Boring matters. Piecing together minute pieces over time matters. Out of boring comes exciting. Or at least oversight.
Supporting beat reporters who go to boring public meetings is a crucial component of a free society.
Local media – local beat reporters specifically – the ones who go to the boring-est meetings when we can’t (or won’t) – matter. Seeing pictures of Neil and/or Sean as the lone attendees at public meetings makes me ever more thankful that they’re where they are.
On the Media: Deadbeats – makes me even more thankful for the work done by @cvilletomorrow http://t.co/26ore8QYGU
— Jim Duncan (@JimDuncan) January 3, 2015
Seriously. Spend a few minutes listening to this podcast and think about it in context of the Charlottesville – Albemarle regional media world. Who goes to those meetings? And how can you support them (I suggest emailing them a thank you to start … and then maybe donating a few bucks).
For me, two of the most valuable and consistent information sources are Charlottesville Tomorrow and the Free Enterprise Forum, the latter of which is one of the very few providing insight into Greene, Fluvanna, Nelson and Louisa.
What a great post! And so true. These meetings can and do impact our lives. The reveal future developments, expansion, conversion and taxation. Those that go and then report the results save us countless hours and tons of frustration from having to participate ourselves. The least we could do would be to read their summaries and give them a pat on the back.
And newspapers! For a few cents a day you get the results from the people who sit in those meetings, nicely digested. It’s worth it to pay to keep them going.