‘Wait, what?’ If you are questioning something you heard, let us do a ‘Reality Check’
Hello, Olympian subscribers. I want to fill you in on a local accountability series we’ve launched, and ask you:
Is there a story you want us to Reality Check?
You know what I’m talking about. You read something and think, “That can’t be right,” or you hear a community leader share a fact that you question. When that happens, send us your ideas. We will also be following up on our own questions for this Olympian coverage series aiming to fact check claims on local issues and hold leaders and institutions accountable.
The Reality Check stories are being collected on their own special page to draw your attention to our local accountability journalism. We’re pushing for truth and transparency, and we’ll get you the facts quickly.
All of our reporters will be contributing to this project, because accountability reporting is critical on all of our beats.
Some of what we’ll answer:
Why are local leaders making the decisions they do?
Do promises stack up with reality?
Who’s influencing policy and why?
We’ve already published a few Reality Check stories. One example, state government reporter Shauna Sowersby, for example, did some digging into whether congressional candidates must live in their districts when questions were raised about where Hilary Franz lives.
But, as I said at the top: We can’t do it alone.
If there is a story or claim you’d like for us to Reality Check, let us know: Email news@theolympian.com, and put Reality Check in the subject line.
And bookmark our page Reality Check to keep up with the latest stories.
Welcome our summer intern!
Meanwhile, please welcome The Olympian’s summer intern, Gabrielle Feliciano.
Gabrielle, who is from the Chicago area, is one semester away from graduating with a degree in journalism from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. She’ll be covering a variety of topics for us, including the arts, which she loves.
Feel free to reach out to her at gfeliciano@theolympian.com to welcome her or suggest story ideas.
Dusti Demarest, editor
This story was originally published May 29, 2024 at 10:42 AM.
