Saturday, February 27, 2010

Does your locality have a state-capital lobbyist? Here's an example of how to cover the story

Some rural towns, counties and economic-development groups are hiring lobbyists to advance their interests in state capitals and perhaps even Washington. One of the latest localities is Marion County, Kentucky, population about 18,000, and its county seat of Lebanon, which pooled $20,000 for an annual fee to a native who has become one of the leading contract lobbyists in Frankfort.

The coverage by Stephen Lega of The Lebanon Enterprise is an example of how to cover a story like this. In this week's follow-up to the story about the hiring, Lega gets local legislators' opinion (they support the move) and finds that very few small communities in Kentucky have hired lobbyists. He got the information online from the Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission. Most other states have similar agencies. Here is his story.

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