Students launch searchable audio and keyword alert service for N.C. legislative meetings

Capitol Hound | Reese News Lab
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
11 Carroll Hall, Campus Box 3365
Chapel Hill, NC 27599

The Reese News Lab is proud to announce the launch of Capitol Hound, an online searchable archive and alert system for the North Carolina General Assembly.  The Reese News Lab is a media innovation center at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media.  

North Carolina is one of 41 states that does not offer searchable transcripts of state government sessions. Currently, people seeking access to the discussions of the N.C. General Assembly must attend sessions in person, read news summaries, or comb through lengthy, unsearchable audio recordings of the entire day's dialogue. These methods are expensive, inconvenient and have high opportunity costs.

Capitol Hound generates transcripts of audio recordings of the entire legislative session and select committee meetings, indexed with five-minute audio segments. The platform enables subscribers to search for exact words spoken by lawmakers the day after they are said on the floor. In addition, when user-specified keywords are spoken in a legislative session, the system sends an email alert with a link to the exact moment the keyword is mentioned in the recording, accompanied by the full transcript and sound bite.

Capitol Hound offers incredible value to anyone with interest in the state legislature, including lobbyists, lawyers, media executives, city and county officials, politicians, campaign managers and political party officials. This service allows subscribers to see and hear the actual context in which topics are discussed. The alert system allows users to be notified quickly when topics important to their industry or region are brought up and discussed on the floor. Capitol Hound increases government transparency and streamlines the process of staying informed about the happenings in the General Assembly.

Reese News Lab is conducting a pilot launch of Capitol Hound for the 2014 short session, which begins May 14. This launch will allow subscribers next-day access to the searchable database of the dialogue in the N.C. legislature as well as select committee meeting transcriptions. Users will also be able to utilize the e-mail alert system.

If you’re interested in discussing our product further and becoming a subscriber for the upcoming session of the General Assembly, please contact us to set up a meeting.

You may also view our website to learn about subscription pricing, sign up for email updates or try a demonstration at capitolhound.com.

We look forward to hearing from you.

For more information or to subscribe, contact:

Corinne Jurney
corinne.jurney@reesenewslab.org
(919) 270-6263

OR

Lilly Knoepp
lillian.knoepp@reesenewslab.org
(828) 421-7773