The note from our reader was polite yet apologetic.
In her email message, the reader explained that she couldn’t afford to subscribe to Salem Reporter right now – she was out of work, at home.
She wanted me to know, however, she was thankful that Salem Reporter allowed her to read stories related to COVID-19 for free. She promised, she finished, that she would subscribe when she could.
That writer isn’t alone. Across the Salem area, thousands are out of work. Each of them needs vital, credible information about what’s happening in the community.
That’s why Salem Reporter is providing unlimited free access to stories related to the pandemic. Such service to the community is why we’re here.
But sustaining this service is going to take help from the community we serve, and let me explain a new way for you to be part of this.
First, you can be certain I didn’t go into journalism to be a fundraiser and ask for money. My long career in Oregon has been devoted to delivering the most accurate information possible so people can decide and act for themselves.
At no time in my career has that need been more acute than now. No part of Salem life is untouched. More profound changes are likely ahead.
And the team at Salem Reporter is up to the challenge of keeping up. Reporters Rachel Alexander, Saphara Harrell and Jake Thomas every day triage developments and advance reports. They’ve been joined now by an extraordinary team of photographers to chronicle for you this historic time, with Ron Cooper, Amanda Loman, Diane Beals and Caleb Wolf taking their keen eyes out into the community.
Circumstances and information change by the hour. Are buses running or not? When does school start again, even in its truncated, untried form? And how are small businesses supposed to access financial lifelines when banks won’t answer the phone?
We’re here to help Salem navigate and survive this pandemic. Getting it right and getting it fast are essential.
Choices are made every day – by parents, by business owners, by front workers such as nurses, doctors and police officers. They, too, need information.
We are a subscriber-funded news locally-owned news operation. While subscriptions continue to climb by the day (and you’re welcome to support us that way too: SUBSCRIBE) it is not enough to fully serve Salem’s needs. Many of you have contributed already directly, and you can’t imagine how meaningful every donation – from $10 to $1,000 on Saturday alone – is to each of us.
But to be sure we can focus on our work and not the bank account, we’re launching something new: the COVID-19 Local News Fund, reachable HERE. We have partnered with the national Local Media Foundation so donors can support our Covid-19 Local News Fund with confidence and with ease. And now contributions are tax-deductible since the foundation is a qualified tax-exempt organization.
Every dollar we raise goes to keeping – and expanding as possible – Salem Reporter’s efforts to go strong. We are on a mission to serve Salem in its time of crisis. We are resolute. And we vow to use every ounce of professional skill we possess.
Help us today with your donation and we’ll help Salem face and overcome this once-in-a-lifetime community crisis.
Les Zaitz, editor and CEO, Salem Reporter
Email: [email protected]
