As the education reporter, I cover 12 school districts and one community college in my county. That's about 18 board meetings a month, many of them congregated in the second week of each month. Luckily, I don't have to go to all of them. But I do have to read all of the agendas and keep track of what is happening at each district. I've kind of let some go for bigger and broader issue stories, which is what my editor told me to focus on, but I'm trying to get better about it.
This week, I've been inundated with agendas and the supplementary materials. Everyone is reviewing their budgets so far this year. Even Craig, my editor, gave me a sympathetic look when I brought a six-inch stack of papers to him to go over.
I'm still weeding through them and making calls on top of my daily stories. I'll welcome a slow week.
Lesson learned: This year's COLA was 5.3 percent. Federal revenue decreased to Head Start Programs. And this year's capital improvement budget is up 40 percent at one local school. - All stuff none of you care about.
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2 comments:
The trick is to take all of those details and numbers and write the story in a way that people Will care.. And that's something you are great at doing. You touch at heartstrings, and explain tough issues clearly and in a way that makes the issues relevant to your average reader. I sometimes will read the Wall Street Journal for this reason. That paper has some of the best writing out there, and it's often on topics that most people would otherwise find dry. But they present these issues in a way that reaches people.
You're a strong and wonderful writer. You'll find the keys to reach the readers... I trust that.
ALSO -- the pictures from the hiking trip look great. You two are so photogenic... and look great with big packs on your back. It was a magical trip. I look forward to the next one. Maybe we should hire one of those cowboys next time....
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