In the article written by Scott Wilson, former publisher of the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader (Leader, April 24), Mr. Wilson discussed an impending threat to the Leader’s existence as an independent, locally-owned newspaper. I have seen in the Letters section, in response to the article, (except in two instances) only complaints about the paper’s shortcomings. I’m certainly not dismissing nor minimizing anybody’s concerns, but let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater.

First of all, on the positive side of the ledger, recent issues have highlighted well-written articles on many crucial topics, including suicide among young people, the plight of homeless people in Port Townsend, and the challenges of living alone after a spouse dies. In the Arts section, local creative artists and craftspersons of all kinds have received in-depth featured coverage. And equally as noteworthy is the outstanding job editor Dean Miller is doing. We are fortunate to have an editor who is not afraid to deal with controversial topics nor averse to challenging readers to think deeply and clearly about them.

Scott Wilson describes in his article the newspaper empire David Black has built. Black Press owns more than 170 newspapers in the Pacific Northwest, including 49 in Washington State, as Sound Publishing. And he’s been attempting to purchase The Leader, one of the few remaining weeklies within 100 miles of Jefferson County.

Corporations based outside communities in which they own businesses decidedly do not have the interests of those communities foremost in their minds. The Leader contributes a lot of what goes into making Port Townsend the unique place that we are. We, as residents, need to heed Mr. Wilson’s admonitions and - in purchases, subscriptions, advertising, letters - voice our support for our newspaper to make sure it remains locally owned and independent.

ROBERT KOMISHANE
PORT TOWNSEND