Front page focuses on paper's specialty -- Thurston County news

As a subscriber to your paper, I admit that we maintain our subscription for its local content. It appears, however, that the publisher and editors of The Olympian do not believe it is important to report on the national and global issues to the extent it has in the past, and these stories are no longer on the front page. To scan the front page of today’s Olympian, one would be hard-pressed to know that the world is on the brink of a regional war in the Mideast. If in fact the decision-makers at The Olympian believe hard news should be buried in the middle of the paper, I urge you to rethink this policy. Keep the Ramtha-type stories in your Living section, and use South Sound for the other local stories. The front page should be balanced with stories of the world, nation, state and town. -- Elizabeth Berendt, Olympia

Executive Editor Vickie Kilgore: The Olympian's mission is to be the source of news and information about Thurston County. That's information our readers can get nowhere else. National and international news can be obtained through literally thousands of other sources. That doesn't mean we ignore major events or relevant topics outside our market, but we typically give more visibility and space to local content. In fact, the newsroom takes much pride in days that staff efforts merit a front page filled with local news.