In the July 7 Slant column, the Weekly suggested that City Club of Eugene should have had more female representation on our July 8 program, “Can Local Newspapers be Saved?” A week later, Lou Caton asked why the Weekly’s editor declined an offer to ask a question at the program (“Why Not Engage the City Club?” Letters 7/14). The Weekly’s editor noted that they brought their concerns to the City Club Program Committee instead.

City Club appreciates this feedback. It helps us to be accountable and to better deliver our mission: “to build community vision through open inquiry.” We acknowledge that the range of speakers on this subject should have been more diverse, and we are committed to delivering programs that represent and engage perspectives from our whole community. We also appreciate that the Weekly acknowledged the qualifications of the speakers, and encouraged its readers to listen in, both before and after the program.

The First Question at the program was asked about diversity, by Molly Newhard, editor of LCC’s The Torch, and it deserves a more expansive answer. We hope to work with the Weekly and other local journalists to coordinate a program about diversity in the media in fall 2022.

Lastly, a reminder that anyone can suggest an idea for a City Club program. Please visit CityClubofEugene.org, select the “Forums” tab and click “Suggest a Forum” from the menu. Fill out the form with your idea, and we look forward to hearing from you. 

Joel Korin

Program Committee Chair

City Club of Eugene