From the editor’s desk: Interns get a crash course in local reporting

You might have noticed our story in last Wednesday’s East Oregonian about the health risks associated with smoke from wildfires.

That story was written by this summer’s intern at the La Grande Observer, Ellie Graham.

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Phil Wright, the editor of the East Oregonian print edition, has other details about — and words of praise for — this summer’s interns at the EO Media Group’s Eastern Oregon newspapers. So I’m going to turn this column over to Phil for a few paragraphs:

Dear readers,

Last week in this space we mentioned our summer interns.

Ellie Graham is the intern for The Observer in La Grande, and Alexander Banks is the intern for the Baker City Herald. And Tori Schuller recently wrapped up her internship at the East Oregonian. All came to our newsrooms from the Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism.

The program is run by the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. The Snowden program coordinator, EO Media Group editors and the students themselves work together on a common goal — ensuring a valuable learning experience. We take that seriously.

While the interns we get often have experience reporting for school newspapers and magazines, our newsrooms in Eastern Oregon become the test beds for new journalists.

Sure, they might get to do something as adventurous as going up in a hot air balloon for a feature story, as Tori did in June, but they also get to learn the difficulties of working with sources who want to control the very language they use to convey a news report. Tori experienced that as well.

Reporting is a tough gig. I think local reporting is bloody tough, but I’m biased. Yet for all we hear about the demise of local journalism, I find the Snowden program and its interns uplifting. Young reporters uproot themselves and barrel out here and give reporting a real go.

Maybe they will find out they don’t want to this for a living. Maybe they will find this is all they want to do. Either way, we’re glad they come.

Phil Wright

Editor, East Oregonian

Thanks, Phil.

Meanwhile, of course, Ellie is hard at work on a new batch of challenging stories I’ve assigned — and is coming up with terrific story ideas of her own.

And, in addition to her story on wildfire smoke, here are some of the other Observer stories you might have missed or that we’re working on:

• Did you happen to spy a convoy of old cars roaming through Union County earlier this week? La Grande was the home base for the annual regional summer tour by owners of Willys Overland autos. As Isabella Crowley discovered, owners say these cars are dreams to drive — but that doesn’t mean there’s not an occasional bump in the road.

• Joseph-based Community Bank, which has branches in Union County, has announced plans to join forces with a Spokane credit union. The deal has been approved by boards of both institutions. Bill Bradshaw has the details.

• Morgan Lake will reopen for day use on Monday. As you may recall, when it was closed a month or so ago, it was because of high fire danger throughout the region and because firefighting resources were strained. Conditions have eased up somewhat (at least for now), prompting city officials to green-light the partial reopening.

• Isabella spent Thursday at the Eastern Oregon Housing Summit, which drew hundreds of participants to La Grande for a full day of workshops and discussions. We’ll have highlights from the day in Wednesday’s East Oregonian — and, earlier, on our website, lagrandeobserver.com.

These stories are all part of our continued efforts to bring you the best coverage we can of Union County.

Remember: If you have story ideas or comments about the Observer (or about the East Oregonian as well) you can reach me at editor@lagrandeobserver.com. (I might not be able to get back to you immediately, but I try to respond to every email.)

In the meantime, also remember that your digital subscription access has been expanded, at no additional cost to you, to include all of EO Media’s other Eastern Oregon websites, including the Chieftain, the East Oregonian, the Hermiston Herald, the Baker City Herald and the Blue Mountain Eagle.

For all digital access:

• Simply register your account on every site you wish to read with the same email address and password you currently use.

• Once you’ve registered, enter your username and password to enjoy the full range of content on that news site.

• You should not have to login again unless you log out, clear history or experience software updates.

• Save your password when prompted by your browser and if you are inadvertently logged out, your browser can fill in your login and password for you. (Only use this option on your personal digital devices.)

To view the latest e-editions, be sure to register your account and sign in to www.eastoregonian.com.

If you have any questions or need assistance, contact us at 800-781-3214 or email support@eomediagroup.com.

If you haven’t already, this is a good time to take a moment to register your subscription for digital access of The Observer. Call 800-781-3214 to talk to one of our customer service staff members, who will be happy to walk you through the process. It’s easy, takes just a few moments to get set up and allows you to take advantage of our e-edition, app and website delivery along with your print subscription. (The online edition also features a big selection of puzzles available only to subscribers.)

And let me clue you in on a new feature on our website that should help subscribers who are experiencing problems logging in. On the right side of the top navigation bar, you’ll see a “?” Click on it, and you’ll go to our new Help Center, designed specifically to help subscribers who are experiencing problems logging in. Log-in problems are a pain, and we’re hoping this feature helps you if you experience those.

Finally, let me take this opportunity to once again thank the Observer’s subscribers: It would be impossible for us to do this vital work without your support.

Mike McInally is the associate editor of the Observer and the editor of the Wallowa County Chieftain. You can email him at editor@lagrandeobserver.com.