Centre Documenters

Centre Documenters recruits, trains, and pays Penn State students to attend and document public meetings in six townships in Centre County that aren’t typically covered by local media. Our Documenters seek to increase the community’s access to information presented and decisions made at more than 30 local public meetings each month in Benner, College, Gregg, Halfmoon, Snowshoe, and Spring townships.

Centre Documenters gives students the opportunity to grow their foundational reporting skills, learning to convey complex government information clearly for the general public, building a beat, and attending public meetings. It is part of a nationwide network that equips and pays residents to attend public meetings, distill actionable information, and bring it to their neighbors. Centre Documents is the first rural and student-run program in the Documenters network.

Our Documenters’ notes and recordings are made available to residents and media organizations through a twice-monthly newsletter, texting service, and our website. Our team has grown to more than 22 members, including editors and fact checkers.