Lookout Eugene-Springfield has delivered on its promise to revive robust, trustworthy daily local news coverage in Lane County – with the great financial and reading support of locals. Lookout’s newsroom of 16 – the second-largest in the state of Oregon – now reaches more than a third of the county’s adult population each month. And we’re still growing every week.

Now, we double down on our commitment to the young people of Lane County, with two new programs. Both help prepare the next generation in their roles as citizens and voters – and involved community members. Here you can choose to support either program or both, with our easy-to-use online donation page. Every dollar makes a difference – and is tax-deductible to you. Just click on donate, pick an amount and then you’ll see a dropdown for which program to support. Thanks in advance!

The two programs:

Lookout for Teachers: We’ve gotten the enthusiastic endorsement of the Lookout in the Classroom program from top Lane County school leaders. That program provides teachers with the local news and easy-to-apply curriculum materials they need to teach about local issues, media literacy and community involvement. Check it out here: https://lookouteugene-springfield.com/lookout-in-the-classroom/ Lookout for Teachers is a new program to do two things: (1) Roll out Lookout in the Classroom as quickly as possible beginning fall 2025 all across Lane County’s 16 school districts, giving students the local knowledge they need at this critical time; (2) provide free philanthropically paid access for all of Lane County’s 1200 high school and middle school teachers. It’s a two-fer: students benefit greatly, and overworked, underpaid teachers get full membership access to Lookout’s trustworthy local news – and a thank-you from all of us for their dedicated work.

It will cost $192,000 in total, and the good news is that we’ve raised almost half that amount already. Big thanks to the Mehlum Family Foundation, the Baker family and Dan and Peggy Neal for their early support. You can find more detailed information on the program here. You can support this vital new program, with a donation of any size, and any support is tax-deductible.

Dean Rea Internship Program: Dean Rea is a local treasure. Between his tenure teaching journalism students at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communications and his days as an editor at the Register-Guard, he made so much of Oregon’s best journalism possible. He is a teacher, a mentor and a lifelong committed journalist, in all the best senses of that word.

Now, Lookout is working with Dean – who continues to advise us all well into his tenth decade – to establish the Dean Rea Internship Program. The program, described here, will provide a new local learning experience for the most committed journalism school students. We’re aiming to raise $50,000 to support five annual internships, lasting seven to nine months each, so that these local students can directly work with Lookout’s fast-moving newsroom, learning the trade hands-on.

The Reas will provide paid positions for aspiring journalists as well as marketing, business and information technology students. Instead of the old model of finding a student and then figuring out how to use them, this program has pre-defined channels that allow us to attract the best talent at the UO and entice them into the program through a path that meets their interests and expertise.

Overall, we build a new program that recognizes the journalistic drive and teaching of longtime Eugene journalist and professor Dean Rea. This internship program furthers our proven model of community-centered journalism, which aims to restore trusted local news, strengthen civic life and ensure residents have the coverage they deserve.

Please support this vital new program; your support is tax-deductible. You’ll not only be helping create the next generation of journalism in Oregon, but will also benefit as readers as these interns help us create a better and better Lookout.

You may make your gift securely online by hitting the donate button or by sending a check made out to our nonprofit partner, Local Media Foundation. Checks should include “The Lookout Eugene-Springfield Support Fund” on the memo line. Checks can be mailed to:

Local Media Foundation
P.O. Box 85015
Chicago, IL 60689-5033

For any questions, please contact:

Dann Miller, Executive Editor, Lookout Eugene-Springfield: dann@lookoutlocal.com

Ken Doctor, Founder & CEO of Lookout Local: ken@lookoutlocal.com

Thank you for getting this essential community initiative up and going strong!

Lookout’s program is designed to make sure the people of Lane County have access to a steady stream of trusted, civic-essential news and information to support the local democracy. Donations to Local Media Foundation for this project are tax-deductible to the extent of the law. No goods or services are provided in exchange for contributions. Please consult a tax advisor for details. The program is administered by Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36‐4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association.