LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Help us keep perspective...

Regardless of how someone feels about Donald Trump, there are going to be things that happen over the next four years that are going to make you feel one way or another about a controversial something-or-other.  

Generally, the Columbia Basin Herald doesn’t tackle federal issues, but with some of the changes being made, there are local impacts that we need to cover. Issues related to immigration, tariffs, education and government efficiency all have local impacts that our readers need to be aware of.  

At home, the tariffs are going to impact the cost of groceries, whether you support them or not, you need to know how that’s going to hit your pocketbook so you can plan ahead. At work, issues related to visas and the cost to buy a new tractor are factors farmers, ranchers and even office workers need to have an idea of.  

As we look to enjoy another beautiful summer in the Pacific Northwest, we need to know how staffing changes are going to change access to national parks throughout our region.  

For us, whether we cover something or not depends on local impacts. For most of our regional partners, that holds true as well. We can’t be everywhere at once, and we do have partnerships with the Tribune News Service/Tribune Content Agency and the Associated Press. TNS has more regional information from outlets like our peers at the “Spokesman Review” and the “TriCity Herald.” The Associated Press allows us access to sports and business content that can be relevant to our readers.  

We try to produce content in-house as much as possible and stick to the facts, regardless of how we feel about it. Our editorial staff has a wide range of political opinions and foundations that we discuss from time to time. Our goal with those conversations is to make sure we’re all aware of one another’s personal leanings and help each other keep that from poisoning the metaphorical well. Personally, I like to make sure that I also remain aware that my bullheaded opinions may be wrong and I try to make evidence-based decisions and update my views as I learn.  

Last week, we published a story about an Othello woman who was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. That story was written by a Murrow Fellow who works with an area partner. The Murrow Fellowship is a strong program that all news outlets in Washington can tap into and publish the content written by the journalists in the program.  

I want to acknowledge a factual error that was discovered after it was printed. In the piece, one of the sources said her grandfather was arrested by ICE in 2016, and that arrest happened during Trump’s first term. If she was correct about the year of the arrest, that would have been during Barack Obama’s second term, but if it were in 2017, under the Trump administration. The young reporter, her editors and I missed that detail. However, it was a human error, not an attempt at deceiving the public. I’m working with the editor at that publication to get clarification.  

That said, please be aware that we’re going to publish things that will have views that disagree with yours. It’s not an attack on your views. It’s just information on how someone else sees the situation. We try to include as many viewpoints as possible, but not everyone wants to talk and we’re not going to print someone’s conspiracy theories just because they feel the world is flat, as an example. The opinions have to be founded in some sort of reason. The world is demonstrably round, for instance, so we’re not likely to print flat-earther gibberish.  

If you feel we haven’t covered something as well as we could have, by all means, reach out to me. My team and I are human and we’re happy to expand on our coverage to improve it. I acknowledge that we may make mistakes, and I want to correct them. I’m easy to reach at 509-765-4561 or by email at editor@columbiabasinherald.com. 

Key tip though, maybe don’t call the paper and threaten our staff while hinting that you work for ICE. Especially if your caller ID tells me who you are.  

Cordially, 

R. Hans “Rob” Miller
Managing Editor