By Janette Turner
“This is not my job,” said Teresa Wippel, publisher of My Edmonds News, speaking at Thursday’s Friend of the Edmonds Library meeting. “It’s my passion.”
In her talk, Wippel shared experiences about starting one local news site in 2009 with 200 daily visitors to now owning three — My Edmonds News, MLTnews and Lynnwood Today — that average 80,000 unique visitors a month. One reason for her growth is her mix of stories, from City Council coverage to Konkydoodle Kitchen clips, featuring Doug Lofstrom and Carol Kinney, who attended today’s meeting and read sample comments from fired-up readers.
When Wippel was asked her favorite type of story to post, she said she loves stories uniting a lost pet to an owner. “I’ve even been sent a photo of lost keys,” said Wippel. “And I posted them.” Wippel considers her news sites “online gathering places,” and while she doesn’t shy away from hot topics, she wants the discourse to be civil. That’s why she requires comment writers to use their real names.
Wippel has a journalism background and clearly enjoys her publishing position, but the one area causing her difficulty is financial. “Journalists are not business people,” said Wippel, and while she didn’t say it out loud, perhaps the answer was in the room. Maybe the pursuit of free speech requires a supporting nonprofit, perhaps something like a “Friends of Edmonds Journalism” to keep the gathering place alive and covering those City Council meetings.
The kind of professional, balanced and fearless reporting that Teresa provides (tirelessly) helps us know our neighbors and fosters a sense of community. It helps protect us from the kinds of bad government that can happen anywhere–even Edmonds.
I would be willing to donate to a “Friends of Edmonds Journalism,” “Friends of My Edmonds News,” or directly to Teresa. I urge others to do the same. — Cliff
PS: Tax deductibility is not an issue, unless large amounts are involved, so a nonprofit organization may not be necessary.