By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
I’m sure you’ve noticed that it’s election season around the country, Oregon and Lincoln County – including a package of countywide stories today on YachatsNews.
Next week there will be more, including stories on mayor/council races in Waldport and Yachats and two fire department levy requests.
And that means news folks – including the reporter, freelancers and editor at YachatsNews – are running around talking to candidates and election officials to bring you stories on the people and issues to help you make decisions.
As I’ve said previously – this is all “handmade” stuff – interviewing people, tracking down background, attending forums in person or remotely and then trying to assemble it in a package that helps readers wade through it.
It takes both time and money – and that’s why this is another pitch today asking readers to help contribute to this 501c3 nonprofit with small, monthly donations to support our work and to help hire a second, full-time reporter to cover the Newport area.
Click on this link to set up your donation.
As I’ve said in similar stories during this October campaign, our goal is to do more and better. This comes at a time when newspapers and some news sites are struggling. Some recent examples include:
- Country Media, the Salem-based owners of the Lincoln Leader in Newport and a handful of other coastal weekly papers, shut its Columbia County Chronicle & Chief in late September. The paper was born out of the 2023 merger of the St. Helens Chronicle and the Clatskanie Chief, both of which had been around for more than a century. “Combining the two newspapers into one was a last-ditch effort to reduce expenses and re-establish profitability,” company president Steve Hungerford said in a statement to The Oregonian. “Sadly, that wasn’t successful.”
- Residents in the northwest Washington tourist and agriculture town of LaConner are trying to raise $250,000 to keep the 145-year-old LaConner Weekly News from folding.
- Earlier this month, Reuters and CNN became the latest national legacy news companies to put up paywalls after providing digital coverage for free since 1995.
- There was even a local Facebook kerfuffle when some folks objected to the owners of Information Station in Waldport, who had been providing online notices of emergencies and other news releases for five years, established a $3.99 per month subscription fee. They just needed the income to continue providing the service.
The point is little to nothing of value is free. The organizations that provide local news in Lincoln County — be they YachatsNews, the Lincoln Leader, or Information Station — have dozens of news-gathering costs.
While YachatsNews’ focus is on south county, we feel there are many stories in the Newport area that warrant complete, comprehensive and professional local news coverage. That’s evidenced today with stories on how the Lincoln County clerk and her election crew count ballots, or an in-depth report on the acrimonious race for county commission, and a look at the Oregon Senate District 5 race.
YachatsNews is the only news organization doing that type of work locally. And that’s why we continue to seek your help to hire a second full-time reporter to be based in Newport.
But it costs money to do that. And more than ever, YachatsNews has to rely on its readers, some advertising revenue and the occasional grant to help pay for our efforts – and to keep the site open and free to anyone with a computer or mobile device.
During the month of October we’re asking readers, especially those in the Newport area, to consider signing up through PayPal to make a small monthly donation to support our work – with an incentive from a YachatsNews supporter.
The donor and his employer have pledged to match your contribution for a year up to a total of $10,000. That means if you sign up to donate $5 a month through PayPal the donor will contribute $60. If you donate $10, the donor will contribute $120, or if you sign up to donate $20 a month, the donor will contribute $240.
We would like to double the number of contributors and monthly total to help broaden our financial base – and to help expand our news coverage more regularly to the Newport area.
Other ways to help
There are other ways to contribute if doing so by a small, monthly donation does not fit your charitable giving plan. You can:
- 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 make a one-time contribution through PayPal;
- Advertise your business or organization on the site. Not only will you gain the additional exposure that 140,000 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.
Each week this month I will update progress on this effort and tell a little bit about what a second reporter could do to grow and improve news coverage in Lincoln County. If, as always, there are questions please feel free to reach out to me by email at YachatsNews@gmail.com or simply call me at 503-970-3867.
