So, is news coverage of local government dying?
Tuesday night it was striking to many that the press row in the back of the room was rather empty. In fact, only two people from radio covered the meeting and that was it. No print media. Which means no Cap Times or WSJ reporters.
Or, is it that the City Council is doing nothing worthy of reporting?
Based on several calls I’ve gotten from reporters lately, nearly begging for a story to cover, this could be true as well. They keep asking me what is going on? Is the council going to work on anything big? Are we going to do anything newsworthy?
Or, have we spoiled the media?
Some stay home and watch on tv and then call some of us after the meeting for a quote. I have to admit, the Cap Times called me around 11:30 Tuesday night, but I was somewhat irritated with the reporter and the Cap Times and declined comment.
(A little aside . . . . Mary Rathbun was among those who were laid off which I personally think was a mistake. Plus, the call was rather late and I get irritated with reporters who don’t show up and then ask you what happened just so they have something to write. It’s kind of scary to think that I might be the only source that determines what is news from a meeting and what is not. It used to happen on plan commission quite a bit.)
Anyways, back to my point, It’s hard to tell what is going on. I know that more and more as I travel about the city, people tell me that the only source for council news is my blog. I also hear complaints from people anxious to hear about school board and county board news. For city issues, if people want to know what happened they read it here. County Board and School Board are out of luck.
At the same time, the criticism about the Common Council not doing anything is pretty accurate as well. We’ve failed to address the snow policy issues in any meaningful way this winter and there are single big issues on the horizon. And I have to admit, many of the issues I’m working on are somewhat geeky and wonky, but important. Here’s the short list . . . and I have many more ideas in my head . . .
- Fair hiring policies,
- Looking at ways to ensure equal pay for women in government
- Filling city committees with a diverse group of persons – including more women and people of color or with disabilities
- Opening up the affordable housing trust fund
- Providing feedback for the rather disappointing economic development plan for the City of Madison
- Transportation plans for the downtown
- Revising rules for committees so they are more consistent
- Revisions to the inclusionary zoning ordinance and salvaging the pathetic housing market study we received
- TIF policy revisions
- CDA accountability to the City
- Trying to figure out what to do about the childcare crisis
I’m not sure what else others might list, but the Long Range Metro report is coming out soon, there’s the 311 system report, the security deposit ordinance should be on the next agenda, the billboard ordinance seems to have disappeared and there’s a neighborhood electric car ordinance that is somewhat interesting, ALRC is struggling to be more transparent and consistent and there are some issues that are sort of work in progress like the future use of the Garver Feed Mill, Central Park, Madison Public Market, etc but beyond that, its hard to know what others are working on, if anything.
So, is it the media? Is the City Council just boring? Is it a bad combination of the two that is leading to less local news of interest? I’m not sure. But, one thing is sure, the coverage of local government issues is on the decline.
