How to Deal with Lack of Coverage of Public Meetings

You could enlist citizens.

“There are hundreds of public government meetings, from the police board to local school councils, the education board, it goes on. A lot of these meetings are not reported on, and some of that’s through lack of [local reporters] — for example, DNAinfo,” said Darryl Holliday, City Bureau’s co-founder/editorial director and a former DNAinfo Chicago reporter, in explaining the existing setup in Chicago. “A lot of those meetings are not attended by the public. There will be meetings that go on where there’s literally no one there from the public present for these really big decisions that affect us in a lot of different ways. Documenters can be trained, and in our case paid, to go out and document these public meetings for the public.”

Foreward to Book on Robert's Rules of Order for Elementary School Children

1876 cover of Robert's Rules of Order , a book containing rules of order intended to be adopted for use by a deliberative assembly. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Much of society is dysfunctional. It no longer works. Every special interest group uses bullying tactics to make others submit to their agenda. It leaves many people with no voice.

To have an effective society, we need effective organizations. To have equality for all, we need to hear everyone's voice, and not just those who scream the loudest, or have the most money, or control the information flow. No one should be allowed to speak over others, hog the floor, or not allow all sides to be heard. Democracy is for everyone, including children.

Children should be taught the fundamental rules of order in the democratic process. This guide is designed specifically to teach children from Kindergarten through 5th Grade how to conduct orderly meetings where everyone gets a chance to speak.

Basic Roberts Rules of Order

Reporter Attends Lively Meeting and Recognizes What's Newsworthy

English: "Biggest Little City in the World" arch on Virginia Street in Downtown Reno, Nevada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A cop, a prostitute, a stolen gun. What happens in Reno fails to stay there.