THE AGENDA FOR THE OCT. 21 MEETING OF THE MONTEREY COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS was relatively standard: a proclamation here, a budget talk there, with some commission appointments sprinkled throughout.

Unremarkable from a news standpoint, as it was mostly routine business that doesn’t generate headlines. Still, news outlets from across Monterey County were invited to attend – the supervisors were scheduled to commemorate Free Speech Week, so the celebration wouldn’t be complete without those in attendance who exercise the First Amendment on a daily basis.

The ceremony was also timely, not only because it fell on the nationally recognized date for Free Speech Week, but just a month earlier, KION TV suddenly shuttered its local news operations, representative of the fickle nature of the industry.

Nick Pasculli, the county’s chief public information officer, thanked the staff of the news outlets for the “vital work” they do.

“They are our partners in democracy,” he said. “Each of these organizations, large and small, enriches public discourse, raises local voices, uncovers stories that might otherwise be overlooked and holds power to account.”

Representatives from only three news outlets attended – Monterey County Weekly, Monterey Herald and KAZU. On the surface, the low turnout was to be expected – news staffers prefer to report on the news, not be the news themselves.