Ross Markman: Life of a Municipal Reporter

By Faye Forman 

I found Ross Markman’s take on municipal reporting to be both eye opening and insightful. What stood out most was what little academic training Markman had upon starting his first part-time clerical job at Bucks Country Courier Times, leading him into a two-year internship. After completing only one class in journalism, Markman is now one of the three reporters at a small newspaper in Montana.

It’s both relieving and frustrating to know that you don’t necessarily need a degree in a certain field to move up in a specific job. Relieving because it shows the ease of promotion and opportunity; frustrating because college is expensive, especially if you can get the same result career-wise without a fancy degree.

Aside from Markman’s background, I like how he explains the layout a typical municipal reporter prepares for. I always wondered how a reporter can meet deadlines, especially ones that contain so much information with so little time to write them. Markman’s explanation of researching the issue prior to the scheduled meeting or event, and writing a background copy, or “B-copy,” can be helpful not only in municipal reporting, but is great advice for any assignments with short deadlines. It seems as though most of the work a municipal reporter takes part in is fact checking with mountains of research and planning for an event well in advanced.

 I also enjoyed how the textbook added Markman’s copy from the Havre Daily News to give an example of the level of writing a municipal writer must measure up to. Markman also described an extremely important part of reporting: deciding the lead. It’s logical and helpful to keep in mind that the lead is a story that affects the highest number of people. Overall, Markman gave great advice and insight into the world of municipal reporting.