We’re training and paying meeting reporters like you to shine a light on local government

Uriah Kiser, Potomac Local News publisher, here.

We need your help reporting the local news. Our next meeting reporter orientation is on Zoom at 5 p.m. on July 3, 2023. Please click here to RSVP. Seats are limited.

All meeting reporters must complete the orientation before receiving paid assignments.

Meeting reporters (aka documenters) are paid for us to cover public meetings in Prince William County, Stafford County, Manassas City, Manassas Park City, and others.

Meeting reporters are paid $50 per meeting (two hours of meeting coverage and one hour of notes compilation time). We pay $17 per hour for additional meeting time if needed.

Documenters must submit their notes are due within 24 hours of the meeting start time.  I hold office hours on Zoom on Mondays between 2 to 5 p.m. to discuss upcoming meetings.

Why are we doing this?

In the past year, we learned a judge granted bond to a suspected killer, there are elevated amounts of “forever chemicals” in our drinking water, and our leaders said “no” to a grocery store known for driving down prices.

• All of these stories in our community went underreported.
• Now, imagine you could do something about it. Imagine you could be the community’s eyes and ears and report the news.

They said I was crazy.

If there is one thing I’ve learned after nearly 13 years of publishing PotomacLocalNews.com, I can’t be everywhere.

• Many people said I was crazy to have staked out a territory of Prince William and Stafford counties, Manassas, and Manassas Park cities — 628-combined square miles with more than 676,000 people — and try to provide news to all the neighborhoods.
• It’s not easy, and nothing worth doing ever is. While I’m still the business’s sole employee, I’ve had a lot of help over the years from people who love and care about their community, want its residents to be informed, and submit photos, news tips, articles, and op-eds. We’ve had fantastic success with our student work-based learning interns from the Stafford, Spotsylvania, and Manassas school divisions.

We’ve lost 2,500 newspapers.

Newspaper circulation (the traditional local news source for most Americans) has been at its lowest since 1940.

• Revenues have been down more than 62% since 2008. Nearly half of all newspaper jobs disappeared between 2008 and 2018. We’ve lost 2,500 community newspapers since 2005.
• Unfortunately, it’s a continuing trend.
• The future of local news, and the work of educating communities on local issues, holding local officials accountable, and driving participation in elections won’t be done by those who write for newspapers or their companion websites.

However, there is hope.

This week, we celebrated a first and a potential milestone that could be the future of how local news is reported in our communities.

• It’s a model I have watched with great interest since 2018 and one that, if implemented correctly and supported by our readers, would provide an excellent service to our community.

On Monday, April 10, 2023, Lynn Forkell Greene attended the Manassas City Council meeting and “documented” the meeting. Documenting is a fancy word for taking notes or reporting what she saw and heard.

• She covered the entire meeting from start to finish — from the council member’s comments about the city’s recent 150th-anniversary party to what residents had to say about a proposed, first-of-its-kind affordable housing project in the city.
• With her notes, meeting documents, and a video of the proceeding on the city’s website, I wrote a story about the development that promises affordable housing to city employees.

Get paid to report the news.

We cover multiple communities and many public meetings, so we’re recruiting, training, and paying documenters to attend public meetings and report what they see and hear.

• This paid opportunity is perfect for retirees, students, or anyone who needs extra income, has an interest in their community, can work independently and collaboratively with a team, and has a nose for local news.
• Please email me at [email protected], and I’ll send you information about how to get trained and paid to report the news and the eyes and ears of our community.

I hope you’re as excited about the prospect of more local news as I am.

Thank you for your continued support of what we do.