Dear readers,

Last week in this space we mentioned our summer interns.

Ellie Graham is the intern for The Observer in La Grande, and Alexander Banks is the intern for the Baker City Herald. And Tori Schuller wrapped up her internship at the East Oregonian. All came to our newsrooms from the Charles Snowden Program for Excellence in Journalism.

The program is through the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication. The Snowden program coordinator, EO Media Group editors and the students themselves work together on a common goal — ensuring a valuable learning experience. We take that seriously.

While the interns we get often have experience reporting for school newspapers and magazines, our newsrooms in Eastern Oregon become the test beds for new journalists. Sure, they might get to do something as adventurous as going up in a hot air balloon for a feature story, as Tori did in June, but they also get to learn the difficulties of working with sources who want to control the very language they use to convey a news report. Tori experienced that as well.

Reporting is a tough gig. I think local reporting is bloody tough, but I’m biased. Yet for all we hear about the demise of local journalism, I find the Snowden program and its interns uplifting. Young reporters uproot themselves and barrel out here and give reporting a real go.

Maybe they will find out they don’t want to this for a living. Maybe they will find this is all they want to do. Either way, we’re glad they come.

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As always, if you have comments or questions about the East Oregonian, or want to pass along a story idea, send an email at this address: editor@eastoregonian.com.

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Phil Wright is the managing editor of the East Oregonian.