Meet The Owner – MyEverettNews.com

June 3, 2023

Everett

donut

Yesterday was National donut day and being a one-person operation I find donuts to be the perfect fuel for news gathering.

Officers follow a K-9 on a track.

Love taking photos of joy.

From the last 4th of July Parade in 2019.

An Everett firefighter at work…

Two Herons form a heart. at the 10th street boat launch.

This week’s edition of “Meet the Owner” is a little different. I’m Leland Dart, Publisher, Editor, Writer, Photographer and the sole person behind MyEverettNews.com. I wanted to take a minute to update you on where we’ve been, where we’re going and to frankly ask you for your support.

I began MyEverettNews.com in January of 2011. At that time I began to notice a drop off in coverage of news and events in Everett, Washington. Newspapers, television and other media outlets that often reported on things in Everett cut back their coverage, especially after business hours.

I have a long background in covering news and events in Everett, Washington starting at KRKO radio back in 1979. I learned about news gathering from the legendary Shirley Bartholomew. She taught me to ask questions, know that the initial report of a breaking news story is seldom clear or accurate and that the best way to get the story is to develop long-term relationships and trust with those you cover.

Over the years I did many different things including news and traffic reporting for radio stations in Everett and a stint in Seattle. Coming back to the end of 2010 I had finished working for the U.S. Census Bureau and had some time to consider my next opportunity. Seeing that both local and regional news sources were cutting back their coverage of Everett and believing that people still wanted to know why all the police cars and fire trucks were in their neighborhood or what the City Council and Administration were doing, I began MyEverettNews.com in January 2011.

I decided on this format as the cost of entry was low. I didn’t need a printing press or transmission tower. I worked for myself so could respond to emergency event coverage at all hours of the day or night and on weekends and didn’t have to pay overtime or incur extra cost. As technology advanced it became easier for people to keep up in their smart phone, tablet or computer.

There are limitations in being a one-person operation. The first decision was to limit coverage primarily to the city limits of Everett, Washington. I’m born and raised in Everett, went to school here and know and appreciate this city. I began covering police and fire responses, city council meetings and community events and over time I’ve refined my coverage a bit, still make spelling and grammar errors and gotten better at taking photos.

I don’t do much video. It takes too long to edit and I can usually convey the story in still photos and frankly I enjoy taking pictures. I don’t often give opinions and try to just show what has happened and add links so the reader can find more information if they’d like. I am human, a strong supporter of our first responders and try to balance some of the gloom and doom with reporting that also shows positive things happening in our city.

I make mistakes sometimes and do appreciate it when people correct me. The hardest thing about being a one-person operation is not having a second set of eyes to catch mistakes or question something before I hit publish.

I’m now halfway into the 12th year of MyEverettNews.com and things are changing. People seem to be a little more quick with a negative opinion. Many will comment without ever reading the story or following the links for more context. I no longer have comments on the main page as I don’t have the bandwidth to moderate them so I post most stories on Facebook or Twitter where others can deal with comments and complaints can be registered with those platforms. There are 32,000 followers on Facebook and 27,000 who like us. That means we’re doing something right cause not everyone is going to agree with you. I’ll take it.

Since I’m a one person operation, many times during breaking news I can post a quick note to Twitter or Facebook or even a brief here but it takes me some time to observe, take pictures and confirm before posting a story. I’ve learned over the years to hold for a bit on the most shocking or graphic stories and have seen times when those committing crimes have searched my site and social media for public indications of their crimes. I seldom report on suicide or self-harm incidents unless they affect the greater community at large.

I tried a paywall for a couple of years but dropped it after managing it became difficult. I get my income from advertiser support, mostly local but also from those annoying google ads that pop up. (By the way the google ads you see are based on what has been read or searched on your device as determined by the internet gurus, not me)

I also depend on reader support. I have a few people who donate monthly at a level between three and ten dollars a month. Others make a donation yearly and some every once in a while mail me a check or a few bucks. I appreciate all and need more donations to keep going.

Like everyone, my costs are going up. From office rent to taxes, gas prices to needed equipment it is a challenge. I’ve had a few advertisers not renew that I thought would and others who said they wanted to advertise only actually wanting free exposure. Many organizations receive money to promote their events and overnight stays and either hold it or spend on Google and Facebook or major publications but not at the hyper-local level even though we have a great track record of highlighting Everett events to a region-wide audience.

Every year for a decade we’ve exceeded a million page views. For the first five months of 2023 Google Analytics says we have 314,244 users and 747,824 pageviews. The top three cities where our readers are based: Seattle, Everett and Marysville. If just five percent of our users donated $3.00 a month, we’d be in great shape.

If you enjoy reading MyEverettNews.com and feel you benefit from it, please click here now and make a donation. If you don’t like us, no worries, there is after all nothing forcing you to come here, read or comment. MyEverettNews.com will remain without a paywall and if you can’t afford to donate please do support our advertisers, refer us to your friends and family and keep a good thought for us.

I’m working on developing an app for your mobile device, adding a notification service so you can know when we’ve published a new story and are trying to figure out what to do when they encrypt the emergency radio transmissions effectively rendering our scanners useless. I’ll provide updates on all as I can.

Next Saturday, we’ll be back to our regular “Meet the Owner” feature. In the meantime if you have any specific thoughts feel free to email me at News@MyEverettNews.com. You’ll also find our mailing address and phone number in the contact us link at the very top of the page.

Thanks and have a great weekend. – Leland Dart, Publisher

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About My Everett News Staff

My Everett News is a hyperlocal news website featuring news and events in Everett, Washington. We also cover City of Everett information and items of interest to those who live and work in Everett.

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