Press Talk: What our RAC does for us

Lou Brancaccio

Summer's here!

And if you're lucky enough to have the summer off, have fun.

We typically give the summer off to our Readers Advisory Council. Of course, they have lives other than just hanging out on our council. But we do hope they have fun, as well.

Our council helps to guide us. In essence, they are another set of eyes on what we do. So throughout the year, we meet every other month to have them tell us how they think we're doing.

We don't turn down positive feedback from them, but we let them know that's not what we're looking for. We're looking for what we can do better so we can get better.

The group is made up of community members, and it's a pretty diverse group. They come from many walks of life.

The only requirement is that they read The Columbian and/or regularly look at our Web site.

We often take their advice, and they'll see changes in The Columbian. Still, a few members feel their views aren't executed. And that's because we can't execute every idea given to us. But certainly, we listen.

We listen to others as well, including those who comment on our Web site. I get quite the group, for example, that comments on this column online.

A few of them asked about our advisory council, so I thought I'd use this column to explain how it works (the stuff above) and what they said at the last meeting (the stuff below):

* After we ran a story about school superintendents' salaries, some readers wanted more comparisons with salaries from other places. Most liked the story.

* We had a general discussion about the future of newspapers, which included the use of Kindle (a portable product where you can read newspapers electronically). They also asked how much we have studied charging to use our Web site. (Like most newspapers, we are considering lots of options, including if we can charge for parts of our Web site.)

* There was a discussion about bloggers and how much credibility they should be given.

* There was some disappointment in our not covering the Port of Vancouver more. The point was made that the port was a huge benefit to our community.

* There was lots of positive feedback about a story we did on local smart twins.

* Members felt our bridge coverage continues to be good.

* One member wanted more follow-up to a story we did about a Clark College professor being denied tenure.

* One member was disappointed in the way we covered unions. He also didn't like our editorial stands on unions.

* A few members expressed disappointment on comments they read on the Web. One suggested we categorize them so that people who use their real names are in one place and people who don't are in another place. Another member wanted more "filtering" on comments, so he didn't have to wade through some of them.

* One member suggested we speak with local philanthropists to ask them their perceptions of the economy.

I show up at these council meetings, as well as Publisher Scott Campbell and Editorial Page Editor John Laird. News Assistant Pauline Sipponen takes notes. And other Columbian staffers do show up on occasion.

I try to use the same philosophy at the council meetings as I do with my column.

If someone wants to comment, let them have their say. I try to keep my pie hole shut as much as I can.

I learn more when I'm listening than when I'm talking.

So start talkin'! I'm listening.

Lou Brancaccio is The Columbian's editor. Reach him at 360-735-4505 or lou.brancaccio@columbian.com.