Newspapers smartly are promoting their roles as government watchdogs to reinforce their strengths in the fractured media landscape. I join the chorus: Vibrant coverage of public affairs is at the foundation of vibrant communities. The theme was underscored in a couple of recent webinars.
What do you lose without a community newspaper? As one editor noted, announcing candidate filings, explaining the whys behind a proposed bonding project, calling attention to salary hikes for public officials – these stories and more collectively bind together communities.
Another editor succinctly said: “To sustain democracy, you need people who care about facts and want to read facts. That’s what we’re here for.”
To no surprise, I find myself nodding in agreement with observations on the importance of delivering relevant public affairs coverage, especially the workings of local government where community newspapers have a ringside view. The strongest meeting coverage boils down to three steps: Alert readers; report the decisions; interpret the actions.
For many newspapers, meeting reports represent the lion’s share of their public affairs coverage. That demands extra attention to produce stories that educate and engage readers.
The first step is to write leads with substance. It’s disheartening to see so many examples that miss the mark. The governmental bodies remain nameless to protect the guilty.
The county board held a public hearing and special board meeting to discuss the tentative plan for county and municipal redistricting, ultimately passing it. (The report was void of any specifics of the plan.)
Below is the agenda for the city council meeting. (Meeting advances are a great way to preview important topics to provide background information and engage the public. This report failed on all counts by simply reprinting the agenda.)
The school board met to discuss a districtwide levy, member wages and more. (The lead gave no indication of any decisions made.)
At the school board meeting, the superintendent touched on the district’s current COVID-19 data. (The news was buried halfway into the story: The district had seen a gradual increase in positivity rates with no spikes or outbreaks.)
Reporting on government meetings has its own set of challenges. Sessions can last hours, and you are tasked with turning around timely and relevant reports.
Reporters must prepare. Review agendas in advance and gauge the importance of each item to readers. Which stories likely warrant front-page display? Which ones can be enhanced by a photo and/or graphic? Whose voices should be included in your reports – in other words, track down and include the reaction of those affected by the actions taken.
Above all else, avoid chronological reports. Initial items on many agendas can often be ignored.
I hear the arguments that readers today want to be entertained – that we must stop force-feeding them with public affairs reporting, especially reports of meetings. The hill is even steeper to climb with recent polls showing Americans’ confidence in elected leaders has dropped to a new low. But I firmly stand my ground. I still read newspapers to keep abreast of public policy and its impact on citizens’ everyday lives.
The detractors are absolutely correct if meeting reports read like the above examples. Few people will get beyond the first paragraph.
Public affairs coverage can be interesting, relevant, and even entertaining. I fondly remember two experiences when I sat behind the editor’s desk.
Our newspaper led an editorial campaign to unseat four incumbents in their re-election bid to the city council. Fresh voices filled the letters column, and all four were unceremoniously retired. Among the most gratifying comments came from a YMCA staff member: “I used to first turn to the sports pages. Now I turn to the editorial page.”
And this comment from an advertiser after we carried an expose on the local economic development director. “Let me know the next time you’re going to carry such a big story. I want my ad in that edition.”
Public affairs coverage – specifically, meeting reports – can be informative and grab attention. It takes work, and that’s especially challenging in newsrooms operating with diminished resources. These stories will not be accomplished, however, without the support of management willing to invest the time and money to train editors and reporters. Most importantly, I believe these stories are essential to the livelihood of community newspapers.
Freedom Forum Perspective: Bill of Rights Day Deserves Greeting Cards Too
More and more occasions today seem to call for cards, even setting aside the more transparently money-motivated “national days” for everything from dice to doughnuts (which actually get two days).
But there’s one holiday — now hear me out — I wouldn’t mind being more commercialized.
Bill of Rights Day on Dec. 15 commemorates the day in 1791 the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution became law.
THE BILL OF RIGHTS’ BEGINNING
When we think of Bill of Rights Day, if we do at all, we might picture weathered scrolls and men in curly powdered wigs. Those aren’t inaccurate images — just incomplete.
The founders wanted to prevent government abuse of its powers, but some saw naming citizens’ rights explicitly as too limiting, while others believed the best way to protect the people was to enshrine a bill of rights within the original Constitution. Still, others preferred a separate list of rights.
George Mason, author of Virginia’s Declaration of Rights, even refused to sign the Constitution — as did several states — in part because it lacked a bill of rights. Others signed with the promise one would be added by amendment.
Eventually, with Virginia’s ratification, the 10 amendments ultimately making up the Bill of Rights were approved by the three-fourths of states required to enact it.
THE RIGHTS THAT EMPOWER US
Today, the freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights enable us to work toward the “more perfect union” to which our founders aspired.
Our First Amendment freedoms have particularly protected the rights of activists to speak out and protest for suffrage, for civil rights, and for social changes both small and significant. The guarantee of these freedoms empowers us to participate in democracy. To have a say.
More fundamentally, our freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition enable us to be who we are, to believe what we believe, without fear of government punishment.
We may not think about these freedoms much because they are even more integral than doughnuts or dice to living as we choose each day. But they’re surely worth the parchment they’re inked on — and a supply of cardstock for greeting cards.
And there’s another reason Bill of Rights Day is a prime candidate for the greeting card industry.
THESE RIGHTS ARE YOURS, MINE AND OURS
If we think about the Bill of Rights long enough to get past the calligraphy and powdered wigs, we may focus on the rights it secures in personal, individual terms: I get to pray as I wish. It’s my right to speak. These rights protect me.
They do.
But these rights are only guaranteed for ourselves if they’re also ensured for everyone. They aren’t just mine or yours, but ours.
In forming a democratic society, and establishing a Bill of Rights, our founders agreed to protect these rights for each other. This part of the Bill of Rights’ promise is often overlooked but is key to safeguarding each of our freedoms.
Perhaps if a selection of Bill of Rights Day cards was readily available each Dec. 15, we might be more likely to take one day each year to recognize each other’s roles in practicing, protecting, and preserving our freedoms.
Download your free, sharable Bill of Rights Day cards here:
Bill of Rights Day Postcard 1
Bill of Rights Day Postcard 2
By Karen Hansen, Freedom Forum content managing editor. You can reach Karen at khansen@freedomforum.org.