Let me start off the new year by thanking you. Thank you for reading our work at Salem Reporter. If you’re a subscriber, thank you for making that work possible. My team and I have you in mind every day we come to work. We’re mindful of the trust you have placed in us. We are mindful of our duty to the community to present facts, not partisan blather or press releases. We head into 2025 committed as ever to high ideals of our profession. Join me for a moment to reflect on what Salem Reporter accomplished in the last year. Hoo boy, what a year. We expanded our reporting staff from three to five. That’s huge. Most news organizations are cutting staff – or going dark altogether. Reporter Joe Siess joined the crew, coming from the Bend Bulletin and previous work at the Klamath Falls newspaper. He’s focused on City Hall as his beat. Reporter Madeleine Moore so impressed us during her time as an intern that we wouldn’t let her go. We’re delighted to bring such talent into the profession. And next week, we’ll be joined by Alan Cohen, a Willamette University student, who will serve a 10-week internship. Cohen is on track to graduate in December and we’ll use his internship to build his journalistic skills. “My main goal is to get real-life newsroom experience and build connections,” he wrote last year in asking for a chance. This is the second internship slot at Salem Reporter. Throughout the year, we kept adding elements to Salem Reporter. That’s the result of listening closely to you and other readers. That’s the result of constant assessments by our team: What more can we do? How can we improve? Let me tick off the changes. We added a new calendar of events, making it easier for you to find something to do. And we’ve made it easy for Salem’s entertainment and events venues to share information. Managing Editor Rachel Alexander explained the thinking in her own Editor’s Note. We added a public notice service, allowing governments and lawyers to put before you those required announcements. We kept the cost low and the visibility high, so you’ll know about public hearings, about budget decisions, and other public business. We added audio access to select stories. You’ll notice at the top of stories this new feature. Simply tap the audio icon and listen to our story. This is one more step we’ve taken to make Salem news more accessible to more people in more ways. We revived our Instagram feed, and are working to add a weekly video digest. In today’s world, people rely on Instagram to learn the news. We’ll keep refining our efforts here. Speaking of refinements, Rachel Alexander last month completed participation in a prestigious program for developing media leaders. Competition to get in was tough, and I’m proud but not surprised that Rachel made the cut. Now, she’s assigned herself tasks to make our newsletters more effective, both in presenting the news and in recruiting new subscribers. We also served the community as a convener. We conducted a Town Hall in February concerning gun violence in Salem. The program at the Elsinore Theatre was well attended and was broadcast live by our partners at Capital Community Media. We returned to the Elsinore in April to stage the debate between Chris Hoy and Julie Hoy, again broadcast live by Capital Community Media and with the Salem City Club as our partners. We’ve heard from many readers how they appreciate these focused, fast-paced community events. We’re watching for more Town Hall opportunities in 2025. Do you have a suggestion? And we managed to sneak in time at the Salem Saturday Market, which was a blast. Getting to talk with readers and would-be readers is fun. Of course, access to several bakery stands is a bonus – we’ll be back. As 2025 unfolds, we’ll keep thinking of ways to expand and do better. What’s important is that you, as the reader, get full value from us. Some thoughts on how to do that: •Be sure to tap into that calendar of events, which will only grow in offerings as it becomes better known. •Get all of our newsletters – morning and evening during the week, plus my Sunday review. You can sign up for them all through your Salem Reporter account. If you’re already a reader, encourage a friend to sign up – it’s free. •Give our new audio service a try. *Watch us on Instagram. And here’s how you can help us do even more for Salem in the year ahead. •If you don’t already, subscribe. Think of the $12 a month as a membership. Subscriptions fuel us. •Contribute to our News Fund. This helps pay for interns, public documents and other expenses of delivering first-class journalism. •Tell others. You are our best source for new readers.  Be an advocate for for us. Tell people why you read us. Explain why they should too. •Own a local business? Be a sponsoring advertiser – a real two-fer. One, you get your name in front of Salem residents, day in and day out. Two, you perform a civic service by ensuring Salem gets vital local news. One last item. Last year, we surveyed readers and residents about what news they wanted, what news they were missing. Hundreds responded. The results were invaluable. We’ll do another one soon, so watch for it. Onward! -Les Zaitz, editor and co-founder ([email protected]) The post EDITOR’S NOTE: Salem Reporter added reporters, features to serve the community appeared first on Salem Reporter.