Why doesn't The Olympian interview people putting on these events and print articles IN ADVANCE of the events? The Olympian is supposed to be a community newspaper. Shouldn't community events receive advance coverage designed to attract members of the community to the event? After-the-fact coverage obviously doesn't add to attendance figures.
Thank you for your attention to this issue, Carol, Olympia
From Dusti Demarest, assistant managing editor: The Olympia publishes calendar items on every event we learn about that is open to the public, but it is impossible to publish individual stories on each of them. Consequently we single out those that are likely to be of most interest or that are new or unusual.
We often write briefs (short stories with headlines) about moderate-sized events that would likely attract at least a few folks not already familiar with an organization and its event. We do not have the staff to write stories about events that primarily appeal to participants/members and their families alone. In addition to calendar listings in print and online, we also publish a list of fundraisers. This appears every Sunday in the Living section.
If we don't publish information in advance on an event it is because we do not have details on the activity. We rely on organizers to provide us the specifics. It's important for event organizers to submit information about their events IN WRITING to news@theolympian.com, features@theolympian.com or weekend@theolympian.com more than a week ahead of the event.
To be published in Weekend (which is printed in advance), we need items by the Friday before the Thursday publication.
