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Advocacy Blog
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
The Average Grade for Congressional Web Sites was a "D"
The ability to communicate with elected officials is vital to a healthy democracy and civil society. The easiest way to have any form of communication is over the internet, which can best be utilized as a two-way communication between legislative office and constituent. Unfortunately, the websites of many lawmakers are below average. The Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) officially released its "Gold Mouse Report", acknowledging Member, committee and leadership offices that best use their Web sites as constituent communication tools. One key finding included that "Congress needs to recognize that the Internet is an essential information and communications medium."
CMF analyzed and ranked 618 House, Senate, committee, and leadership websites based on five major categories over three months and gave each site with a letter grade, ranging from "A" to "F."
The report accurately states that "[t]here is really no longer any excuse for a congressional office not to have a good Web site. Citizens are increasingly using the Internet to stay informed and get involved in politics, to interact with the government, and to participate in democracy. Congress, in turn, needs to engage with citizens online."
RollCall ($$) reports that "about 57 percent of Member Web sites lacked information about legislative issues with a particular local interest, which is arguably the No. 1 reason constituents visit Member sites to begin with. Twenty-six percent of sites didn't have links to sponsored or co-sponsored legislation, and of those that did, 23 percent did not reference the current Congressional session."
Click here, to read coverage of the Gold Mouse Report in The Hill.
Posted by Amanda Adams
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