Working With Us at the Molokai Dispatch

Community paper a collaborative effort.

Each week, our reporters strive to portray the island’s issues, events and discussions with sensitivity, respect and fairness. It’s a never-ending job and lifestyle that requires patience, hard work and a passion for the trade.

We have our limits though, and in the spirit of better communication and healthier relationships, we offer you a simple list of “Do’s and Don’ts” that we hope you will consider when working with us.

Do:
•    Talk to us, and share your mana`o. We love to hear from you and the interesting things you have to tell us.
•    Use email to send important details including dates, phone numbers, etc. editor@themolokaidispatch.com
•    Submit by email story suggestions, written material, and other content as early as possible and certainly before Friday afternoon for the following week’s issue.
•    Submit your own community-beneficial content so we can print it.
•    Give us your praise about what we’re doing right.
•    Give us your constructive criticism on how we can improve – think solution-based.

Don’t:
•    Assume we are aware of every upcoming event.
•    Expect that we will cover every upcoming event.
•    Confuse us for the Honolulu Star Advertiser – we have one fulltime reporter.
•    Take for granted that you receive the paper free every week.
•    Badger Molokai Dispatch staff at any time – talking story is ok. If you have a complaint, talk to Catherine or Todd.
•    Think that you don’t have access to our pages – we do want to work with you.
•    Take it personally if we do not cover your event.

Keep in mind that it isn’t our mission to cover every event – instead we try to cover a balance of stories throughout each week. If we won’t be covering an event you think is important, you still have the choice of submitting your own coverage via press release, community contributed story, photo, opinion or letter.

Finally, remember we have very limited resources and we’re doing our best to provide a quality paper. Yes, the newspaper industry is struggling around the world and we are operating a free newspaper in an economically challenged community.

There is a reason why the Molokai Dispatch is better than it’s ever been in our 26 years of publishing – we love our jobs, we love Molokai, and we are dedicated to making a happier and healthier community for everyone. We mahalo you for helping us along the way.

Todd Yamashita, Molokai Dispatch Publisher