On a spring Saturday 21 years ago a group of us sat around the kitchen table and talked about what was important to putting out a good newspaper – and what was important to us, personally.
We talked about integrity, reliability and a deep connection to our communities.
Another week went by and we carried the conversation out to a picnic table and, beverage in hand, piece-by-piece pulled together a vision for Our Town.
One particularly important thing was access. We wanted everyone to feel part of the community. That was a crucial element in our mission. So, in our town(s), we decided no one would have to buy a paper to get the local news. It’s in your mailbox, free.
That was a hybrid model for a fledgling publication with aspirations to provide only local, professional journalism. A little like public radio – we give news and information away for free; a little like traditional newspapers – we put our advertisers’ messages into the hands of existing and potential clients and customers.
Our Town was – and still is – an invitation to join in community by spending a little time reading about it. You might find something you want to do; learn something important you didn’t know; discover a business to match your needs or connect a familiar face to a name and a story. In the big picture, these are small things. But these small things – tiny stitches – pull together a living, growing, changing community.
Our Town is a gift. It’s a gift of purpose for those who create it, and a gift of connection for those who receive it. But in truth, the gift isn’t free.
There have been a lot of changes in the newspaper business during the last two decades. Many have folded or seriously diminished their coverage. I recently read 30% of the papers in the US have folded since 2005. Others were snatched up by investors who may not understand the community or a particular paper’s mission.
Our Town has been blessed. Thank you, Our Town advertisers. Thank you so much. And a huge thank you to the Our Town crew, too. They’ve committed time and talents to keep the paper vital. This paper is an undertaking of the heart – a community of coworkers.
But as I look to the future, I am concerned. Some of the Our Town founders have passed. The rest are 20 years older, many chasing grandchildren. Our Town can’t live in the past. We need to grow skill sets to keep Our Town relevant and present information in the manner people want to receive it. And while education, growth and change are important, they are also investments. That translates to costs we don’t have the resources to shoulder or absorb.
We need your help to sustain the Our Town news team and grow the skills and resources we provide the community.
Asking is hard. But not asking and having a resource like Our Town slip away – victim to changing information channels and changing pace – is harder. What the staff at Our Town does matters.
Rusty Rae, executive director of the Oregon Public Information Partnership, (of which Our Town is a member) has been noodling the issue far longer than I. He’s passionate about the reasons communities need local news:
• It provides a shared understanding of what’s happening in our city halls, schools, and businesses.
• It connects us to our community and to our neighbors, uplifting voices that would otherwise go unheard.
• It demands accountability. It forces decision-making structures to operate within the public’s view.
• It lends us agency, empowering us with the knowledge we need to make informed decisions about issues critical
to our daily lives.
• When local news declines, data indicates communities become more polarized; voter and civic engagement decline, and government waste increases due to the lack of public oversight.
If you agree reliable local news is important, please support the Our Town news team by making a donation to: https://tinyurl.com/support-ourtown-santiam-news . Because OPIP is a 501(c)(3) organization, your donation is tax deductible.
If you would prefer to make a contribution by check, please make it payable to OPIP and put ‘Our Town – Stayton’ in the memo line. Mail it to Our Town, P.O. Box 927, Mt. Angel, OR 97362. We will deliver it
to OPIP. You will receive a donation receipt.
Over the coming months we’ll share our plans and report on our progress. We’re going to hold fast to this: together, we build community.
– Paula Mabry
