To YachatsNews readers:
It’s that time of year – political season and the fall when people may be paying more attention to news – when I need to take the opportunity to remind some folks of some letters and commenting guidelines and practices at YachatsNews.
We started offering time and space two years ago for “letters to the editor” as a way to let readers voice their own thoughts and opinions on almost any local subject. We don’t get a lot of letters, but it can be a nice, niche outlet for some readers.
But with the return of fall political campaigns, I would like to take the opportunity to remind letter writers of a few things that will help their thoughts reach the public. These include:
- The letter must come (email to YachatsNews@gmail.com is best) from the writer, not political campaign managers or candidates. Example: If Joe Smith of Yachats wants to support Susie Jones for state representative, Smith needs to email the letter (with his contact information for verification only) to YachatsNews. It cannot come from Jones’ campaign.
- Your letter has a much better chance of running if you say why you support someone or some issue rather than tearing down her or his opponent. Example: Writing a letter that basely accuses Joe Candidate of being a horrible person and politician won’t get published. But a letter that says “Susie Smith is running against Joe Candidate for dog catcher in the Nov. 8 election and here is why I support her” will get published. Basically: build up, not tear down.
- If you are also sending the same letter to newspapers in Lincoln City, Newport or media elsewhere, then there is less of a chance of it being published on YachatsNews. If it’s important to try to reach other outlets – which is perfectly fine, of course – take a few minutes to tweak some or all of it to make it slightly different for YachatsNews. (Or, visa versa, of course.)
- I will edit letters for “newspaper” style, formatting and brevity. Also, if eight letters suddenly show up for candidate Susie Smith, I will not run all of them, but will pick the best 2-3 that shows the range of support for her. Same with non-candidate issues like tax levies, etc.
- Cut-and-paste letters that are obviously from political campaigns via individual supporters may get one printed, not all of them.
Letters are an important element to helping get your thoughts out to the local reading public. Please take advantage of that opportunity.
Commenting on stories
A more nettlesome issue as I edit YachatsNews is working with readers who “comment” on news stories and letters. We included a “comment” function at the bottom of stories when the news site launched almost four years ago as a way for readers to weigh in briefly on a story or issue.
Comments do not automatically appear below stories. I have to review, edit and approve them – using basically the same standards as letters to the editor.
Since 2019, 790 comments have been approved for 3,600 published stories. I’ve rejected probably 300 others that were inappropriate for a wide variety of reasons.
As background, many short-staffed mainstream newspapers have dropped the “comment” ability on online versions of their stories after determining that a small percentage of partisan commenters were driving off more thoughtful conversations. Monitoring them was also very time intensive.
Comments approved for YachatsNews must be respectful, as accurate as can be humanly be determined, not demeaning or just plain nasty. State why you will support this issue or that person, not make baseless accusations or rude comments. Although usually much shorter than letters, story comments will still be edited for appropriateness and to help the commenter stay on the main point.
Here’s what I wrote back in 2019 when YachatsNews launched: “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.”
That still applies almost four years later.
Some other political news
- YachatsNews will be doing news stories and question-and-answer presentations on mayoral and city council races in Yachats and Waldport, the Lincoln County commission, and explanatory stories on levy requests by the Yachats and Central Oregon Coast fire departments prior to the Nov. 8 general election.
- YachatsNews hosted a local candidates fair two years ago, but has no plans to do that again this fall;
- YachatsNews is working with editors and reporters at Oregon Capital Chronicle and five other Oregon news organizations to collaborate on a large package of issue-based stories on the three candidates for Oregon governor. Look for those stories to begin rolling out about Oct. 19 as ballots come out;
- If you, a candidate or political campaign want to advertise on the YachatsNews website, you can check our rate sheet here or contact ad representative Tiffany Sullivan by clicking on this email link.
Update on nonprofit transition
The transition of YachatsNews to nonprofit status is waiting on approval from the Internal Revenue Service, which is expected this fall. As a reminder, we started this process last winter by filing paperwork with the IRS with the goal of raising money to hire a full-time reporter late this year.
That plan is still on track.
YachatsNews readers very generously contributed $53,000 in a local fundraising campaign in June and we received a $5,000 donation from the Roundhouse Foundation of Sisters, Ore. – bringing us to $58,000 of our $70,000 goal. Several other foundations are awaiting confirmation of our tax-exempt status before committing funds.
You can still contribute to this effort. Go here for more information.
At the moment, I’m putting together a job description, duties and expectations for the reporter and compiling information for a livable wage and benefit package.
The goal is to have one full-time reporter, coupled with 2-3 regular freelancers and a very part-time editor to bring you relevant local news of south Lincoln County coupled with statewide and regional news from our many news partners.
Stay tuned as this process continues to evolve.
Questions? Feel free to email me at YachatsNews@gmail.com or call me at 503-970-3867.
— Quinton Smith/editor and manager