EDITOR’S NOTE: Addressing Salem Reporter’s ties at election time

As the local election season heats up, let me be clear about Salem Reporter’s role.

Our job is to report.

We don’t endorse candidates.

We don’t bend our coverage to favor one person or another.

We have no political allegiance. We’re not conservative. We’re not liberal. We’re simply not partisan.

Some in the community have again questioned Salem Reporter’s ties to Larry Tokarski, a Salem developer.

Let me share the history.

Tokarski, who runs Mountain West Investment Corp., joined me in founding Salem Reporter in 2018. He is an owner and so am I. His goal, he explained to me at the time, was to provide Salem a strong and trusted source of local news.

He funded the early years of our operation. Now, though, Salem Reporter supports itself, thanks to a trusting community that includes subscribers like you.

Since Day 1, he has left the operation entirely in my hands. He has no say in the news coverage. He has never sought to influence what or how we report. He has never been to our offices. I don’t think he’s ever met any of the others on the reporting staff.

My career in Oregon stretches back more than 50 years. I’ve been repeatedly honored by my journalistic colleagues for that work. One of my proudest achievements came in 2020, when I was named a Fellow of the Society, the highest honor of SPJ.  That’s the national organization of journalists. Only two other Oregon journalists have been so recognized – Charlie Sprague, former editor and publisher of the Oregon Statesman, named in 1966; and Bob Chandler, former editor of The Bulletin, who was chosen in 1993.

By the time we founded Salem Reporter, I had retired from long service to The Oregonian. I was a running a rural weekly news outfit clear across the state, in Vale. I needed no more awards. I didn’t need a job.

But as my staff and colleagues will tell you, I have a passion to help restore Americans’ faith in the press – the faith of readers like you. That’s vital for our state and the country.

Salem Reporter is one way for me to do that. You can read our Statement of Principles anytime.

As for my leadership, my integrity is not for sale, not at any price, not to anyone.

Our ambition and focus is to provide you fair and accurate news, stories you can trust, stories that investigate local officials and more.

We’re sensitive to appearances. I know sometimes how something looks can be more believed than reality.

The reality is that Tokarski is a major figure in Salem. He has built a successful business. He has written big checks to support Salem nonprofits. And he’s not shy about weighing in with that checkbook on local politics.

You should be aware of two factors about those donations.

First, Tokarski doesn’t consult anyone at Salem Reporter about who he should or shouldn’t back. Second, we learn about donations like you do – from required campaign disclosures of the candidates.

Bottom line, Tokarski has big fans in Salem. He also has vocal critics, especially of his politics. When his role is significant in community events, we report it as we would any other news development. He gets no special treatment in our shop.

While we maintain our independence, we’ll disclose Larry Tokarski’s role in Salem Reporter when his interests intersect with our news work.

I pledge, too, that we will remain sensitive to appearances. Journalism is not a profession of perfection. Sometimes what readers sense as a tilt in coverage results from being in too much of a hurry, or simply not recognizing how word choices might be perceived. It’s never because we deliberately distort the facts.

Anytime you have a question about our work, anytime you have doubt about the integrity of a story, reach out to us. Such feedback is valuable and we consider every remark, every email, we get.

Finally, know this. I and every member of the Salem Reporter staff are devoted to a single mission: Giving you the very best local news possible with integrity and honesty.

P.S.: Tokarski had no advance knowledge about this Editor’s Note.

Contact Editor Les Zaitz by email: [email protected].

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