By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
Not everyone is as keen on covering the news or reading about it as your staff at YachatsNews – its editor, reporter and freelancers.
But for many Lincoln County residents or people who have an interest here, local news reporting is one of the vital ways to keep informed on issues or events.
Hopefully, it’s just not one source and that you have several ways to keep informed – a local newspaper (although they are diminished), social media (for better or worse), your friends and neighbors (trusted ones, anyway), and other publications (both print and online).
But it’s no secret that newspapers – both large and small – are shrinking both in breadth of coverage and reach. The Oregonian, where I happily worked for 25 years, is a shadow of its former self – but is reinventing itself to a vibrant and valuable online news source. Two local newspapers in Lincoln County combined into one this year, went to publishing one day a week and now try to get by with a local reporter/editor and a contract employee working remotely.
Click on this link to set up your donation.
There are other online news sites in Lincoln County, but they do not take the time and energy to attend meetings of fire boards, city councils or county commissions, respond to emergencies, check court records – all the small but important duties of a professional reporter.
Academics have a word for an area without a local, professional news source. They call them “news deserts.” South Lincoln County was becoming one until YachatsNews launched in 2019.
While our 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 why we continue to seek your help to hire a second full-time reporter to be based in Newport.
YachatsNews dips into the Newport-area as time permits. But we believe there are school and education stories worth being reported, and after all the recent dustups in county government, there’s more worth looking into there as well. But there also people profiles, stories of community organizations, businesses, the bustling port and all kinds of breaking and interesting news in the area to report.
But it costs money to do that. And more than ever, YachatsNews has to rely on its readers to help pay for our efforts – and keep the site open and free to anyone with a computer or mobile device.
We are a 501c3 nonprofit supported by reader donations, advertising revenue and the occasional grant from Oregon-based foundations.
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.
During a reader survey late last year, 80 percent of the more than 300 people who responded said they would consider making a small, monthly donation to help support our work. Here’s your chance – 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.
There are currently 55 readers who contribute $3 to $25 a month via automatic, monthly donations through PayPal. The typical donation is $10 to $15 a month for a total currently of about $900. A link to sign up is here.
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.
How 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 in October 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.
The staff and board at YachatsNews appreciates your support.