About those funny marks on your papers ...

They may look like chicken tracks, but they're copy editing symbols. Here's your key to breaking the code.

You've got a date with the City Council tonight

We'll cover tonight's meeting for a midnight deadline. Midnight means midnight, not 20 minutes after. Your other assignment this week is a story from your beat or the city beat.

As the Boy Scouts like to say:

BE PREPARED

A Note on Sources

My expectations for your stories:

1. Bolster your reporting with credible sources. Seek those who are the best qualified to address the subject.

2. Find multiple sources. Your reporting carries more weight if it rests on different perspectives. I won't accept stories with fewer than two sources.

3. Don't rely on friends, acquaintances, employers, family members, etc., as sources. You may think you can be impartial, but you can't.

4. No press releases, please.

Scouting for story ideas

I trust everyone survived Monday's blizzard. I've recommended merit badges in survival for those of you who made it to the City Council meeting. While the event produced little news, you should have scored a few story ideas on several of your beats. Let's talk about those Wednesday.

Meanwhile, take a peek at the agendas for various council committee meetings this week.

I'll make you a special this-week-only deal, too. If you want to cover something from the city beat this week - in lieu of a story from your regular beat - go for it.

By the way, I wrote this post without using a form of the verb "to be." Try it. It forces you to use the active voice.

This Week's Assignments

1. Write brief story from tonight’s City Council meeting. The action begins at 7 p.m. The deadline is midnight. Here's the agenda. You might find this map helpful, too.

2. Write a story from your beat. The feature deadline is Friday at 5 p.m. Breaking news (spot news, event coverage) is due at midnight on the day it breaks.

BACKGROUNDING THE CITY BEAT: ONGOING STORIES

How we behave
The social host debate in Missoula, and how it works elsewhere.

Infrastructure
Streets need work, but it's not easy. Bridges need work. Potholes need fixing. More parking anyone?

Homelessness
Surveying the problem, but hard to tackle. Panhandling is an ongoing problem, too. The city's debate about that is news.

Growth and development
It's controversial. How should the city grow? Agreement is sometimes elusive. So what is allowed? Chickens? Sign pollution?

Council members
We have a new council member. Sometimes they make news off the job. Changes in members make news.

Taxes matter
People care about this stuff.

Transportation news
Bikes, buses and big rigs make headlines.

Human rights
Missoula's anti-discrimination ordinance made statewide headlines, and the so did the response. It's an ongoing issue.

Take a Tour of Missoula's Virtual City Hall

We'll be covering the City of Missoula next week. You can prepare for that by looking through the city's official website. Please make sure to sure to look over the City Council. You can also sign up to get a weekly e-mail telling you what's on the council's agenda for the next meeting.

Other key links include:

• A daily incident report from the Missoula Police Department.
• Press releases and news.
• Agendas and minutes.
• The city's budget.
• Some good Q&A help.

You can also catch up with news on the beat at Missoulian reporter Keila Szpaller's blog, missoularedtape.com. I'd also urge you to sign up for Councilman Bob Jaffe's e-mail listserv. It's a good way to watch ideas develop into action.

A Handy Guide to Local Government

The Missoula League of Women Voters has great links to local government resources. Check out the right side of the page, too.

Your Beats and First Assignment

Beat Assignments:

City Government: Mark Boatman, Miranda Dalpiaz
Cops and Courts: Spencer Veysey
Natural Resources and Conservation: Taylor Anderson, Chris Wood
K-12 Schools: Chelsy Ranard
Higher Education: Dameon Matule, Lindsey Sanders
Local Economy: Beth Beechie, Dillon Kato
Health: Tom Holm, Ian Keffler

First deadline

By 5 p.m. Friday I want you to send me by e-mail a list of the major local agencies (city, county, state, federal) that govern your beat. The list doesn't have to be long.

I also want a 200-word paragraph explaining a recent local story on your beat that you think has "legs." Suggest how you might update or advance that story within the next week.

Welcome to Newzhound

Come on in. Take a look around. We'll use this site in many ways this semester. Check in for:

- Assignments and deadlines.

- Tip sheets and links to help with your reporting and writing.

- Examples of good reporting.

- Discussion about journalism ethics and the law.

By the way, here's your first assignment:

By 8 a.m. Tuesday, send me an e-mail with your first and second choice for a beat to cover. I’ll let you know your assignment by the day’s end.

The choices are:

1. The local economy – Lots of stories here. How are people in your community faring in this recession? What’s the market for jobs? Housing? Energy? Retail trends? A good way to start is update an ongoing story or localize a national one. What challenges do business owners face? What challenges do their workers face?

2. Missoula K-12 schools – You’ve got inside knowledge here. Education is about preparing people for change. So how’s that going? It’s also a big cost to taxpayers. How’s that money being spent?

3. Higher education – You’re a consumer as well as a student, so start asking questions. How well is this place preparing you for change? What works and what doesn’t? What’s new? What big projects and changes are leaders working on? Who’s running the place?

4. Missoula cops and courts – Again, lots of stories. This beat is big and newsy. You’ve got city police, a county sheriff’s department, the highway patrol, campus security and an array of federal cops (FBI, DEA, Homeland Security, ATF, etc.) You’ve got city, county and federal courts too.

5. City government – These folks are responsible for the safety and well-being of everyone in Missoula. You name it, the city deals with it. It provides police and fire protection, plans for growth, and maintains clean air, clean water, parks, streets and sidewalks. That’s the short list. This is a big beat with lots of news potential.

6. County government – Take the previous beat and apply those responsibilities over an area of roughly 2,600 square miles. Counties also act as an agent for state government. County courts prosecute crimes against the state. Counties collect property taxes and run elections. County officials maintain rural roads and plan for growth. They also share responsibilities with city officials for things such as transportation, libraries, public health, etc.

7. Health – Here’s another huge beat, especially today. From the latest on swine flu to the quality and availability of health care, this beat has lots of interest – and lots controversy. Think about breakthroughs in research and new treatments and care. Who’s providing what health care in your community? How good is that care? What does it cost? Who isn’t being served?

8. Natural resources and the environment – There’s no better place to cover this stuff than right here. The issues include climate change, wilderness policy, timber and mining policy, wildlife management, water and air pollution, environmental health, recycling, sustainable agriculture and industry. This beat is global with lots of local players.

9. Other – No list can cover everything, so if you have an idea of something with significant public policy angle, let me know. Here are a few I would consider: agriculture, sports/athletics policy, transportation, media/communications changes, etc.

Reporting in the Line of Fire

For more about reporters at risk, see The Committee to Protect Journalists.

'So How Do You Know That?'

That's one of the best questions a public affairs reporter can ask.

Comparing what your hear with the vast knowlege in your head is the crucial next step. Does that make sense? Does it add up?

A little math can help. Here's a basic online primer with examples from today's discussion.

On the Record: There's Truth in Public Documents

The key is knowing where to look. The Society of Professional Journalists has put together a great guide to help you figure out what to look for in public records, where to find them and how to persuade record keepers to turn them over.

Civil suits can make great stories

They really do. Honest. They tell you who's doing shoddy work, who's not keeping promises -- how people are treating one another. If you really want to know what's going on in a community, check out who's suing whom.

Beware, however. Until a judge or jury decides the question, lawsuits are just one-sided allegations, so be fair. Talk to both sides.

Here's a sample civil suit. They usually spell out what the person suing (the PLAINTIFF) is upset about and what he or she or it (a government or corporation) wants the defendant to do about.

Here are two versions of stories written about the sample suit. Look at how careful the writers are to get the other side and to attribute the information.

Tips for Backgrounding Court Cases

1. Check the web for stories, but don't use anything that you don't verify independently.


2. See if your guy has a history. Conweb can help with those convicted of felonies in Montana.


3. The county's jail roster lists people being held pending the outcome of their cases.


4. Get the records. You can look up felony records at the clerk of district court's office. You can check misdemeanor records with the clerks in lower courts: Justice Court for Missoula County cases, Municipal Court for city of Missoula cases.

Next Week's Beat Assignment: Go to Court

Congrats. You've all been assigned to the courts beat for the week of Oct 11-15. Your task: Sit in on a session of Justice Court or a District Court law and motion session and dig up a story. The story will be due by midnight of the day you choose to go to court. I accept any stories after midnight Thursday.

Justice Court criminal sessions are held every day and run from about 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. You'll see people making their first appearance on all sorts of charges, most of them minor ones. The accused won't say much and the process consists of having the judge tell them about the charges and arranging for bail. If you see a case that intrigues you, go to the Justice Court clerk and ask for a copy of the charges and the affidavit. And then write it up.

District Court law and motion sessions are scheduled for different judges on different days. Check the schedule a day or so before you go and do a little records homework. By the way, I see that Judges Deschamps (yep, same family) and Harkin are holding their sessions Tuesday. The other two judges are taking the week off. Sorry. Look for a sentencing or an arraignment. Remember that they only do felonies in District Court.

What's newsworthy? Serious crimes, obviously. Minor crimes involving interesting circumstances could make news, too.

Local Resources for the Justice Beat

Law Enforcement

• The Missoula Police Department's info on crime activity.
• The Missoula County Sheriff's Department's jail roster
• University of Montana Public Safety
• Montana Highway Patrol

Prosecutors

• Missoula County Attorney's Office
• Missoula City Attorney's Office
• U.S. Attorney's Office (Montana)

Courts

• City of Missoula Municipal Court
• Missoula County Justice Court
• Missoula County District Court
• U.S. District Court in Missoula

Records

• Missoula County Clerk of District Court (felonies, larger civil suits)
• Correctional Offender Network (records of state convicts)

We're moving from local government coverage to the justice beat. You'll need to learn some new jargon so that you can translate this stuff for a reasonable reader.

Here's a link to a glossary of legal terms that should help.

This week's deadlines

You've got a beat story due no later than midnight Saturday this week.

Breaking news (stories about timely events like crimes, disasters, court actions, debates, key decisions) need to be filed by midnight of the day they happen. That's the nature of breaking news.

Less timely news features (trends, profiles and behind-the-scenes looks at people or issues on your beat) are due later in the week.

Be mindful of the competition. It pays to be first in this business.

Covering City Hall

We're off to meet the Missoula City Council tonight. The show starts at 7 p.m., so get there early and grab a seat on the aisle leading from the door to the speaker's stand. The council chambers are at 140 W. Pine St., next to Sean Kelly's.

Your stories are due by midnight tonight.

By now you should have read the council's agenda and the city's argument for the special tax districts that are up for discussion tonight. Missoulian reporter Keila Szpaller previewed tonight's action in this morning's paper. You'd be smart to give her story a read.

We'll prepare for tonight's work in class. But here's some style information you might find useful.

The Missoula City Council - That's its name, so capitalize it the first time you use it. You can refer it the council (lowercase) after that.

Titles - Formal titles like mayor and councilwoman are capitalized only when they precede a name, as in Mayor John Engen or Councilwoman Pam Walzer or Councilman Bob Jaffe. You can refer to them by their last names on subsequent references. Other unelected officials are often given a formal title, such as City Attorney Jim Nugent and Police Chief Mark Muir but most others are best described by what they do, as in Bruce Bender, the city's chief administrator, or Steve King, who runs the city's public works department.

Wards -Council members represent six wards, but you don't need to offer the ward description with their names unless that's important to know, as it might be in a tussle between areas of the city over, say, street repairs. In that case, I'd say Councilman Bob Jaffe, whose Ward 3 includes the University area, called for ...