PUBLIC MEETING STORY ASSIGNMENT
By April 4, you are to submit a news story about a public meeting you have attended.
WHAT IS A PUBLIC MEETING?
A public meeting, for this assignment, is a
group covered as a public body by the Illinois Open Meetings Act: "all
legislative, executive, administrative or advisory bodies of the state,
counties, townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school districts and
all other municipal corporations, boards, bureaus committees or commissions of
this State...." The most easily accessible, obvious choices for this
assignment are school board and city council meetings. You have your choice of
any public board within the IVCC district.
Meetings of private organizations (Jaycees, Rotary, American Legion, American Red Cross, Boy Scouts, etc.) and private school boards (parochial schools) or anything other than public bodies as defined above are not acceptable for this assignment.
WHEN IS MY STORY DUE TO THE
INSTRUCTOR?
Your story is to be submitted on the day
after the meeting, regardless of the day your class meets. If you attend a
Monday night meeting, for example, your story is due on Tuesday. If you attend a
Tuesday night meeting, your story is due on Wednesday. If you are not on campus
on the due date, make arrangements to have someone drop the story off, mail it
with a post mark, e-mail or fax it to me.
CAN I REWRITE IT?
You have an option on this assignment to
re-do it if you are not satisfied with the grade on your first story. But you
must attend another meeting. If you anticipate wanting to use the rewrite
option, plan for enough ahead to allow you time to attend another public
session.
ANY OTHER ADVICE?
Check with your city clerk and local schools
(or other public bodies) for meeting dates; it is your responsibility to find a
meeting to attend. Note that many of these boards will meet only once a month.
You are receiving this assignment early enough in the semester to allow you more
than enough time to locate and to select from many public meetings or to attend
in groups.