Good morning and thanks for dropping by.
I’d like to have coffee with you.
At Salem Reporter, we hear from readers like you in many ways.
We get comments on social media. We get emails. We get phone calls.
But I need to hear more.
Here’s why.
The latest national Gallup poll has sobering numbers about the mass media in the U.S.
Nationally, only 28% of people trust the mass media.
The number is even more stark among Republicans. Gallup found only 8% trust the media.
“Confidence in the mass media is historically low, with fewer than three in 10 Americans now placing trust in newspapers, television and radio to report the news fully, fairly and accurately. The decline is evident across all major partisan groups,” according to Gallup.
This isn’t a great surprise to me. For at least two years, I’ve been urging my colleagues in the press to adopt as their primary objective: Regain the trust of the American people.
I’ll be going into this matter in a speech this Friday before the Salem City Club. You don’t have to be a member to attend. It’s at noon at the Willamette Heritage Center. (You can sign up to attend here.) I invite you to attend and bring your questions.
But I’m also determined to hear as directly as I can from readers like you. In the coming weeks, I’d like to gather 10 readers around a table with me to talk about Salem Reporter. I want to hear what people appreciate, what they don’t like – and where we stand on the trust meter. This is for me to listen, no matter how tough the message. If you want to participate, send me an email at [email protected].
Meantime, your team at Salem Reporter has covered all aspects of the community in recent days, from politics to schools to business.
Reporter Joe Siess continued his coverage about the controversial departure of Keith Stahley as city manager earlier this year. Now, state ethics investigators have concluded Mayor Julie Hoy and most councilors worked behind the scenes in an illegal way to engineer his exit. Siess continues to dig into details of the investigation after his initial story on the findings.
He also reported on a special downtown meeting that happened last week. Local government leaders and business executives spent time discussing what to do about downtown Salem.
In other local government reporting:
•School leaders were cheered by the first improvement in years in the test scores for local students. As Managing Editor Rachel Alexander reports, the Salem-Keizer School District still has a long way to go to get more students reading with the expected skill.
•Speakers lined up to tell the board of the Salem Area Mass Transit District what they thought of a proposed payroll tax. Most said they opposed the idea.
•The impact of the federal government shutdown was muted in Salem. With no resolution in sight, hundreds of federal employees in the Salem area are going without paychecks.
•Marion County finds itself back in court over immigration matters. This time, the Trump administration is suing to force obedience to subpoenas for enforcing immigration laws.
In community news:
•Federal officials are considering putting in a new national cemetery just outside Salem but details are being held closely.
•Salem gets a new clinic focused on treating teens with addiction and mental health issues. As Abbey McDonald reports, “Founder Josh Gotlib, a licensed counselor, said their program fills a gap by serving people who need more intensive care than one-on-one therapy can provide, but are still able to go home between sessions.”
•Learn how to help the community in a major emergency. Columnist Mark Wardell explains free classes starting this week.
In business news:
•The Forge is staking its place as a shopping and dining destination in a remodeled building in downtown Salem.
•Don Poncho, a homegrown Salem company, celebrated its move into a new, larger production plant.
In something-to-do news:
•Area farms have scheduled their harvest festivals.
•Find out what’s new this month in art galleries and museums of Salem.
HAVE A COMMENT? SUGGESTION?
Have thoughts about our reporting? A story we should do? A person we should profile? Or do you have questions about how we do our work? You’re welcome to send me an email – I read every one of them. Email: [email protected].
–Les Zaitz, Editor and owner
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