There was a surge of activity on social media regarding the situation at Standing Rock. Even the popular television and print news services took notice, but once the ratings peaked they pulled out and moved on to bigger things.
When I founded this organization I intended to cover local news events as they happen. I still intend to do that, but I also feel that stories such as the situation at Standing Rock are deserving of local attention. Where were the reporters when a group of concerned citizens from the Umatilla Indian Reservation were proudly marching up and down Main Street in Pendleton, voicing their opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline? We know that reporters were dispatched to Mission Market on the reservation to ask natives what they were going to spend their settlement checks on (like it’s their business to ask anyway) but where is the good news? Overt racism may be frowned upon, but covert racism is still a thing.
It is because of this modus operandi that I feel it is vital that we not only highlight the good that is done by the citizens of Pendleton, but also the good that is done by our neighbors on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Some of our neighbors to the east are currently away from their homes and families, standing in solidarity with the Sioux tribe at Standing Rock, and some are preparing to make the journey as we speak. We will have coverage of those efforts in due time, but for the time being I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their efforts and encourage them to keep up the good fight!
We’re planning big things in the upcoming coverage. These things may include ideas that from a technological standpoint may not have been done before by a local news source. We want to raise the bar, and how are we to achieve that goal if we’re not willing to break out of the mold and try something new?