EDITOR’S NOTE: Readers share what they want covered in Salem

The message from readers recently completing Salem Reporter’s survey is clear: Give us more.

Salem, we heard you.

Our team continues to consider the results. I’ve been looking at them over and over. They will strongly guide our work in the year ahead. More on that in a moment.

Each year, we ask readers to help. We publish an online survey that rates the importance of news topics. We ask for suggestions on what else to cover. And we invite readers to tell us how to improve Salem Reporter.

More than 600 people completed the survey. On average, readers gave us about 10 minutes of their time to weigh in. They ranked topics from 1 to 5.

The results confirm our reporters are on the right track. We devote our resources already to most issues rating highest with readers. The Top 5 in importance:

•Salem city government

•Local events and performers

•Local medical care

•Salem-Keizer schools

•Housing in Salem.

In their comments, readers repeatedly asked for more reporting on the homeless situation in Salem and on environmental topics.

You can count on improvements – and soon.

At Salem Reporter, we realize Salem Health’s impact on the community. It’s a huge employer, for one. It operates on one of the largest local budgets. And, of course, its network tends to the health of thousands of Salem people.

This fall, we decided to create a new “beat” around Salem Health. Reporter Hailey Cook is tasked with dramatically ramping up coverage of this institution. She’ll tell you about the people in the organization. She’ll independently look over finances. And she will chronicle how well the community’s health needs are being met.

This won’t be easy. Health care and medicine and government funding are complex. That only makes our work more important. I invite you to share with me your thoughts about how to report on this, who we should talk to, what tips we should chase. (My email: [email protected])

“Your stories help us understand our community and each other.”

–Reader comment

In the past year, we have increased our reporting on homeless issues. We will keep that up, since few topics generate as much controversy or need in Salem. Reporter Abbey McDonald has the lead on this. Expect more accountability reporting, getting beyond just the government action of the day. McDonald ([email protected]) will pick up on trends – and follow the money.

One topic that should be of concern to you and every Salem resident is the performance of our schools. Education is complex. I get that. But one recent fact tumbles around in my mind: 7 out of 10 local students can’t read as well as they should.

That’s not just a statistic. That is a marker about the future of our community and our society. This topic of how well our kids are learning deserves the accountability reporting that Salem Reporter can produce.

This strikes me as so essential that I want to add a reporter whose sole focus is education. Managing Editor Rachel Alexander ably serves you there, but her management duties continue to grow as we grow.

So, I’m considering how Salem Reporter can fund, at the least, a fellowship or internship to report on local schools. I know I can attract the talent but we need to offer a decent salary to lure such help. Finding the money to do so is a priority.

More subscribers would be a big help. But we’ll look at grants and other outside funding that would be devoted to this. The question for this reporter to focus on: Why are students testing so poorly despite increased school spending?

I resolve to find a way to serve Salem’s need to more thoroughly understand what’s happening – and not happening – in classrooms.

Such accountability reporting fits with what readers expect from our local reporters.

An amazing 97% – more than 9 out of 10 – readers said it was “very important” or “important” for Salem Reporter “to hold public officials accountable for their actions and decisions.”

And readers were even more clear that it is “very important” or “important” for the press “to challenge government secrecy, such as seeking public records.” Some 98% of survey takers chose those rankings.

That tells me as the editor that readers want us to do what we have developed a reputation for. We do ask public officials tough questions. They don’t always like it. They sometimes complain. We’ll listen – but we remain focused on serving the people of Salem, not political ambitions.

That goes for government secrecy. I have spent a career fighting for access to government information. This is your information. But more public agencies have become sophisticated about keeping you and us away from their files. We remain determined to pierce needless secrecy to get you the truth.

Readers were generous in their assessments of Salem Reporter’s work. A sampling:

•You’re doing a great job staying impartial and fair on political issues.

•Your stories help us understand our community and each other.

•Your work helps hold people accountable and strengthen civic life.

Not every comment was a rose tossed into our laps:

•Sometimes the tone feels too negative about city government – balance criticism with solutions.

•Too much focus on politics and homelessness – it gets depressing.

•You focus too heavily on the same parts of Salem.

•Stop giving government officials the benefit of the doubt – push back harder.

Such criticism represents a small percentage of the survey remarks. No matter. I view every such comment as a reason to pause. Does the reader have a point? Are we missing something?

In a future Editor’s Note, I’ll share other ideas we have for improving how we serve Salem.

For now, I thank every soul who completed the survey. I intend to see those 10 minutes of time finishing the survey are rewarded in the year ahead with an ever-improving Salem Reporter.

Contact Editor Les Zaitz: [email protected]