QuickTake:

Lookout Eugene-Springfield launched six months ago, hiring Oregon's second-largest local newsroom and bringing more journalism back to Lane County. This was made possible by our members, our marketing and civic partners and the entire community.

It took more than two years to get to the April 11 launch of Lookout Eugene-Springfield. 

Ken Doctor, founder of Lookout and its first site in Santa Cruz, spent more than two years meeting with members of the community, talking with groups and raising awareness of his plan to bring more local news back to Lane County.

My Lookout Eugene-Springfield journey began Jan. 11. That was the first email exchange I had with Ken, followed shortly by a video call in which he told me about Lookout Eugene-Springfield.

I was hooked and knew I wanted to be a part of this project.

What has followed, in just a few months, has made a substantial public impact: 

  • We opened a large office and newsroom in the heart of downtown Eugene. (And soon you’ll see the large Lookout sign gracing our front.)
  • We hired a newsroom of 16 — the largest local Oregon newsroom outside of Portland.
  • We published nearly 2,000 stories (and nearly as many photos).
  • Hundreds of people, businesses and foundations supported Lookout Eugene-Springfield by becoming founding members and founding marketing partners.
  • Thousands more stepped up to support local, independent journalism by becoming readers, members, civic partners and marketing partners.
  • We met many of you at events throughout the area including Saturday Market, Farmer’s Markets, the BRiGHT Parade, last weekend’s fall Lane County Home Improvement Show and many Rotary and neighborhood association meetings.

What you and we care most about is the journalism this team has created.

  • Opinion: We know that a robust Opinion section — the town square, if you will — is important to Lane County. Elon Glucklich is building this new town square on Lookout Eugene-Springfield. As we construct it, we have already challenged members of the community to step up and run for office and challenged those already in elected office to step up and be the kind of official that inspires others to step up and run. We believe our editorials should connect the dots and pointedly call for accountability on key issues, something you saw us do with our our call for testing at Alton Baker Park, which sits atop a former landfill used by J.H. Baxter & Co. to dump 1,400 gallons of hazardous chemicals, our challenging the process around installing Flock cameras, reminding this community that trust is at the core of a healthy community — trust in our officials and trust in their working with trustworthy vendors — and also our call for property owners to defend our undocumented neighbors.
  • Lane Community College: A story that Mike McInally has been following since before our April launch — dysfunction on the LCC Board of Education over treatment of the school’s president, Stephanie Bulger — resulted in the board offering a formal apology.

We can tell these community stories because of our members and marketing partners. We are grateful every day for this support.

If you are a member — either since before our April launch, or someone who joined last week — thank you. If you are not already a member, please consider joining.

We look forward to continuing to tell the stories of Lane County. The stories of your family, your friends and your neighbors.

Thank you for helping us do that.

Dann Miller is the executive editor of Lookout Eugene-Springfield, bringing decades of leadership experience in both traditional and digital newsrooms.