Texas newsrooms gear up to cover 85th Texas Legislature; TAB webinar available for prep

posted on 12.12.2016

Texas lawmakers will gather in Austin in less than a month to begin the state’s next legislative session.

Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate members convene on Jan. 10 to face a host of serious issues.

Lawmakers will have a scant five and a half months and limited funds to address them in the regular session.

Needless to say, Texas radio and TV stations will have multiple opportunities for news coverage as lawmakers attempt to find solutions in the 85^th Texas Legislature.

TAB will present a free webinar next week to provide newsrooms the background, tools and insights they need to cover lawmakers and the pressing issues of the upcoming session.

Sign up today for Covering the 85^th Texas Legislature, TAB’s special hour-long online dive into the upcoming session.

The webinar takes place Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 1 pm CST.

This online session will provide newsrooms a background briefing on what are expected to be the top issues lawmakers will tackle in 2017 such as property tax and public school finance “reforms,” as well as controversial hot button topics like sanctuary cities, transgender bathroom access and voter identification.

Stations also will gain knowledge of the internal factors of the Legislature that will affect the session such as the ongoing conflict between rural and urban Texas legislative districts, as well as the battle between the moderate and more conservative wings of the Republican statehouse membership.

TAB will present information on the logistics of covering the session for a day or multiple days as well as free online tools for identifying and tracking bills moving through the Legislature.

TAB’s goal is to encourage more coverage of the Legislature by Texas newsrooms.

There is no limit to the number of station staff who can sign up for this free webinar.

The webinar will be recorded and archived online for viewing for those unable to participate in the live workshop.

Questions? Email Michael Schneider or call (512) 322-9944.

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