Dear readers:

At the root of the My Neighborhood News Network is My Edmonds News, which will celebrate its 15th anniversary in October. (Yes, there will be a party and yes, you are all invited. More to come on that!) Today we begin a series of articles on how our publications were founded, how reader engagement remains at the core of our mission and what the future holds.

It was September 2009. I was between jobs, not sure what I was going to do next. My husband, who has an office in Mountlake Terrace, was telling me about his decision to advertise with an online community news publication, MLTnews. It was one of several online publications that had recently appeared in the Seattle area, including the pioneering West Seattle Blog, My Ballard and PhinneyWood, to name a few.

“I think you should start an online news site in Edmonds,” he said. “Because if you don’t, someone else will.”

I had worked in journalism and communications jobs for my entire career, so the idea had appeal. We talked about names for this new publication. He searched for available URLs. “I want to call it My Edmonds News,” I said. “I want readers to see the publications as theirs — something they are part of.”

After purchasing the MyEdmondsNews.com URL, the real work began. I set up a site using WordPress, a content management system that makes it easy for just about anyone to become a publisher. In October 2009, I covered my first Edmonds City Council meeting. The hot topic, 15 years ago, was who should provide fire service for the city. (Yes, history does repeat itself.)

One of the first people I got to know while doing this work was MLTnews founder Dustin DeKoekkoek. Because our news sites were connected in many ways — we shared a school district, a hospital district, county government and more — it made perfect sense for us to collaborate. While he had full-time job as a civil engineer, Dustin started MLTnews because when he and his wife moved to Mountlake Terrace, the city had no news source. The Weekly Herald (formerly the Enterprise newspapers), which used to cover not only Mountlake Terrace but Edmonds and Lynnwood, had folded. Fortunately for me, Dustin also liked to tinker with the back end of websites. As My Edmonds News grew, he provided invaluable technology help.

Meanwhile, in Lynnwood, veteran broadcast journalist Mike Murphy started Lynnwood Today in 2010. Dustin, Mike and I continued to collaborate and share story ideas across our publications.

In 2011, with a family and a busy career, Dustin discovered he no longer had the time to devote to running MLTnews. He asked me if I would be willing to take the site over. My first response was a polite but definite “no.” While I had started selling advertising on My Edmonds News, I wasn’t making much money. With two kids in college, I needed to return to freelance work. I could balance one news publication, with help from local contributors, but two? No way.

I continued to be bothered, though, by the fact that MLT no longer had a news source. I told Dustin that if we could find a local editor, I’d consider buying the publication. Dustin suspended site operations and we left it at that.

In 2012, longtime Mountlake Terrace resident Doug Petrowski agreed to become editor of MLTnews. Doug had a day job, but he bravely covered the city while balancing both roles.

Also in 2012, Mike Murphy approached me. He was moving out of the area and wondered if I would be interested in acquiring Lynnwood Today. Again, I was conflicted. I barely had time to oversee two news publications, let alone three. But I also knew that saying no meant leaving Lynnwood with no news coverage. So after a bit of internal debate, I agreed to take over Lynnwood as well. I was fortunate to find a fantastic editor in veteran journalist David Pan, who had been laid off when the Weekly Herald stopped publication.

I placed all three publications under the My Neighborhood News Network umbrella. While each publication continued to have its own website, the My Neighborhood News Network connection acknowledged our broader shared coverage area — basically that of the Edmonds School District and Public Hospital District No. 2.

Throughout the years,  reader engagement — and in particular, reader comments — have become a mainstay of all three publications. Ensuring that readers have a place to discuss the issues of the day was at the core of my mission from day one. Before online news, reader opinions were mostly relegated to the letters to the editor section of a newspaper. There was no interactivity, no engagement. And you had to wait until the next print issue reached your doorstep to learn what your neighbors were thinking!

Of course, allowing comments on stories brings its own share of challenges. I found out quickly that comment moderation was a key part of my role. I developed a commenting policy as well as a code of conduct. Some readers have asked why I require people to use real first and last names when commenting. The way I see it, if commenters are going to express an opinion, they should put their name on it. If someone new to our readership posts a comment, I research the name and city of residence to ensure they are a real person.

While it’s a lot of work to moderate comments, I have no regrets about this feature. I have readers tell me, time and again, how much they appreciate the ability to express their opinions. And I, in turn, am grateful to our readers, because they often have my back — sharing story ideas and photos, thanking me when we’ve done a good job on a story and letting me know when our publications have missed the mark. As I said in this TedX Sno-Isle Libraries talk in 2020, it’s important for journalists and readers to work together to improve the quality and sustainability of local community news.

I hope you’ll join me in the coming weeks as I tell the My Neighborhood News Network story, including our move from for-profit business to community-supported nonprofit in 2023. Converting to nonprofit status opens the door to additional sources of financial support while still allowing us to accept advertising from our valued sponsors. If it’s been a while since you’ve made a donation or if you want to sign up for a regular contribution, you can do so here.

— Teresa Wippel, founder, My Neighborhood News Network