Editorial: Why We Do What We Do

by Lin McNulty
Managing Editor, Orcas Issues

It has been one busy news week on our island! Our small, stipend-only staff has been on the spot covering all the major events—and then some. We were the first news service on the island to report on the fires—complete with graphic, at-the-scene photos. And we immediately posted updates as the day and the story progressed.

We love our jobs. Up-to-the-minute reporting is a challenging rush of adrenaline, but we’re also dedicated to informing readers about complex, long-standing issues.

Editor Margie Doyle literally runs her butt off every week attending meetings, gathering stories, and learning background. She’s the day shift. She says that by 5 p.m. she is comfortably resting in her Lazy Boy, but I somehow can’t picture that. She has too much devotion and energy for that—and she’s available to me via email or phone at all hours for discussions and coordination; I’m the night shift.

Cara Russell is our new “cub” reporter and has jumped in up to her waist covering events for us, with both heart-warming stories and amazing photos. She is also our new ad rep and would be delighted to talk with you about advertising on Orcas Issues.

On my night-shift, I’m mostly behind-the-scenes, keeping our event calendar up-to-date, doing web work. (I have top professional guidance from Ann Palmer of Techno-Sense. Ann’s the one who keeps us “live” on the internet when it decides to do inexplicable things.)

I also occasionally write feature stories and consult regularly with the team about our direction, as well as design and format ads.

Speaking of ads: the number of our advertisers continues to grow, and is beginning to provide a bit of income for our hard-working staff. But mostly, we continue to do this as an act of love and devotion, and belief in the professional level of journalism we are able to provide to our local community, in spite of the lack of monetary compensation.

So far this month, we have posted 97 stories. That includes press releases from our community members, as well as our own feature and investigative stories. That’s a bunch of news for three people to cover—and we each have other jobs and responsibilities.

I am pleased that the speed of news reporting on Orcas Island is greatly enhanced by the presence of Orcas Issues. The internet has made that possible, allowing us to report timely “news as it happens,” without having to wait for copies to be run off a press and distributed. We are there, hopefully, each and every time you want us.

And we are not just immediately responsive; we also hang in there for the complex, lengthy, and ongoing topics like OPALCO and the Exchange—whereas other news sources may only report on the end-result. We are committed to giving background and context, writing thoughtful editorials, supporting important community initiatives, providing in-depth coverage, and finding the answers to the questions we hear “live.”

Within the last few months, we have incorporated a few new things to Orcas Issues, such as an event calendar and “Did You Know…?” factoids. And, in case you haven’t noticed, Triana’s Astrology column has returned after her back surgery recovery!

We will be incorporating some bigger updates in the near future (as our time and budget allows) that we are excited about, changing the way you read stories on our site.

If you like what we do nearly as much we like doing it, please consider supporting us with a contribution, a subscription, or advertising your local business. We want to keep doing this for you—because we love it!