If you would like to support Whitman County Watch, please get involved with our efforts to connect citizens with the public agencies that serve them. We believe our coverage can help residents understand local governmental operations and challenges in a way that encourages active participation in the process.
Here are five ways you can help:
1. Fill out our Readership Survey on local news needs and trust:
Please share what type of news or accountability gaps we can help fill with our reporting. I have already used survey responses to establish a long-term list of story leads and submit initial public records requests. Providing input on what builds your trust also helps me decide when to provide additional background material or context with my coverage.
The survey is short and completely anonymous.
2. Send me a news tip, story idea or question:
I am interested in stories on public agencies and services within Whitman County resulting in community-level impact — primarily issues of accountability, transparency or dysfunction. The best news tips include an initial foundation for reporting such as related documents, databases, recordings, first-hand witnesses or other corroborating evidence.
As a one-person newsroom, I probably can’t spend a lot of time running down vague rumors or personal disagreements. But please feel free to reach out with your questions, which can lead to meaningful stories about how local government operates.
You can submit tips confidentially via email or Signal, but please include enough detail to give me a clear starting point.
3. Share our news coverage or civic calendar with friends:
Part of our mission is making sure basic information on public services remains accessible to everyone in our community. Sharing our stories, civic calendar or other resources via email or social media helps increase the visibility of that coverage — and its impact. We don’t have door-to-door newspaper delivery, so please help us pass along stories you find interesting, relevant or valuable.
We run updates on both Twitter and Facebook.
4. Pay a $3 monthly subscription via Patreon*:
*At the start of 2022, I took a full-time job with Crosscut and have paused subscription payments as I focus on that work.
We will also take money. Most news organizations rely on advertisers, which clutter the reading experience and create conflicts of interest. Meanwhile, paywalls tend to block readers who cannot afford quality journalism, including students or low-income households, who may need the information most. So we’re not going to do that. If you can’t afford $3 (plus a 50 cent fee) a month, that’s fine. I hope you’ll contribute through other means.
But in-depth, original reporting takes time and money. I’ve paid $39 in public records fees so far this week. It burns gas to drive to commission meetings. There’s childcare and cell bills. And my hours are probably worth something. So if you support our mission, please consider becoming a paying member.
Sign up here. I am trying out Patreon because it’s widely used, low maintenance and transparent. You can see how much money comes in and any (extra enthusiastic) supporters who commit to $10 or more a month will be listed on this website for recognition as well as financial disclosure.
Become a Patron!
Please let me know if you have any issues or questions regarding payments.
5. Pitch me on something else you want to help out with:
Do you have expertise on a complex local issue? Do you have relevant legal advice? Do you have an interest in helping build collaborations with other regional groups to improve our coverage? That’s great. Please reach out. I might not have time to take advantage of your skills right away, but there will always be more work to do than I can do alone. I’ll take what help I can get.