Local Newsroom Editorial Desk
Local newsrooms and community news outlets
Story budget, sources, events to cover and corrections for a local newsroom.
Use this templateLocal Newsroom Editorial Desk
The newsroom's daily budget in one place. Start with the Dashboard before the morning meeting: stories due, meetings to cover and corrections open. Log every interview so reporting is traceable, and fix corrections before they are old. Never put passwords or protected-source identities in these rows.
Dashboard
Story lifecycle
Corrections policy
Covering a public meeting
Stories
The story budget: every pitch and assignment from first idea to publication.
| Story | Status | Desk | Format | Due on | Target words | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School board votes on budget cuts | Reporting | Oct 19, 2026 | 900 | Teodor Wiśniewski | ||
| Water main repairs on Elm Avenue | Editing | Oct 20, 2026 | 350 | Marisol Adeyemi-Strand | ||
| Clinic reopens on the east side | Assigned | Oct 22, 2026 | 700 | Anjali Ferreira-Kroll | ||
| Council hears bike lane proposal | Reporting | Oct 21, 2026 | 800 | Marisol Adeyemi-Strand | ||
| Sunday market turns ten | Pitch | Oct 25, 2026 | 0 | Dennis Okpara | ||
| County fair attendance up | Ready | Oct 18, 2026 | 400 | Marisol Adeyemi-Strand | ||
| River cleanup volunteers | Assigned | Oct 24, 2026 | 600 | Anjali Ferreira-Kroll | ||
| Rail crossing safety investigation | Reporting | Nov 8, 2026 | 3,500 | Marisol Adeyemi-Strand |
Interviews
Every source contacted for a story and whether they spoke, so reporting is traceable.
| Interview | Story | Source's role | Status | Speak on | Attribution | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board chair, budget vote | School board votes on budget cuts | Spoken | Oct 18, 2026 | Teodor Wiśniewski | ||
| Parent group leader | School board votes on budget cuts | Scheduled | Oct 19, 2026 | Teodor Wiśniewski | ||
| District finance chief | School board votes on budget cuts | Requested | Oct 18, 2026 | Teodor Wiśniewski | ||
| Public works director | Water main repairs on Elm Avenue | Spoken | Oct 17, 2026 | Marisol Adeyemi-Strand | ||
| Elm Avenue resident | Water main repairs on Elm Avenue | Spoken | Oct 17, 2026 | Marisol Adeyemi-Strand | ||
| Clinic director | Clinic reopens on the east side | Scheduled | Oct 21, 2026 | Anjali Ferreira-Kroll | ||
| Nurse practitioner | Clinic reopens on the east side | Requested | Oct 21, 2026 | Anjali Ferreira-Kroll | ||
| Cycling advocate | Council hears bike lane proposal | Spoken | Oct 16, 2026 | Marisol Adeyemi-Strand |
Corrections
Errors reported by readers or staff, with the fix and its publication.
| Correction | Story | Kind | Status | Fix by | Fixed on | Handled by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board chair's first name misspelled | School board votes on budget cuts | Open | Oct 19, 2026 | — | Henrietta Oyelaran-Cole | |
| Budget figure given in thousands, not millions | School board votes on budget cuts | Open | Oct 20, 2026 | — | Callum Brightwater | |
| Meeting date given as Tuesday | Council hears bike lane proposal | Open | Oct 18, 2026 | — | Henrietta Oyelaran-Cole | |
| Photo caption names wrong street | Water main repairs on Elm Avenue | Fixed | Oct 16, 2026 | Oct 16, 2026 | Callum Brightwater | |
| Fair attendance rounded wrongly | County fair attendance up | Not an error | Oct 14, 2026 | — | Callum Brightwater |
Events to cover
Meetings, hearings and community events the newsroom plans to attend.
| Event to cover | Status | Kind | Starts | Where | Reporter | Photographer needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City council regular meeting | Assigned | Oct 21, 11:30 PM | City hall | Marisol Adeyemi-Strand | No | |
| School board budget workshop | Assigned | Oct 20, 12:00 AM | District office | Teodor Wiśniewski | No | |
| County zoning hearing | Planned | Oct 18, 2:30 PM | County building | — | No | |
| Ribbon cutting at the new clinic | Planned | Oct 22, 4:00 PM | East side | Anjali Ferreira-Kroll | Yes | |
| Football opener | Planned | Oct 26, 12:00 AM | Wolfe Field | — | Yes | |
| Mayor's housing press conference | Covered | Oct 14, 3:00 PM | City hall | Marisol Adeyemi-Strand | Yes | |
| Candidates forum | Skipped | Oct 16, 11:00 PM | Library | — | No |
The desk at a glance. Charts read the live tables.
| Story | Status | Desk | Format | Due on | Target words | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School board votes on budget cuts | Reporting | Oct 19, 2026 | 900 | Teodor Wiśniewski | ||
| Water main repairs on Elm Avenue | Editing | Oct 20, 2026 | 350 | Marisol Adeyemi-Strand | ||
| Clinic reopens on the east side | Assigned | Oct 22, 2026 | 700 | Anjali Ferreira-Kroll |
| Story | Status | Desk | Format | Due on | Target words | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School board votes on budget cuts | Reporting | Oct 19, 2026 | 900 | Teodor Wiśniewski | ||
| Water main repairs on Elm Avenue | Editing | Oct 20, 2026 | 350 | Marisol Adeyemi-Strand | ||
| Clinic reopens on the east side | Assigned | Oct 22, 2026 | 700 | Anjali Ferreira-Kroll |
| Interview | Story | Source's role | Status | Speak on | Attribution | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board chair, budget vote | School board votes on budget cuts | Spoken | Oct 18, 2026 | Teodor Wiśniewski | ||
| Parent group leader | School board votes on budget cuts | Scheduled | Oct 19, 2026 | Teodor Wiśniewski | ||
| District finance chief | School board votes on budget cuts | Requested | Oct 18, 2026 | Teodor Wiśniewski |
| Correction | Story | Kind | Status | Fix by | Fixed on | Handled by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board chair's first name misspelled | School board votes on budget cuts | Open | Oct 19, 2026 | — | Henrietta Oyelaran-Cole | |
| Budget figure given in thousands, not millions | School board votes on budget cuts | Open | Oct 20, 2026 | — | Callum Brightwater | |
| Meeting date given as Tuesday | Council hears bike lane proposal | Open | Oct 18, 2026 | — | Henrietta Oyelaran-Cole |
Stories due in the next 7 days
| Story | Status | Desk | Format | Due on | Target words | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School board votes on budget cuts | Reporting | Oct 19, 2026 | 900 | Teodor Wiśniewski | ||
| Water main repairs on Elm Avenue | Editing | Oct 20, 2026 | 350 | Marisol Adeyemi-Strand | ||
| Clinic reopens on the east side | Assigned | Oct 22, 2026 | 700 | Anjali Ferreira-Kroll |
Events with no reporter
| Event to cover | Status | Kind | Starts | Where | Reporter | Photographer needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City council regular meeting | Assigned | Oct 21, 11:30 PM | City hall | Marisol Adeyemi-Strand | No | |
| School board budget workshop | Assigned | Oct 20, 12:00 AM | District office | Teodor Wiśniewski | No | |
| County zoning hearing | Planned | Oct 18, 2:30 PM | County building | — | No |
Corrections open
| Correction | Story | Kind | Status | Fix by | Fixed on | Handled by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board chair's first name misspelled | School board votes on budget cuts | Open | Oct 19, 2026 | — | Henrietta Oyelaran-Cole | |
| Budget figure given in thousands, not millions | School board votes on budget cuts | Open | Oct 20, 2026 | — | Callum Brightwater | |
| Meeting date given as Tuesday | Council hears bike lane proposal | Open | Oct 18, 2026 | — | Henrietta Oyelaran-Cole |
How to read the numbers
Every story passes the same gates. The gates are how a small newsroom stays accurate under time pressure.
Gates
Rules of thumb
Two sources for any serious claim.
Call the person criticized before publishing.
If in doubt, hold the story one day.
A visible, quick correction is a sign of a trustworthy newsroom. Hiding a mistake is what hurts.
When someone reports an error
Log it on the Corrections table the moment it arrives.
The editor checks the claim against notes and documents.
If it is wrong, fix the story and add a correction note at the top or bottom.
Press Mark fixed and thank the reader who reported it.
Never
Quietly change text with no note on a material error.
Argue with the reader before checking.
Leave an error up while you decide.
Most local news starts in a meeting room. A good plan turns a long night into one clear story.
Before
Download the agenda and packet
List the items likely to matter and who will speak
Check the livestream or recording options
During
Note the time of each vote and how each member voted.
Get names and spellings from the sign-in sheet.
Ask one clarifying question in the break.
After
Call anyone whose statement needs checking
File within the budget deadline
Press Mark covered on the event
What's inside
5 tables · 29 views · 1 form · 11 row actions · 1 agent5 pages
- Local Newsroom Editorial Desk
- Dashboard
- Story lifecycle
- Corrections policy
- Covering a public meeting
4 tables
- Stories7 views · 11 sample rows
- Interviews7 views · 11 sample rows
- Corrections7 views · 5 sample rows
- Events to cover8 views · 7 sample rows
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