Embrace your learning curve

One thing that often holds people back from doing citizen journalism is that they don't feel like they know enough about an issue or event to cover it well.

I'll let you in on a secret of journalism: You don't have to be an expert to be a good reporter. In fact, it helps to embrace your learning curve and just be willing to start reporting from wherever you happen to be along that curve.

Here's how I did that this week...

As I mentioned last week, part of getting into the citizen journalism habit is building a beat. In my own community, I've started doing that by covering Boulder, CO land use issues in YourHub.com, a citizen journalism site offered by the Rocky Mountain News.

Lately I've gotten intrigued with a long-term effort to redevelop a huge swath of East-Central Boulder called the "Transit Village Area Plan." On Monday Dec. 12, I attended a public hearing on a small but important part of this project: the first step in planning where the roads and pedestrian/bike routes will go.

This was not an exciting hearing. In fact, it was pretty arcane, and I wasn't familiar with much of the terminology or background. Most of the people there were either with city government or already involved with the project, so there wasn't really any background offered for novices. However, I paid close attention, took copious notes, and figured out at least a fair amount of what was going on.

...And yes, I did indeed get a story out of it. It's not a particularly thrilling story, but I think it's a decent one.

See "Routes and Flexibility Collide in Transit Village."

Here are some tips for covering public meetings that occured to me as I was researching and writing this story:

1. DON'T WORRY, JUST LISTEN AND TAKE NOTES -- especially if you're covering an issue that's already well underway. Of course you won't understand what everything means, or who's playing what role. Just write it down. As the meeting progresses, you'll figure out who the key players are and what the main issues at hand are. Have some faith that if you collect enough pieces of the puzzle it will start to make sense.

...And that's all you're shooting for when you're just starting to cover a new topic. You just want to make a bit of sense and capture something important or interesting. You're not trying to win the Pulitzer Prize. You're just getting in some practice at creating useful information while you get yourself up to speed on the topic. If you worry too much about what you don't understand, you won't take good notes. Being a good reporter means getting out of your own head -- and that includes setting aside worry, doubt, and nervousness.

2. WATCH FOR SPARKS, or at least signs of life. Public meetings generally are dreadfully dull. People drone on, often in cryptic terms, and refer to opaque voluminous documents that you may not have on hand while they're speaking. So where do you find a story? Watch the faces of participants. Listen to their tone of voice.

For instance, at Monday's meeting I'd been taking notes for a while when I sensed a change in the tone of the meeting. The city's planning staff was saying something about a map, about what should and shouldn't go on that map. I saw eyebrows raise and postures change, become more alert, among the members of the city's Transportation Advisory Board. The exchange between the board and staff which followed was by no means heated, but it was at least lively and largely in plain language.

At that point I realized I had my story. There was action happening -- mild action, but as I paid attention I realized it had potentially significant long-term implications. I could feel myself starting to learn and understand. I knew I'd been hooked, which told me I had something I could hook others with.

3. YOU DON'T HAVE TO COVER EVERYTHING. Remember, as a reporter you're there to develop a factual story, not take minutes. Once you feel like you've found a good hook for a story, focus on that. If possible, ask clarifying questions to flesh out that angle. Make sure you get the correct name and title/role of each key player in your chosen storyline.

Don't try to recount absolutely everything that happened in the meeting. That's makes for dreadful storytelling. Just focus on the newsworthy story you've discovered. Keep an eye open for other potentially valuable storylines, sure -- but realize that your time is limited and you have a job to do. Make sure you come out of that meeting with a story to tell.

4. GET CONTEXT. After the meeting, have a chat with a key player in your storyline, or someone else who can help you reality-check your interpretation.

In this case, I couldn't attend the entire public meeting. It was dragging on past 8:30 and I'd agreed to drive a friend to the airport at 3am, so I needed to head home. However, I knew from prior research what kinds of related background material was available on the city's web site.

But I also relied on the expertise of a friend, Terence Hoaglund, a landscape architect in Fort Collins, CO. Terence knows more than anyone I know how the planning and development process works in our part of the state. He goes to a lot of public meetings and wades through a lot of maps, plans, and documents. The day after the meeting, I chatted with Terence to make sure that some things that struck me as significant in that meeting were indeed significant. He helped me understand the general process better and validated my instincts.

5. WHAT'S NEXT? If you're covering an ongoing issue, it helps to let your readers know what the next step in the process is. In this case, there's another public meeting on Transit Village tonight -- this time with Boulder's Planning Board. I'd like to attend, but unfortunately I have another commitment. However, I concluded my story with a mention of tonight's meeting, including relevant links.

6. THINK PICTURES. If you're going out to cover any public meeting, think in terms of images. I'm not talking about boring talking-head photos. Instead, consider taking or acquiring photos or images related to the matter at hand. For instance, if a public meeting concerns a flood plain check for archival photos of past flooding in that region. If it's about public recreation centers, go to a local rec center and get someone's permission to photograph them working out. Use your imagination, and make sure to ask subjects' permission -- perferably before you start shooting.

In the case of my story today, the cause of excitement was a map -- in particular, what would and would not end up on a specific map. I ended up using that map as a graphic associated with my story.

Comments

[Steve Sergeant]

I'm finding, in producing my podcast, that it's sometimes a hinderance to know too much about a topic or issue. It's easy to assume that something is a dumb question, or that some statement is too obvious if it's a topic that I know a lot about. And then the listener is deprived of a crucial piece of introductory information because it's so elementary to me. So I often have to selectively forget what I know about a story in order to do better interviews and write better scripts.

[Joseph F Dunphy MBA MFP]

It's a very good defensive measure to tape the proceedings yourself. In controversial matters, sometimes an official or functionary will try to alter the record afterwards, or deny it's release under the Open Records Act. Reporter's notes are good, notes of several witnesses are even better. Video recording would be great, but it can miss whatever's not in front of the camera.
Showing up at a meeting without doing background preparation means you probably miss some of the highlights. Not leaving a business card or phone number where you can be reached means that you are not giving potential sources a chance to flesh out the story. Being a reporter and photographer at the same time means you have to do one thing or the other; teaming up with a photographer allows you to cover the story, instead of fumbling for the tools of one half of the story.
If you can compare your notes to the official transcript, that can be helpful. And if you're going to report on a regular basis, you should get covered by libel insurance. Your reporting can be correct, but a copy editor somewhere else in the process can make a seemingly minor change that gets you into legal hot water.
If you're going to use video equipment or one of those nifty camera phones, make sure you have checked the area you are reporting from for "dead zones," where transmission is difficult.
And if you happen to cover a fire or other hazardous situation, make sure you're prepared to take care of your own safety. Police, fire, and EMS have safety equipment worth about $1,500 minimum to partially shield them from fire, explosions, and the like. About half of fatalities at a rescue scene are would-be rescuers.

[Amy Gahran]

Joseph is right, there is a lot more that citizen journalists can do to ensure accuracy.

That said, the point of my article was to show that if you're brand-new to citizen journalism, you don't need to be intimidated that you don't have the skills, training, and experience of a professional journalist.

Start where you are, and keep it simple at first. Don't get too fancy or obsessive with your first few stories. Just learn how to spot a story and cover it to the best of your ability.

- Amy Gahran