We hate mistakes as much as you do; we are working to reduce them

In a Morning Lookout newsletter two weeks ago, we told readers to check out a “Thai foot cart” in Springfield. 

While it could have been a story about a bunch of podiatrists who set up shop in a trailer, that wasn’t the case. It was a food cart.

I edited that newsletter. It was embarrassing — for me, for the writer of the newsletter, for the correspondent, for everyone who works at Lookout Eugene-Springfield.

No one likes to make a mistake, and we work hard to ensure the number of errors published on Lookout Eugene-Springfield is kept to a minimum. I estimate we publish 8,000 to 10,000 words on an average day. Each story is read at least three times after it’s finished — two editors and a final read by the correspondent. I’ll give you more of a sense below of what we are doing, every day, with every story, to ensure accuracy, but first, let me point to some of the best work you’ve told us you appreciate.

During the past few weeks, Lookout journalists have been telling stories of importance to Lane County. Ashli Blow has written about what some might call a crisis in local health care, with doctors leaving Oregon Medical Group and that organization planning to stop providing OB-GYN care. The stories got a huge reader response.

So did Ashli’s look at dangers posed by an underwater dam on the Willamette River. So did Lilly St. Angelo’s story about a neighborhood uproar after a decision to raze a popular playground next to Westmoreland Park without letting the community comment and without making plans to replace it. And with protests happening over the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Jaime Adame wanted to know what directives Eugene police are being given about how to handle demonstrators, and he shared what he learned with you.

And then there was Mark Baker’s story of Gil Hulin, a prominent face in the world of Eugene youth sports, who died alone in his home.

As we approach our fifth month of publishing, you’ll see more and more impactful reporting from this team. And to be clear, our members help make this reporting possible. We have Oregon’s largest newsroom outside of Portland — 16 people dedicated to one thing: covering Lane County for you. Please join many of your friends and neighbors who have already become members by becoming one today. In doing so you help pay all our journalists for their work, for you.

Thank you for supporting us.

Many of you have told us how much you appreciate our work around a single word: Accountability. 

Could there be a more important time in the country and in Oregon to do this work?

We are devoting time and effort to covering the impacts of the Trump Administration on Lane County, including the story of respected Oregon vineyard manager Moises Sotelo who has been deported, and how that is instilling fear across the community.

Ben Botkin reported on a plan by the city of Oakridge to purchase and reopen Kitson Hot Springs – as well as the $2.5 million price to get it done. He also sat down with Boris Wiedenfeld-Needham, who plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle in next year’s Democratic primary.

Lilly and Mike McInally have been focusing on the Lane Community College Board of Education, which has been plagued by charges of bullying and dysfunction. There is much more to come on this story.

In Springfield, Lillian Schrock-Clevenger looked at the state of the 42nd Street Levee, which protects more than 24,000 people – and properties valued at more than $4 billion – from a potential McKenzie River flood.

These are examples of the accountability journalism we have produced since launching April 11. But it’s core to the mission of any independent newspaper and especially to Lookout Eugene-Springfield.

Getting it right — and Bob’s special role

All of the stories I’ve noted had impact, but a misspelling or little error could have undermined the work correspondents put into reporting and writing these pieces. Accuracy matters. 

I worked with an editor in Yakima, Washington, who told me newspapers were the protectors of the English language. That felt a little extra, but I get what he was saying: Readers expect us to deliver stories with headlines and photo captions free of errors.

Every journalist strives for that.  

I have never been a great speller. My first full-time job was as a news clerk, and I sat right behind our metro editor, Ron Ostroff. He was a perfectionist, and my frequent spelling mistakes irritated him. At one point, he made me create a list of words I had misspelled and tape it to my monitor — with the expectation that, at the very least, I would not misspell those same words again.

It helped, but nothing short of us installing a system with integrated spell check — which arrived a few years later — made a substantial difference.

Now, we have better, more sophisticated spelling and grammar checks. I would have given anything for that as a cub journalist. And at Lookout Eugene-Springfield, we have a copy editor, Bob Passaro — a rarity in a newsroom this size.

We added this role because the little things matter, and readers want a news report that is free of errors. I didn’t have that luxury in Louisville or Memphis, where I worked as a top editor. The last time I had a full-time copy editor was in 2014. That position was eliminated the next year.

But even with these safeguards, we will make mistakes. And you all let us know when we miss the mark. As much as it sucks, we are glad you do. Our policy for handling corrections and clarifications can be found here.

Being called out by readers is part of delivering a daily news report. Readers take pride in finding errors in newspapers — I mean, how many movies or TV shows include an anecdote about discovering an error in The New York Times Crossword? 

Accountability is a hallmark of an independent press, and it goes both ways. We want you to tell us when you see something wrong. We want you to hold us accountable, just as we hold others accountable.

Our ability to do this work is a direct result of your support. If you are a member, thank you. If you are not, please consider becoming a member.