The Columbia Gorge News team participated in the first Rural Journalism Conference, held at Eastern Oregon University, in April. Pictured, left to right, are Mark Gibson, Chelsea Marr, Trisha Walker, LisaAnn Kawachi and Alana Lackner.
The Columbia Gorge News team participated in the first Rural Journalism Conference, held at Eastern Oregon University, in April. Pictured, left to right, are Mark Gibson, Chelsea Marr, Trisha Walker, LisaAnn Kawachi and Alana Lackner.
I didn’t expect to be writing another column so soon after my last one, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my years on this planet, it’s that life comes at you fast sometimes.
As we announced in a previous edition of Columbia Gorge News, Jacob Bertram, our Washington editor, has left to be closer to home. That transition hasn’t gone quite as smoothly as we’d hoped. So far, we’ve offered the job to four people, all of whom were excited to come work in the Gorge until they realized how much it costs to live here.
So add us to the ever-growing list of places who can’t find employees due to a lack of affordable housing. It’s almost like there’s a story in there somewhere. (The joke is: We cover this a lot because it comes up a lot.)
Even so, we’d been managing to keep our coverage of Klickitat County more or less up to date. We can’t cover everything, and we definitely feel the loss of a body in the newsroom. Mark Gibson, our managing editor, has been taking on a lot of Jacob’s old beats, which is why we’ve been as successful as we have.
Recently, however, we learned that Mark is sick and unable to work. This means that now, our newsroom is down two reporters — and because of that, we need to implement a few changes.
Papers will most likely be smaller, at least initially — it’s common for us to have 28-32 pages in each edition. But we’ve gone from five full time reporters to three (me, Alana Lackner and Noah Noteboom). And I’m not sure how to split 80 hours between the three of us to make up for the loss, especially since we’re already working full-time. (We do have three part-time reporters, and we value their help. But part time is their preference.)
Another change will be that our office in The Dalles will not be open as regularly as it has been. We’re still trying to figure out who will be in the office and when. If you have any reason to come in, please call us first (or more specifically, call me: 541-386-1234 ext. 109) so you don’t show up to a locked door.
As for staff: We’re divvying up Mark’s and Jacob’s tasks. We will eventually get another couple of reporters in here — I’ve also learned that things tend to work out, even if they don’t work out quite like you expected. Right now, we’re all learning new beats and new skills, and meeting new people. I am also relinquishing my role as lifestyle editor to become managing editor in Mark’s stead. And okay, look, I’m clearly biased, but I am so fortunate to have these people on my team. Everyone has stepped up in countless ways to help make this work.
“What can I do?” you may be asking yourself, and if you are, honestly, thank you. It’s this kind of commitment to our newspaper that makes it possible for us to continue to be here.
Mostly, what we need is an April 2020 level of understanding — the sort of grace you gave us when the pandemic first hit and everything was chaos. I guess the good news is that everything is not chaos — we’re just short staffed.
But also:
Understand that we are doing the best we can with the circumstances we have been given.
Send us your photos, press releases, letters to the editor and news tips.
Be cognizant of our deadlines. We’re a Wednesday paper that prints Monday afternoons. It’s super helpful when you have any submissions in by Thursday at noon. (And yeah, late news happens. Send that too, with the understanding that it may have to hold until our next print edition, but we can always get it online first and print second.)
This isn’t exactly how any of us figured we’d be ending the month of June, but here we are. Um ... anyone have a place they’d be willing to rent to a new reporter?
Trisha’s Note: Mark Gibson passed away on June 21. There are no words to describe how much we will miss his steady, constant presence in the newsroom, his vast institutional knowledge, and his Mark-ness.
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