Ward 5 Community Meeting (in-person only)

2386 Unwin Rd. Cleveland, OH 44104 (Directions)

Friendly Inn Settlement House

Members of Cleveland City Council often hold ward meetings as an opportunity for community members of their ward to ask questions and connect with their elected representatives. Learn more about ward meetings from Signal Cleveland’s Najee Hall. NOTE: Ward numbers apply to current ward numbers before changes are cemented after this fall’s elections.

Note: This is an in-person-only meeting. We add two hours of pay ($36) to the assignment.

Note: This is our first time covering a Ward 5 meeting, hosted by Council Member Richard Starr. As we understand, ward meetings can be a little less formal than typical public meetings. Lead with your curiosity and feel free to describe the scene and note if something doesn’t make sense or is confusing. Anticipated guests include representatives from CMHA and Cleveland Housing Court for a Housing 101 moderated discussion.

There are separate notetaking and audio roles on this assignment. Notetaker: It may be helpful for your coverage to record your own audio of the meeting, but it is not a requirement of your assignment. On the audio assignment? Learn more about the audio roles we’re testing out.

Tips for covering ward meetings from Signal Copy Editor Mary Ellen Huesken, informed by Akron Documenters coverage of their ward meetings:

• Arrive 10-15 minutes early and ask the council member or staff to give you the full names of the speakers (police, community groups, whoever.)
• You can attach pictures of any handouts to Documenters.org in the attachments section on the assignment role page.
• Don’t worry too much about residents’ names if you can’t catch them–just focus on their concerns.
• Include some scene details if you can, such as what food is being served, what the meeting space looks like, noises from outside that crept in.
• Don’t worry about catching everything–you won’t be able to. And keep the notes short and sweet (2-6 pages is the recommended guideline!).

Check the source website for additional information