As the former reporter/editor of the Lynn Canal News and long-time reader of the Chilkat Valley News, I am disappointed by the recent decrease in local reporting and increase in news and opinions from outside Haines. Based on the “New Alaska Coalition…” article in last week’s edition, I fear this is not going to change.
Unlike so many towns across the country, Haines has been lucky to have continually had a hard-hitting newspaper that honed in on our vibrant community. We owe that to the long line of astute and talented reporters like Lex Treinen, who came to town and quickly zeroed in on what mattered here.
Now, we have a paper that usually has more news from outside Haines than in it. Or, we have a half-page article about a reporter, who was only going to be here for a few months (June 6, 2024). Or, a page-long article on the opinions of a tour operator in New Zealand that could have been edited down to a few paragraphs (May 16, 2024). Or, we get an editorial on local governments in Alaska by someone we have never heard of (September 12, 2024).
Those of us who are interested in regional news get it in other places. I hope the CVN will return to covering the Chilkat Valley. If there are guest columnists, we should be told who they are. And, please return to excerpts of news from years of old, rather than filling up a page with it.
Sharon Resnick