Tips on covering meetings

1. Prepare.
Find out as much as you can beforehand. That means reading the clips, getting the agenda and going over it with the officials. It's better to write the story as an advance, to run before the meeting, telling readers what's up, what might happen and what various people say about it.

2. Take good notes.
Number events in your notebook so you won't lose track of any discussion or action.

3. Clean up questions.
If you can't hear something, or don't understand a discussion, mark that spot in your note book and then go up afterwards to quickly flip through it and ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask people to repeat to flesh out quotes you didn't get all down the first time.

4. List and pick.
Afterwards, make a short, one-word list (from the numbered items in your notes) of each thing that happened, then circle or rank those that seem to have priority in terms of interest and impact.

5. Write for readers.
Ask yourself, why is this a story for my readers, what's the point of it, then use that information to compose a lead. Try for a future angle, telling readers what is going to happen in the future as a result of the decisions.

6. Answer questions.
As you continue writing, answer questions in the order they would logically occur to the reader. Ex.: Para A - The typical water bill in Centerville will go up from $35 to $40 a quarter starting May 1st, city council decided last night. (the news). Para B - The increase is needed to pay for a new $9.1 million treatment system. (why is this needed?) Para C: The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is insisting the project be undertaken after a study showed etc., etc. (why is it needed now?)