Covering the marriage debate

Covering same-sex marriage has given VPR News an opportunity to use all of our different media to tell the story.

We've had plenty of pieces on the air, of course, from legislative debates to personal stories. But we also took advantage of online.

We streamed legislative hearings and debates when we could. We posted to VPR.net when there were developments. One day, when Gov. Jim Douglas announced he'd veto the bill, Bob Kinzel put his cell phone on the podium next to his microphone.

We recorded the governor's statement in Colchester and posted the audio -- even though it wasn't quite of broadcast quality -- online until we could get the good material from Bob's recording.

And on that critical day when the Legislature voted to override the veto, we Twittered and updated and posted and aired every minute.

It's always exciting to be in the news business when a big news event is unfolding. It's even more fun when there are so many different means to get the news to listeners and readers almost instantly.

And our coverage continues. I recently went to a seminar at Dartmouth College during annual Law Week observances and recorded justices from three New England state supreme courts that have dealt with the issue. Audio of that session is online. And there's a story there, too.