ROLE OF TVW AND OTHER PUBLIC BROADCASTS
OF GOVERNMENT MEETINGS
In addition to reading newspapers and consulting other news sources for
information about your government, you can see the government at work
firsthand on TV and cable during broadcasts. Many of our local city council
and committee meetings are shown on the Seattle Channel. TVW broadcasts
our state legislative sessions just like C-Span, where you can watch many
of our country’s leaders at work in Congress.
CLASS ACTS: GETTING TO THE (COMMON) CORE: NARRATIVE WRITING
Public Meetings
With a small group of your classmates, choose a local public meeting to attend
and take notes on. Report back to the class on your findings in a narrative format
developing the experience using rich details. Public meetings should be listed on
the departments’ websites and/or in the newspaper. Here are some examples of
public offices that you could access for information on meetings:
• School boards
• Library boards
• Preservation boards
• City councils
• Public utility boards
• Fire districts
• Parks commissions
• Court cases, which are open to the public, with some exceptions
• Any public body elected or appointed by the government
CLASS ACTS: GETTING TO THE (COMMON) CORE:
LITERACY IN SOCIAL STUDIES
Research and Report
Many of our nation’s journalists have worked to keep government open by helping
to inform the public of stories that have been intentionally hidden or obscured to
protect those in power.
You can find out about many of these cases by visiting the Sunshine Week
website at
sunshineweek.org
.
Choose one of those cases to research further and report on your findings to
your classmates. Cite specific evidence and central ideas to provide an accurate
summary of the case. Discuss what the benefits are of making this information
public, and what the consequences might have been if this information had been
kept private.
How does open government impact journalism and your access
to information?
Here’s an activity to try: You’ll need a black marker and an article from your
newspaper about your city, state or national government. With your pen, black out
any references that you think have been published because of open government
laws pertaining to open meetings or open public records. Display these visual
aids around your school to highlight the importance of open government and to
celebrate Sunshine Week.
Sunshine Week
Sunshine Week is a national initiative to open a dialogue about the importance of
open government and freedom of information. Participants include print, broadcast
and online news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofits, schools and others
interested in the public’s right to know. To learn more about what is going on
nationally during this week, visit
sunshineweek.org
.
SHINING THE LIGHT ON YOUR GOVERNMENT | 5
