#SaveEugeneWeekly

Dear Eugene Weekly Readers,

We knew when we wrote our letter to readers that the loss of Eugene Weekly would matter to the community. We hoped you would rally to save us. Eugene Weekly readers have shown us over the years that this weekly paper matters — from all the letters you send for publication to the way you’ve picked up the paper from our red boxes.

And your overwhelming support is showing us now how much local independent journalism matters. Thank you, so very, very much. The contributions you are making mean we have hopes of getting back on our feet and our inky paper back in your hands as we deal with this huge financial hit. And your notes have made us cry.

Per readers’ requests, we made a GoFundMe, which has raised more than $50,000. We have also received direct contributions through our website, and tax deductible donations through our nonprofit arm, TRIPS (Twin Rivers Institute for Press Sustainability).

We’d rather write the stories than be the story, but we are still being blown away by how much the loss of local weekly paper matters to people across the country.

You can peruse the stories by our local journalism community, which immediately sprung into action to publish at KLCC, The Register-Guard, and TV stations, including KEZI, KVAL and KMTR. And not to mention the Daily Emerald and Oregon ArtsWatch.

Then The Oregonian/OregonLive, the Associated Press and Fortune magazine broadcast the story across the country, as did Business Insider.

More recently the New York Times and the Washington Post picked up the story of this community newspaper’s struggle — and everything the community is doing to help.

With your much-needed ongoing help, we are working on a plan to get back into print, as well as a short-term plan and a long-term plan that will keep Eugene Weekly in town for another 40 years. And this plan involves not only a plan for writing and printing the paper, but a financial plan and management structure to keep us going and make sure this never happens again.

Local journalism matters.

Thank you,

Eugene Weekly
#SaveEugeneWeekly

PS. You can also drop by our office at 1251 Lincoln Street, Eugene OR 97401 where we are trying to hang in there! We look a little closed, but we are there.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!