QuickTake:

Elon Glucklich, a journalist with 12 years of experience across Oregon, joins the Lookout Eugene-Springfield team as its new opinion editor. He lays out his vision for the opinion section and asks Lane County readers to submit letters to the editor.

For all the reading and preparation I’ve done to prepare for this job, one quote from a student journalist has really stood out.

“News is objective, but people aren’t.”

I appreciate it for hinting at why a robust opinion section plays such a central role in community journalism. Being informed and opinionated often go hand in hand, after all.

I’ve lived in Eugene for 15 years, and spent five of them as a reporter for The Register-Guard. I know this is a county with a wide array of opinions. Eugene’s reputation as a liberal bastion is well-documented, but it’s no monolith. And when you travel across Lane County, you’ll find just about every political viewpoint.

Most of those views made their way into the 100 letters to the editor The Register-Guard used to receive each week. Even while residents confined political debates to their own small groups, a common trait was the willingness to share their opinions through the paper and to call it out when its reporting or commentary failed to meet expectations.

That kind of discourse has felt frustratingly out of reach in recent years. The rise of national news and social media punditry has provided access to a wider range of news and opinions. But instead of broadening people’s views, this deluge of commentary seems to have narrowed them.

I want Lookout’s opinion section to challenge this trend. We’ve already heard from readers troubled by the behavior of elected officials, opposed to local police departments’ use of license plate reading technology and concerned about Eugene’s new stormwater fee. But bringing more conversations to our commentary section starts with your help.

A few rules for op-ed writers: First, your letter must include your name and the town you live in for us to publish it. Second, back up any factual claims with a source for your information. 

You’re welcome to weigh in on national issues, but I strongly encourage you to explain how the problem might affect people here in Lane County.

To submit a letter, email us at lte@lookoutlocal.com. We ask that you keep letters to 350 words or fewer. For verification purposes only, please include your address and phone number. This information won’t be published. You can read our full list of guidelines for contributing here.

To our readers, be as critical of our opinion content as you are of our news reporting. But read with an open mind. Respect and even relish the fact that Lane County is home to such a wide array of viewpoints. Respond to letters you disagree with, but treat the letter writer you’re responding to with the respect you’d want from them. They’re people you might run into at the downtown farmers market or out at the coast, after all. 

So what do you think about the University of Oregon’s latest layoffs, the Eugene and Springfield police departments’ use of Flock cameras, the state ban on cellphones in schools or the possibility of Willamette National Forest land being opened for road construction and timber harvesting? What problems that Lookout isn’t covering deserve our attention? Which organizations in the community deserve praise or criticism?

I hope you’ll add your voice to our conversation.

For more than a decade, Elon Glucklich covered business, government and health care for several dailies and online news organizations across Oregon. His reporting and commentary has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists and the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association.