by You’re correct if you believe you’ve read about Ken Garlington in this place previously. This summer, The Fort Worth Report will be revisiting some of our most prolific documentarians, and Ken is a perfect fit.
Fort Worth Report: As a Fort Worth Report Documenter, you have finished a variety of difficult assignments, such as the City Plan Commission, Fort Worth Housing Solutions, and even a City Council budget workshop that was a last-minute change of plans after a meeting you were meant to cover didn’t take place. What about those meetings caught your attention?
Ken Garlington: In general, I’m an inquisitive individual who firmly believes in the social purpose of journalism. I chose these sessions more because I anticipated that the public would not be present, unlike at city council or school board meetings, than because of the particular topic they covered. I was especially interested in meetings that had less control because they weren’t webcast.
Report: In your experience as a documenter, what has been the most fascinating aspect?
Ken:All of these meetings have one thing in common: whether they are deciding how to provide affordable housing, how citizens can use their property, or how the city can pay to maintain the roadways that we all use, their decisions actually affect the people of Fort Worth. The way the committees and boards respond to my presence has been intriguing. They believe I’m there to speak on a certain agenda item the first time I go. When they find out why I’m there, several staff people and board members have asked me about the Documenters program.
Report: What surprised you the most about working as a documentarian?
I like reading the news once more.
Find new, unbiased reporting about events taking place in your neighborhood.
Ken: Sometimes those who make judgments, such as community volunteers, are faced with extremely challenging circumstances for which they have little authority. For instance, the City Plan Commission had to choose whether to route more traffic from a new development down neighborhood streets that aren’t built to handle the volume or down an already congested main artery.
The latest politics and policy news you need
An inside look at Fort Worth and Tarrant County government news that is new and impartial. Every Friday, in your inbox.
Report: Do you have any advice for other documenters on how to stay on top of the agenda at these meetings?
Ken:It can be challenging to get names correct, especially when there are community speakers. The speaker might not use their full name if they have previously appeared. I try to get in touch with speakers before they leave to make sure their names are spelled correctly, but occasionally I’ve had to do some online research to be sure. Additionally, if there won’t be a recording later, make sure to take at least a few handwritten notes. I’ve had audio recordings go bad, and even when they do, writing down important details right away makes it easier to remember them.
Report: Please feel free to contribute any more Qs and As you may have!
Ken:I didn’t take the Documenter articles’ audience into account when I first started this. As a result of my contributions, numerous friends and casual acquaintances have now reported seeing anything in the Fort Worth Report. It’s satisfying to know that this work is helpful to others.
Are you sick of yelling? Help us focus on the facts.
Opinions are plentiful, but facts are more difficult to get. At the Fort Worth Report, we provide truth-based local reporting so you can make wise choices for your community and yourself.
Related
The journalistic Trust Initiative has accredited Fort Worth Report for upholding ethical journalistic standards.
Republish this narrative
Noncommercial organizations are exempt from republishing fees. It is forbidden for businesses to operate without a license. For further information, get in touch with us.
Republish this article
The Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License governs this work.
- Look for the “Republish This Story” button underneath each story. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS). Do not copy stories straight from the front-end of our web-site.
-
You are required to follow the guidelines and use the republication tool when you share our content. The republication tool generates the appropriate html code.
-
You are required to add this language at the top of every republished story, including a link to the story.
This story was originally published by the Fort Worth Report. You may read
the original version here
.
- You can t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
- You can t sell or syndicate our stories.
- Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
-
If you use our stories in any other medium for example, newsletters or other email campaigns you must make it clear that the stories are from the Fort Worth Report. In all emails, link directly to the story at fortworthreport.org and not to your website.
-
If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using
@FortWorthReport
on Facebook and
@FortWorthReport
on Twitter.
-
You have to credit Fort Worth Report. Please use Author Name, Fort Worth Report in the byline. If you re not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: This story was originally published by Fort Worth Report and include our website,
fortworthreport.org
. - You can t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style.
- Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories.
- You can t sell or syndicate our stories.
- You can only publish select stories individually not as a collection.
- Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization.
-
If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using
@FortWorthReport
on Facebook and
@FortWorthReport
on Twitter.
