The decline in news sources continues but we’re going the other direction.

The Los Angeles Times cut 20% of its news staff, months after the Washington Post pared back its reporting staff.

Closer to home, The Oregonian stopped printing a paper three days a week. The well-regarded newspaper based in McMinnville cut back to once a week from two. Across the state in Ontario, the daily newspaper announced plans to cut from four days a week to two.

We’re bucking the trend at Salem Reporter and you are a big reason. But we want to do more for you and we’re so close to affording one more reporter.

With a bigger staff, we can do more work like you saw this week. We brought readers exclusive new information about the DEA agent’s actions last year that killed a Salem cyclist. Such work takes time – and professionalism.

Here’s how you can help put more people to work for you.

As a subscriber to Salem Reporter, adding a little to your monthly payment would be huge for us.

Doing so is easy.

Send an email to [email protected] or to me ([email protected]) with a simple message – take your pick:

*YES – add $5 a month to my account.

*YES – add $10 a month to my account.

This will be automatic each month until you say otherwise and a great and affordable way to support the local news you can trust as fair and accurate.

Please say YES to more Salem information from the team that delivers local news that matters. This would add to the team of Rachel Alexander, Ardeshir Tabrizian and Abbey McDonald and our terrific freelancer photographers, Ron Cooper and Laura Tesler.

I thank you for your time and your current support – that means the world to our small local team.

–Les Zaitz, editor and CEO