When The Beacon launched Kansas City Documenters late last year, the goal was to fill the gap in consistent, accessible information about what happens in public meetings, and to use Documenters’ notes to inform our reporting.
Since then, our reporters have pursued a number of stories inspired by Documenters’ meeting notes. One recent example is from the Mid-America Regional Council’s April 28 board of directors meeting.
During that meeting, public officials pondered the possibility that some World Cup visitors might opt to camp out rather than book an expensive hotel or short-term rental. Might that explain, at least in part, why local bookings for the world’s largest sporting event have been lagging expectations?
That sounded like an interesting question to us. So The Beacon’s Thomas White dug into a follow-up story that generated a lot of readership and republications.
That’s how this program is supposed to work. Train citizen journalists to monitor public meetings that we alone don’t have the capacity to cover. Get more eyes, ears and feet on the street. Pay attention. Chase the news. And have faith that a civically engaged audience finds that work worthy of attention.
Sometimes, it works like a charm.
Want to get involved?
Are you passionate about improving government transparency and making sure important decisions reach those most affected? The Beacon will train and pay you to attend public meetings and share what happened with your fellow Kansas Citians.
To get started, create an account on Documenters.org. You can find more information about the process on our Documenters page.
Questions? Email documenters@thebeacon.media.
