut gallery
Leighton Andrews: "Meanwhile, Congress Online has a feature on blogging in congress - as with the UK, few elected officials use blogs"
Rick Perry vs. the World: "The day could come when blogs could supplant those three newsletters, but that day isn't imminent."
Common Sense: "While I can tell you it is nice to be featured in a magazine article, this particular one wasn't too kind to us bloggers. "