By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
YachatsNews has some of its own news to announce.
After six years of calling ourselves YachatsNews, we are changing our name effective March 28 to Lincoln Chronicle to better reflect our current and expanding news coverage.
The name change after six years of operation comes as YachatsNews/Lincoln Chronicle has hired Shayla Escudero to be our second, full-time reporter to be based in Newport to cover Lincoln County government, education, Newport, housing and social services.
Escudero comes to YachatsNews/Lincoln Chronicle from the Albany Democrat-Herald, where for 2½ years she covered a variety of local government beats and social services. She has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and numerous reporting awards from her stint in Albany.
The addition of a second reporter will not affect our coverage of Yachats, Waldport, Seal Rock, Tidewater, south county, natural resources and breaking news – communities and subjects ably covered the past two years by Garret Jaros, a reporter with extensive experience in Oregon and Colorado, with the assistance of freelance writer Cheryl Romano of Yachats.
The name change is just a more obvious signal that YachatsNews is not as geographically limited as its name implies to some readers and our plans to cover more Newport-area and countywide issues as other local media pull back. It was our 2024 fundraising goal and previously stated plan to add a second reporter to fulfill our goal “To do more and better.”
YachatsNews has published more than 6,500 stories since it was founded in 2019 and more than 1,000 stories in 2024. It now has between 175,000 and 200,000 page views (the standard online metric) a month. It had more than 2 million page views in 2024 — the most of any local news site in Lincoln County.
More than 2,500 people are signed up to receive our twice-weekly emails of story summaries. If you want those Wednesday and Friday morning reminders – although we post or update stories 5-6 days a week – you can sign up here.
The name change and expansion of our coverage to more of Lincoln County, its people and issues will be accompanied by a re-branding and marketing campaign in April to make more people aware of our work.
Also, by the end of May, we plan to redesign and upgrade our website to handle and better display our increased news content, to improve readability and strengthen the site’s reliability.
The addition of a second reporter and expansion of our news coverage represents a significant investment for YachatsNews/Lincoln Chronicle. We pay a competitive, living wage, offer health insurance benefits at no cost to the employee, and other fringe benefits.
What do we expect from the name change and additional reporting power? More readers, more advertisers, and more donors. We also hope this added coverage will encourage more Newport-area readers to support this endeavor with donations – 64 percent of our yearly budget is supplied by reader contributions – and for Newport-area businesses to advertise with us.
Our online news site is free to all and available 24/7 and our intention as a 501c3 nonprofit is to keep it that way. In return, YachatsNews/Lincoln Chronicle provides readers professionally reported local news on important subjects and issues.
So, if you want to support us financially, you can do that any time. Here are some ways:
- Write a check and drop it into the mail to YachatsNews, P.O Box 284, Yachats, Ore., 97498;
- Use the “Donate” button on the website to become a monthly donor or make a one-time contribution through PayPal;
- Advertise your business or organization on the site. Not only will you gain the additional exposure that 200,000 page views a month can bring, but you will be helping sustain this operation. Here is a link to rates and how to get that process started.
I will end with a reminder of our mission statement: “To provide locally reported, fair, unbiased straightforward news of Lincoln County, its communities, governments, people, community organizations, businesses, and the natural environment with an emphasis on good government, transparency, community involvement, civic participation and engagement. We are an independent, non-profit news service. Free to all, funded by readers.”
If you have questions or concerns, please email me at YachatsNews@gmail.com.
Thank you for reading and for your support.
— Quinton Smith/editor & board chair
To read our “2024 Report to Readers” published last week, go here
By QUINTON SMITH/Lincoln Chronicle
Welcome to a renamed website – formerly YachatsNews and now called Lincoln Chronicle.
But really, not much is changing except a new masthead and a commitment to cover local news in more of Lincoln County than ever before.
For the past six years we have operated as YachatsNews. Friday marks just a name change – a new masthead, as it is called – and transitioning years of stories to a new website at www.LincolnChronicle.org
You should be able to access the site via the older www.YachatsNews.com site or the new www.LincolnChronicle.org site.
As with many internet-related transitions, there could be glitches, so please be patient – but do let me know via email (YachatsNews@gmail.com) if you are having issues reaching either site.
The name change is just a more obvious signal that YachatsNews is not as geographically limited as its name implies to some readers.
The transition is the culmination of our announcements this month that YachatsNews is changing its name to better reflect its current and expanded news coverage with the addition of Shayla Escudero, a Newport-based reporter, who joins Garret Jaros, our south county reporter, three regular freelance writers and myself to bring you even more local news of Lincoln County.
We will also be undertaking a rebranding and advertising campaign in April to alert more people to our name change and encourage them to become readers.
This is the first small step in a three-month process to improve the site’s readability and reliability. By the end of May, we plan to redesign and upgrade the website to handle and better display our increased news content and add new features.
We believe local news is vitally important and that’s why we go through the effort to bring you what we hope is an ever-changing snapshot of communities, their governments and their people.
It’s part of our stated attempt to fulfill our goal “To do more and better.”
How you can help
We hope that our added coverage will encourage more readers to support this endeavor with donations. Our news site is free to all and available 24/7 and our intention as a 501c3 nonprofit is to keep it that way. So, if you want to support us financially, you can do that any time. Here are some ways:
- Write a check and drop it into the mail to YachatsNews, P.O Box 284, Yachats, Ore., 97498;
- Use the “Donate” button on the website to become a monthly donor or make a one-time contribution through PayPal;
- Advertise your business or organization on the site. Not only will you gain the additional exposure that 200,000 page views a month can bring, but you will be helping sustain this operation. Here is a link to rates and how to get that process started.
Thank you for reading and for your support.
— Quinton Smith is the editor and board chair of YachatsNews, which publishes the Lincoln Chronicle and who can be reached at YachatsNews@gmail.com
May 15, 2023: YachatsNews hires Garret Jaros as its full-time reporter
Garret Jaros, who has worked at and written for a wide variety of newspapers in Oregon and Colorado, is YachatsNews’ newest full-time reporter
Jaros replaces Kenneth Lipp, who left April 21 to become the public information officer for Lincoln County.
Jaros comes to Yachats from the Durango (Colo.) Herald.
Jaros grew up in Eugene, attended the University of Montana and has a journalism degree from the University of Oregon. He has worked as a staff reporter and freelance writer for a number of Oregon newspapers, including the Eugene Register-Guard, Lincoln City News-Guard, Springfield News and Roseburg News-Review. As a freelance writer he contributed to the Country Media newspaper chain, the West Lane News and Tri-County News, the Sheridan Sun and Northwest Boomer & Senior News.
He has also worked as a whitewater rafting guide, an ocean kayak and snorkel guide, and desert survival instructor.
“Garret brings a wide range of experience, reporting and writing talent, and interests to the important job of covering news, people and issues in Lincoln County,” said YachatsNews editor Quinton Smith.
Smith launched YachatsNews in January 2019 as a public service project. It transitioned to a 501(c)3 nonprofit in October 2022 and hired its first full-time reporter two months later.
The nonprofit’s expenses – everything from the reporter’s salary and benefits to insurance and the rent of an office in Waldport – are funded by reader donations, charitable grants and advertising.
Jaros can be reached by email at GJaros@YachatsNews.com.
Editorial Independence Policy, February 2023
We subscribe to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News. Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions. We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content. Our organization will make public all donors who give a total of $5,000 or more per year. We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with INN’s Membership Standards.
Donor and financial transparency policy, February 2023
We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization. Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions. We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to help with our general operations, coverage of specific topics and special projects. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates as a public trust, we do not pay certain taxes. We may receive funds from standard government programs offered to nonprofits or similar businesses. Our news judgments are made independently – not based on or influenced by donors or any revenue source. We do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content. We make public all revenue sources and donors who give $5,000 or more per year. As a news nonprofit, we avoid accepting charitable donations from anonymous sources, government entities, political parties, elected officials or candidates seeking public office. We will not accept donations from sources who, deemed by our board of directors, present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.
Corrections and updating online stories
YachatsNews corrects errors of fact when they are brought to our attention and verified by a source, the reporter or the editor. Stories posted online will be fixed immediately after an error has been found. This includes fixes of minor errors such as misspellings. As a story develops, we do not note updates unless there is a particular reason to note the addition of new information or other change. Stories that contain a material error — an error that would significantly affect a reader’s understanding of a story — will have a correction appended as soon as the correction is approved by the editor. To submit a correction to a story contact the reporter, appropriate editor or let us know at YachatsNews@gmail.com. Let us know what needs to be corrected, where the error was found and any other additional relevant information.
YachatsNews’ board
YachatsNews has established a governing board to advise it on operations and overall policies. It meets quarterly and does not have input on editorial content. Board members were recruited from Lincoln County and Oregon and may change over time. As of December 2022 they are:
- Susan Woodruff, Waldport: Woodruff is a retired businesswoman who has been on the Waldport city council for 21 years. She is an active volunteer with several civic organizations, is a board member and treasurer of the Waldport Chamber of Commerce, and a member of Lincoln County’s budget committee.
- Tom Lauritzen, Yachats: Lauritzen had a 50-year accounting career in a variety of roles and assignments, including public accounting, restaurant equipment manufacturing, ship building, auto parts, grocery stores, brewing and consulting assignments for major retailers. A longtime city of Yachats finance consultant and volunteer, he is the board’s treasurer.
- Tiffany Sullivan, West Linn: Sullivan worked as an advertising executive at The Oregonian for 20 years where she handled the events category, helped create its sponsorship program and assisted with the production of custom publications. In 2017 she formed Blue Sprocket Brokerage, an agency that handles digital and print advertising, creative, and custom publications for YachatsNews and others.
- Catherine Trevison, Portland: Trevision is a writer, editor and researcher who has worked for four newspapers in the Midwest, South and West, including The Oregonian/OregonLive. She also volunteers with local nonprofits including Willamette Writers and Friends of Portland Community Gardens. She is the board secretary.
- Quinton Smith, Yachats: Smith founded YachatsNews in 2019 after a 40-year career as a reporter and editor for United Press International and three Oregon newspapers. He worked in various editing positions at The Oregonian from 1984 to 2008 where he led a reporting team that won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News. He is the board’s president and chair.
Dec. 2, 2022, nonprofit announcement
After four years as a privately-operated and financed community service project, YachatsNews has completed its transition to a nonprofit organization and hired its first full-time reporter.
YachatsNews has hired Kenneth Lipp, formerly of the Newport News-Times, as its main reporter. The local news website will continue to be edited and managed by its founder, Quinton Smith. YachatsNews has also created a five-member board to advise and guide its policies, management and long-term sustainability. Nonprofit news operations are gaining popularity in a fractured local, state and national media landscape. There are a handful in Oregon – operations in Ashland, Oakridge, Salem, and several based in Portland. A recent national study said 40 percent of local news websites in the United States are now nonprofit. YachatsNews applied for 501c3 nonprofit status last February and the Internal Revenue Service granted that designation in October. During that interim, YachatsNews conducted a highly successful local “hire a reporter” fundraising effort that raised more than $58,000. The nonprofit status allows it to receive tax deductible contributions and pursue operating grants from local, state and national foundations. YachatsNews recently received a $10,000 grant from the Thompson Foundation, a private, non-profit Corvallis-based foundation that supports community health, education, historic preservation and well-being in Benton County and surrounding communities. The foundation also supports education for young people entering the forest industry. Those contributions were enough to recruit and hire Lipp, who had been the associate editor of the News-Times. He started his new job Monday, Dec 12. “Having a reporter working full-time on Lincoln County news will improve and expand the strong, local journalistic effort that YachatsNews has been providing for four years,” said Smith. Smith will continue some reporting, but focus on managing Lipp and three freelancers who regularly contribute to YachatsNews, story selection from its various Oregon news partners, creating new partnerships and work on financial planning and long-term sustainability of the news operation. Lipp has had a varied professional career starting with designing and implementing lighting for theater and live music, attending the University of Alabama-Birmingham, and beginning his reporting career during the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011. In 2012 he co-founded the news blog, The Philly Declaration, contributed to The Daily Beast, The Intercept, The Nation, Splinter and Philadelphia’s Spanish-language daily, Al Dia. In 2018 Lipp went to work as a reporter at the Keith County News, a bi-weekly in Ogallala, Neb. He joined the Newport News-Times as a reporter in February 2020 and was promoted to associate editor four months later. At the News-Times he covered Lincoln County and city of Newport governments, politics, courts, crime and breaking news. Lipp can be reached at his new email address: KenLipp@YachatsNews.com or his cell phone at 308-289-2597.
Approaching 4th anniversary
Smith created and self-funded YachatsNews as a community service project in January 2019 as a way of providing local news in what is commonly called a “news desert” – an area where traditional media no longer have reporters covering local governments, people, business, and the community. Initially focused on the Yachats community, the past three years it has expanded news coverage, advertising and community service to Waldport and south Lincoln County, countywide issues, the ocean and forest environment, and statewide news. It carries locally-produced news of city and county governments, special service districts, breaking news, entertainment, events, people, businesses, a civic calendar, letters to the editor, obituaries and police reports. Since its inception, there have been more than 3,750 stories posted to the site. The site currently receives more than 100,000 unique page views a month. But to continue, YachatsNews needed to hire a full-time reporter — and readers responded generously to finance that effort for the first year. That – and its new nonprofit status — also inspired the site’s new slogan: “Independent, nonprofit news. Free to all, funded by readers.” This month, YachatsNews is again asking readers to consider an end-of-the-year tax deductible donation to help it build up financial reserves for 2023-24. Readers can send a check to: YachatsNews, P.O. Box 284, Yachats, Ore. 97498, or make a one-time contribution through this PayPal link. YachatsNews currently offsets its expenses via occasional donations, from a small revenue stream from paid advertising, and from 30 readers who make monthly contributions ranging from $5 to $40 via PayPal.
YachatsNews’ board
YachatsNews has also established a governing board to advise it on operations and overall policies. It meets quarterly and does not have input on editorial content. Board members were recruited from Lincoln County and Oregon and may change over time. They are:
- Susan Woodruff, Waldport: Woodruff is a retired businesswoman who has been on the Waldport city council for 21 years. She is an active volunteer with several civic organizations, is a board member and treasurer of the Waldport Chamber of Commerce, and a member of Lincoln County’s budget committee.
- Tom Lauritzen, Yachats: Lauritzen had a 50-year accounting career in a variety of roles and assignments, including public accounting, restaurant equipment manufacturing, ship building, auto parts, grocery stores, brewing and consulting assignments for major retailers. A longtime city of Yachats finance consultant and volunteer, he is the board’s treasurer.
- Tiffany Sullivan, West Linn: Sullivan worked as an advertising executive at The Oregonian for 20 years where she handled the events category, helped create its sponsorship program and assisted with the production of custom publications. In 2017 she formed Blue Sprocket Brokerage, an agency that handles digital and print advertising, creative, and custom publications for YachatsNews and others.
- Catherine Trevison, Portland: Trevision is a writer, editor and researcher who has worked for four newspapers in the Midwest, South and West, including The Oregonian/OregonLive. She also volunteers with local nonprofits including Willamette Writers and Friends of Portland Community Gardens. She is the board secretary.
- Quinton Smith, Yachats: Smith founded YachatsNews in 2019 after a 40-year career as a reporter and editor for United Press International and three Oregon newspapers. He worked in various editing positions at The Oregonian from 1984 to 2008 where he led a reporting team that won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News. He is the board’s president and chair.
From June 2022
Welcome to a news website devoted to local journalism for Yachats and south Lincoln county
Residents of Yachats and south Lincoln County are very interested and involved in their community – and very demanding of it. But the demise of traditional media and news coverage by even the smallest newspapers has left a void of clear, contextual, straight news reporting to help people understand what is going on. This news site is one person’s attempt to fill that void. It will have news of local governments, events, businesses and larger trends affecting Yachats, Waldport and south Lincoln county. It should be of interest to the people who live here and the thousands who visit every year.
The site is owned and managed by Quinton Smith, a Yachats resident with a long and distinguished career in Oregon newspapers. In addition to reporting and writing local news stories, the site provides links to stories and information around Oregon and the Northwest that might be of interest to readers. YachatsNews.com went live Jan. 4, 2019. Since then it has grown from 750 “page views” every month to more than 100,000 as of January 2022. It has added freelance writers to augment and expand its work and is now offering other content including Oregon politics and state government news provided by two Salem-based news organizations, local police reports and news, weather data, and letters to the editor. The site also carries local advertising to help businesses and organizations spread the word of their services and events. If that interests you, please see the link for advertising rates and contacts. All ads are handled by Tiffany Sullivan of Blue Sprocket Brokerage. But other than a little advertising revenue, the cost of the site and news gathering efforts are born by its owner with the aid of donations from people interested in seeing the effort continue and grow. The site allows comments on stories by readers, but they will be screened for content and appropriateness before being published. YachatsNews.com is not Facebook. Critical comments are fine; disagreement is fine. What will not be permitted are personal attacks, hate speech or off-topic comments. While the site publishes “letters to the editor” it does not have opinion pieces or editorials. If people read a balanced news report that has context, they should be able to make up their own minds. With the help of three paid freelancers, the breadth of coverage has grown from just the Yachats area, to Waldport, some overall Lincoln County issues, and to reporting on the mysteries of that great body of water just to the west. Since its launch, there have been more than 3,200 stories of all types posted on the website. The number of people who have signed up to receive email “blasts” each Friday morning alerting them to the week’s news has topped 1,350. But remember, we post stories daily. YachatsNews.Com will be “dynamic” – changing and evolving as we discover what elements work and what doesn’t. What won’t change is straightforward local news coverage. As I have stated before, stories we do are not universally loved. But we try to be as accurate as humanly possible, provide context when it is needed, and quickly correct mistakes when they are pointed out. The site is also unable to provide 100 percent comprehensive coverage of south Lincoln County. It’s one person, with the help of some capable freelancers trying to bring you what we think – in a very traditional sense — are the top news and community stories of the week. Over time, we try to seek a balance of what we cover. For every story about a contentious Yachats City Council meeting or a controversial fire board, there are a dozen other stories about community events, volunteers, breaking news, environmental news, business, tourism and of course, the latest on COVID-19 in this area. The challenge to me – and the community will help decide this – is if this effort is sustainable in the long term. Does south Lincoln County – from Tenmile to Waldport — want regular, daily news in a digital format or will it go back to a situation where rumors, second- and third-hand observations and Facebook are the biggest sources of information. I hope not.
Seeking nonprofit status and support
To make YachatsNews more sustainable long-term, in February I filed a 501c3 nonprofit application to the Internal Revenue Service to allow any donations to YachatsNews to be tax deductible and to help obtain local, regional and national grants. The application should be approved in the late fall. Tax-deductible contributions can be made in 2021 and still be declared 18 months later. YachatsNews is already registered as a non-profit with the Oregon Secretary of State’s office. As part of the non-profit status, YachatsNews will also set up a board of directors to oversee the business side of its operations. The goal is to generate enough income through donations, grants and the bit of advertising now on the site to hire a full-time reporter to cover this area. (Remember, I’m an old retired guy.) I hope to get to that goal by the end of 2022 – if there is support in the community for some of the necessary funds, and money elsewhere from charitable organizations and foundations. This may be a stretch for residents of south Lincoln County who are already asked to support many worthwhile organizations trying to make a difference. We will see. I take no money for myself out of this shoestring operation, including for any personal expenses in covering the news. In the meantime, here are some numbers to give you an idea of YachatsNews’ finances:
- In late 2018 and 2019, I funded the site’s startup and operating costs of approximately $5,000.
- In 2020 I began asking for contributions and received $3,745. There was also $3,660 in advertising income, for total revenue of $7,405. But costs – freelancers, web services, subscriptions, fees, licenses, etc. totaled $8,200.
- In 2021 I again asked for contributions and received $8,950 – including $250 to $300 a month from 12 individuals who make small ($5 to $40) automatic contributions through PayPal. YachatsNews also had $5,450 in advertising income, bringing total revenue to $14,400. Expenses were $10,300.
- So far in 2022 ad revenue is up — as are expenses. As of May 17, YachatsNews had $4,300 cash on hand.
If you are so inclined, there are several ways to support the efforts of YachatsNews:
- Write a check and drop it into the mail to YachatsNews, P.O Box 284, Yachats, Ore., 97498;
- Use the “Donate” button on the website to contribute through PayPal. Paypal also has a feature where you set up an automatic monthly contribution – 12 people do that now ranging from $5 to $40 – which helps stabilize income a bit.
- Or, advertise your business or organization on the site. Not only will you gain the additional exposure that 100,000 page views a month can bring, but you will be contributing to sustaining this operation. Here is a link to rates and how to get that process started.
With the advent of Facebook and other social media sites, people and many businesses are not used to paying for news, information (or misinformation) and services. Most good, traditional news organizations have their content behind pay walls. While YachatsNews is not perfect or necessarily comprehensive, I believe it offers valuable, local community information and professional journalism. I think there is value in that. Any support you can provide to help YachatsNews is appreciated. If you have questions or comments, you can email me at YachatsNews@gmail.com.
About Quinton Smith
I’m a longtime, award-winning reporter and editor with deep roots in Oregon journalism and communities. After graduating from Oregon State University in 1972, I worked three years as a reporter in the Portland Bureau of United Press International. I attended the University of Oregon from 1975-76, earning a master’s degree in journalism. I worked as an environmental, political reporter and assistant city editor at the Albany Democrat-Herald from 1976 to 1980, winning numerous statewide and regional awards for reporting. I became editor of the Gresham Outlook newspaper in 1980. 
In 1984 I joined The Oregonian, working as a suburban bureau chief, assignment editor, regional editor, suburban editor and finally Metro editor. In November 2007 I coordinated The Oregonian’s coverage of a California family missing for weeks in the snowy mountains of southern Oregon. For that work, the newspaper won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news. After retiring from The Oregonian in 2008 I worked as a researcher, freelance writer and editorial consultant for a variety of groups and publications. In addition to my journalism career, during my 32 years in Gresham I was involved in a variety of community activities involving schools, civic groups, and sports organizations. I refereed high school and college soccer for 15 years. My wife, Kathi, and I have owned property or had relatives in Yachats since 1976, spending significant time here each year. My late mother-in-law, Nancy Reynolds was a mayor here. My late father-in-law, Richard Reynolds, helped the community acquire The Commons from the Lincoln County School District. We started building a house in Yachats in 2016 and moved to the community we love in December 2017. You can reach me via email at YachatsNews@gmail.com or feel free to stop and chat when you see me around town.
DONATE
YachatsNews is community service journalism for south Lincoln County. To help support this effort please consider a donation through PayPal or simply write a check and mail it to YachatsNews, P.O. Box 284, Yachats, OR. 97498