We are so excited to share that Fresnoland has joined the network of cities launching the Documenters program, led by Chicago-based nonprofit media lab City Bureau.
What is a Documenter?
We’re planning to train, pay, and deploy people to cover public and community meetings. It’s democratizing information – and providing an opportunity for community members to cover the issues they know their fellow community members care about most.
You’ll find Documenters live-tweeting and taking notes at your local city council, water district, planning commission, and board of supervisor meetings throughout the central San Joaquin Valley.
Find their dispatches here on the blog!
How can I become a Documenter?
We’ve already closed applications for our first cohort, which met in Fall 2020.
Stay tuned, though, because we’ll be opening another round of applications in early 2021.
Documenters don’t need formal training – we welcome people with diverse backgrounds and a desire to improve civic engagement in their community. You definitely don’t need to be a journalist to apply; we’ll teach you how to take notes, live-tweet, learn the ethics of journalism and media, and interview others.
We believe that everyone has a responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability in our local governments – and that the tools of journalism should be available for anyone to use to cover their own communities best.
Where can I get more information?
Check out our informational session video here.