Editor’s column: Salem Reporter needs you
The Salem Reporter staff in the office. From left: Rachel Alexander, Jake Thomas, Saphara Harrell and Troy Brynelson. (Claire Withycombe/Oregon Capital Bureau)
My inbox and social media feeds almost daily pile up with accounts about the fate of news in the United States.
The theme is the same: the news profession is dying as more Americans forsake paying for competent news. Right now, about 1 in 10 pay something to get news.
The reasons for that stretch out to the horizon. Newspapers missed the technological shift. Their websites are sometimes as inviting as a dentist’s waiting room. Economic forces have crushed the industry. The number of reporters and editors continues to dwindle. Bias, real or imagined, taints readers’ acceptance.
Meantime, Americans seem more and more satisfied learning what they can for free. You can find a blog – usually several – to satisfy any interest. You can find free “news sites” that really are pimping for a particular political or social interest.
Missing?
Credibility.
Many people have become too ready today to believe that if it’s online, it’s true. Of course, that’s not the reality.
There is danger in bad information.
People can make wrong decisions, whether it’s what medicine to take or not take, which public official to believe or distrust, which school program to support or oppose.
In our universe in Salem, the news team of Salem Reporter fights hard every day to find the truth. We question, we seek documents, we insist on getting direct access to data. We do that to provide the very best factual information about what’s happening in the community. And we want to reflect what life is like in this growing, thriving town.
The range of our reports lately is testimony to that effort.
Reporter Troy Brynelson knows of the high interest in the homeless issue – and the many moving parts of this major local topic. He’s delivered smart coverage to help you understand the issue. Examples:
Residents of downtown homeless camp reflect, consider where to go after city clean-up
‘You want a resolution as much as possible’: Six hours with Eugene’s mobile crisis intervention team
Reporter Rachel Alexander has developed expertise in local education, providing news that involves thousands of students, thousands of parents and grandparents, and millions in public spending. She provides accounts you just aren’t going to find anywhere else, free or not. Examples:
School board members moved to tears after conversations about equity, racism in Salem-Keizer
Chemeketa hits lowest number of students in more than a decade
Our state reporting team likewise is poking into corners that no one else is reporting on so you have a better sense of what your state agencies, many based here in Salem, are up to. The team reports on matters relevant to key issues facing the state and its people.
An example by reporter Jake Thomas:
An example by reporter Claire Withycombe, part of our Oregon Capital Bureau:
Columnist Mary Louise VanNatta files regularly about the events and people behind them that are so important to the work of Salem nonprofits. And we don’t overlook stories about the interesting individuals of Salem so you can have a better feel for your community.
An example by reporter Saphara Harrell:
Refugee youth choir brings joyful songs, dances to Salem
For Salem’s seniors, “fix it” man always there to help
Along the way, Troy did a deep examination of cost overruns at the new Salem Police Department headquarters, Saphara dug into the scramble by the Salem Fire Department to keep up with escalating calls, and Rachel found out why a school serving poor students improved so dramatically. You didn’t read about these matters anywhere else.
What this demonstrates is that Salem Reporter is fighting the trend across the country. Our small, scrappy team is using every resource it can to bring you more news about the place you call home.
But this will only continue with subscribers paying for that work. We don’t ask much – $10 a month. But every $10, every single subscription, is oxygen for Salem Reporter. As the year closes, we need a surge in subscriptions to propel us into 2020, to make us stronger, to allow us to do even more for you.
If you already subscribe, thank you. You have sustained the kind of community news that many cities across the U.S. wish they still had.
If you don’t subscribe, do so today. You are essential to giving yourself and your community news that is accurate, fair and can be trusted. Subscribe (click here) to sustain us. More importantly, subscribe so you’re not left unaware about what matters most to you about life in Salem.
Les Zaitz, editor
Email: [email protected]
