Serving the public

Tommorow night I get to step back into the council chambers of Irvine City Hall where I'll furiously take notes, e-mail in stories, shiver because of air conditioning and listen to politicians for at least five hours.
Why you may ask?
Well, every now and then my life as a reporter is not all that glorious. In fact, most of my work may seem boring and pointless. But we all must remember the reason for our jobs.
Most journalists I know are not in this profession for the money (those who are leave for pr jobs, usually). We got in this profession not for the glamorous photo on our press pass but because we believe we can, in some way, impact the world around us in a positive way.
So, I remind myself of the ways I'm benefitting the community through my reporting as I sit freezing in my council meetings. My main reason for sitting in meetings despite long hours (the longest I've covered so far was 17 hours and 17 minutes) is that many people cannot.
Most residents do not have the time or want to look through city documents, sit and watch council and commission meetings, or ask council members about their votes on various issues. I attend these meetings as a representative of the community - to provide readers important information.
That's my part, now you should each write about why your job is purposeful.