Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who attended our open house on May 16.

An estimated 200 people came through The Bulletin’s doors during the two-hour event, and we were so happy to see you. 

“We’re so glad you’re doing this” was a comment we heard from many of you. We were happy to do it, and you can plan on us doing it again next year.   

People brought us story ideas, indulged their curiosities about the news business and matched faces with The Bulletin’s bylines. We also learned about frustrations from some digital subscribers, which was constructive feedback for us to address.  

Tim Trainor, one of three co-chief editors for The Bulletin, said it was great to talk with so many readers and people interested in journalism. 

“I chatted with folks who wanted to know about the printing process, including former journalists with fond memories of the smell of a freshly-inked paper and the wall-rattling sound of the press firing up. One reader handed me a note with court cases previously reported by The Bulletin, which were in need of following up on. Others asked about bias and deadlines and generating story ideas.”

Open house guests also asked for reporters and editors by name. Some wanted the inside scoop on how editorials are thought through and written. It was great to have Opinion Editor Richard Coe on hand to guide them through that process, Trainor said.

Lots of visitors wanted to chat with David Jasper, features editor and Dropping-In columnist, about GO! and his column. It’s fair to say he has a bit of a fan club. 

Julie Johnson, another co-chief editor, said people told her they appreciated The Bulletin’s hyperlocal front page and balanced editorials, and quite a few had questions about water use in Central Oregon for Reporter Michael Kohn. Many visitors commented: “I really like to be able to talk to the people behind the reporting.”

Reporters Janay Wright, Brian Rathbone and Noemi Arellano-Summer were constantly engaged with guests throughout the open house. 

Visitors also has the chance to meet our ambassador, Ben. 

The throughline was that, for many residents, The Bulletin is a major part of life in Bend. Readers have lots of ideas on how to make the paper better, have questions about things they don’t understand, and hold us to high standards of quality, ethics, and customer service, Trainor said. 

Many of our readers are just as invested in their local publication’s success as we are, which is good for both of us.

– Jody Lawrence-Turner, the other co-chief editor