Salem-News.com Seeks Assistant Editors

Volunteers are needed to help us manage content.

The time to act is now. Image Credit: Our Breathing Planet

(SALEM, Ore.) - If success is measured in terms of raw groundbreaking journalism, then Salem-News.com is the hallmark of today's new breed of intrepid informationalist who endeavors to set the people of this world free by covering extremely important, yet often overlooked subjects.

Seven years old, and approaching the publishing of our 20,000th article, I wave the white flag of reality and admit that as the editor of Salem-News.com, I am absolutely no longer able to adequately or comfortably handle the flow of writer contributions, news events and also manage the endless list of related tasks that keep this information powerhouse moving.

It isn't like I don't want an awful lot for someone seeking volunteer help, I realize that; and it is unfortunate that volunteerism is still the nature of the beast with new media, the land of PayPal banners and Google ads.

It won't last forever, and this will eventually be a very financially successful venture. However that is not why we have been doing this for seven straight years seven days a week; it is because of the differences we have made, and those we stand to make in the future.

What I need are people who are proficient with the language that have background in journalism, who are willing to learn quite a bit about our particular operation and methodology, and who can donate as much time as possible. I really can't see setting schedules and no unreasonable demands will be made, but this is a way to make a big difference in the world and I need to free up time because many of our projects are very time intensive and when I am producing video, investigating stories on scene, etc., or simply engaged in a phone call, the content builds and is not being addressed.

The most important communication tool that will simplify the process of acclimating those who want to help will be Skype, and so that and of course a reliable computer and Internet access are the basics needed to do this.

Bonnie King writes articles, produces video, and runs the business side of Salem-News.com, and she publishes stories when she has time. Beyond that, Matt Lintz keeps the technical side of Salem-News.com fully tuned, and I work in news seven days, publishing the most interesting content I have ever imagined.

It is true that Salem-News.com began as a local news group for Salem, Oregon, however our popularity was found on a much larger scale, and assistant news editors will work with writers from more than 22 different countries.

I look forward to hearing from people who would like to help. I once thought I could personally handle 100 writers, but prior to reaching 90, I see that there are limitations. My life has been spent essentially as a 'one-man band' and this is economical and efficient, and it is also wearing and now simply taking too much time. I would keep doing it rather than not, and I will do it alone if need be, however I keep adding writers and plan to add more, so the best answer is for assistance. Some of our writers turn stories daily, others are as seldom as every couple of months. They are all asked to write for Salem-News.com for particular reasons.

I have never placed a lot of time in tracking down general writers; most team writers are somewhat or particularly specialized, and I believe this is one of our secrets to success. Beyond the staff writer contributions, which are first priority, I publish a good amount of the general news, and in reality I only manage to address a small amount of what is sent directly to our email. One of my other problems is that I am a writer by nature and by addiction and of course that takes time out of my other roles also.

There are so many possible options, including starting new sites; Salem-News.com is literally bursting with potential to be far more than it already is.

The best way we can serve our readers is by bringing aboard more content editors who will be given full credit for the work they perform. It is a labor of love and we are, as far as I can tell, the most visited privately owned and operated Internet news group in the United States. We are associated with several blogs that are extremely important as well as other news agencies in the world that do not operate like the traditional outlets in the U.S.

Our biggest day of visitor traffic exceeded 150k unique visitors in 24-hours. Our average daily unique traffic ranges between 16k and 22k visitors per day. I look forward to having 100k daily unique visitors, I think we will be able to move small mountains at that point.

I do not care what part of the world those who help us are from, however your English needs to be strong. Those who are able to successfully integrate into the structure of Salem-News.com will be free to write and publish their own articles; they will be recognized on our staff page, and in general become far more educated and experienced. We also don't hesitate to tell this fine team thank you as often as possible; they are all amazing people and I look forward to this being an even more fluid operation with the generous help of other potential news editors.

Finally, we follow the principle as coined by our writer Ken O'Keefe, of Truth, Justice and Peace. That is the order in which we must proceed, to reach our goals of a world that is safe for all people of all races, cultures, religions, etc.

Our goals involve a strong belief in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the integrity and value of international law.

• We abhor Genocide, corruption, colonialism, needless war and greed.
• We applaud Civil Rights, Humanitarian Activism, strength, courage and resistance to state terrorism.
• We adamantly protest the contamination of the earth, particularly water supplies, and maintain a constant beat on military base toxicity, Monsanto, Agent Orange and GMO food.
• We decry prescription drug abuse and the failed war on drugs, and we write about medical marijuana in honest terms.
• We object to almost all wars but support veterans of all backgrounds and nations.
• We speak out over police brutality and refuse to brand motorcycle club members as 'gang' members.
• We believe in protecting children and object to the government's lackadaisical approach to fighting human trafficking.
• We strongly object to domestic abuse and seek to end the systems that allow 'good old boy' politics to persist.

This gives the reader and prospective team member a general idea of what we are about, and it is important to understand that Salem-News.com has established its own path in the world as much as it has been guided by people. I have personal relationships with all of our writers and people who become involved will also have that as a part of their lives.

If and when the day comes that we are a fully funded organization, positions like the one I describe will become financially viable. However, I have no idea when that day will come and I am not interested in working with parties that require compensation, to be clear. In the end this is the absolute best way for this to happen, because people willing to volunteer their time for the good of the world are the type of individuals that I seek to work with.

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Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer

Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Silver Spoke Award by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (2011), Excellence in Journalism Award by the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs (2010), Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), First-place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Tim was a member of the National Press Photographer's Association for several years and is a current member of the Orange County Press Club.

Break down the walls of oppression and while you do it, 'stay human'.

Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website. As News Editor, Tim among other things, is responsible for publishing the original content of 87 Salem-News.com writers. He reminds viewers that emails are easily missed and urges those trying to reach him, to please send a second email if the first goes unanswered. You can write to Tim at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com