Become a Documenter
We’ll train you — and pay you — to attend public meetings, then share what happened with neighbors all over Los Angeles.
What is LA Documenters?
Powered by the award-winning Documenters Network by City Bureau, we train and pay LA residents to document local government meetings. You’ll learn new skills, get an inside look at how decisions get made in local government and help keep an eye on what our elected officials are up to.
How does it work?
Documenters are paid by the hour to attend an in-person public meeting and take notes. These notes are edited, published and available on our Documenters page.
Our goal is to capture what happens at local public government meetings and create a public record of each meeting in LA County.
How to Join LA Documenters
Step 1
Create an account at Documenters.org
Creating an account requires only your name and an email address. You can click the button below, and it will open the site in a new tab.
Step 2
Fill out the application
Once you are signed up, you’ll need to fill out the application linked on your Documenters.org profile page.
- To find the page, click the yellow circle with your initials in the upper right corner of the home page at Documenters.org
- In the drop-down menu, click “Profile.”
- Click the square pencil button in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
- Scroll down to “Sign-up form” and click the “Edit” button.
- Fill out the sign-up form.
Step 3
Attend a one-hour orientation
The last step to becoming eligible for a paid assignment is attending an LA Documenters one-hour orientation. After that, you’ll be able to apply for paid LA Documenter assignments.
Check the list below to see when the next LA Documenters orientation is scheduled.
Meet Some Documenters
The highlight of my Documenters experience has been learning more about the procedures behind city and local decisions. It feels like a privilege to be able to witness a meeting and share that information with others in one way or another.
–Marylou Juarez
I love how Documenters gives me the opportunity to be civically engaged, strengthen my reporting skills and gain experience as a journalism student. Documenters has helped me understand the needs of my community and shine a spotlight on local officials to keep them accountable.
One of my highlights in Documenters was getting the opportunity to interview LAPD Chief McDonnell, which contributed to reporting for the Boyle Heights Beat. Documenters is a much-needed program that places community members at the forefront of accountability, civic involvement and local storytelling.
–Martin Romero
Join our LA Documenters community!
LA Documenters
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LA Documenters
Holding power accountable, one meeting at a time.
Our Documenters program trains and pays community members to cover local government meetings. The result? More informed and engaged residents, building community power:
- Documentation of Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council meetings resulted in unspent community funds being distributed to residents.
- Responded to community crises: Organized distribution of ‘Know Your Rights’ flyers during ICE enforcement across the region and identifying other opportunities to engage Documenters in The LA Local’s community engagement efforts.
- Univision LA featured the program’s collaboration with Boyle Heights Beat and its consistent coverage of LAPD community meetings.
- Documenters regularly originate news coverage, powering stories in our own newsroom and across the region, including recent reporting in LAist and the LA Sentinel. Their work has informed coverage on key local issues across the city, demonstrating how resident-generated civic reporting strengthens Los Angeles’s entire news ecosystem.
100+
Residents have signed up to be an LA Documenter.
75
LA City and LA County meetings covered.
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