THE SENATE ‘RADIO’ COVERAGE

The live radio broadcasts from the U.S. Senate that got under way on Wednesday will be carried here on local cable TV systems, cable TV representatives said Thursday.

The radio coverage is actually an audio feed provided by Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) which makes it available to cable television systems that, in turn, can carry the proceedings on one of their open channels if they wish.

C-SPAN officials in Washington said Thursday they did not know of any radio stations planning to carry the Senate broadcasts at the moment.

C-SPAN said that while several California cable TV systems are picking up the Senate broadcasts, they knew of only two in Southern California: Storer Cable in Anaheim and Tribune Cable in Lakewood. Tribune is airing the Senate sessions on Channel 36, and a Storer spokesman said they’ll begin the broadcasts in the near future on Channel 8.

For the opening broadcast Wednesday, C-SPAN augmented the audio coverage of the Senate with drawings and photos. In June, C-SPAN is scheduled to add live pictures to the audio coverage. C-SPAN already televises sessions of the House of Representatives.

The Senate broadcasts are considered a test for now and the experiment will continue through July 15. Senators will vote at the end of July on whether or not to allow permanent coverage.