We need your help

Excellent reporting  responds to the soul of a city, from its poorest neighborhoods to its most privileged corners.  

It takes readers into the hearts and minds of the people, from those who are walking the streets at night to survive through the week to the power brokers who make policy at the highest levels.

 It responds to what is happening hour by hour in  art galleries, theatres, city council chambers, markets, restaurants, civic and educational institutions, farms, forests, and streets. 
 No amount of generic aggregating can ever replace real quality journalism that grows out of the reporter's curiosity about, connection with and knowledge of  a subject or city.  The cool corporate aggregating that most sites engage in today to drive traffic is superficial and irrelevant when compared with in-depth, quality local reporting.

 The same can be said about "citizen journalism," which, although effective during the peak of crisis, is a weak knock-off of real journalism, often sloppy, frequently boring, generally based on the substantial reporting of professional journalists. Neither aggregation sites or citizen journalism sites that rely on random content can never replace the real thing.  

VO has created a model that relies on volunteers who are skilled and knowledgeable and passionate about the areas they choose to write about.  Pairing skilled contributors with skilled editors who collaborate with an experienced publisher leads to a model that:

*holds government officials accountable
*holds corporations and business accountable
*informs about issues that are important to a local audience
*interprets and analyzes complex data and transforms it into engaging narrative
*helps keep the city on track

VO has become a laboratory for talented journalists, writers, film makers, designers and photographers.  More than 260 volunteers have made the Vancouver Observer one of the highest ranking sites in the city.  But the business model for journalism is in the midst of a tremendous transition.  We believe that the future of democracy depends on a free, vital, intelligent press that can survive this transition, stronger and better than ever.   We are working hard towards this goal, but we can't do it alone.  Please help us by making a generous donation to the Vancouver Observer.  Become a monthly sponsor or give us a one-time contribution. 

Invest in the future of local media.  Give us your financial support so that we can give you the high quality, all original reporting you expect from VO.

Act local.  Contribute to VO.

Job opportunities
VO needs excellent ad sales professionals. See the job description for more information and application details.

Are you an experienced writer interested in covering public health topics? See the job description for more information.

How to get involved
Volunteer and join a talented team of writers, bloggers, commentators, photographers, and reporters. 

Blog, write, report
Create a VO blog or blog under one of our group VO blogs. If you have journalism skills, write news or feature stories.

 Have an idea? Pitch your stories to our editors. We will give you tips on how to do better reporting and blogging. Find out more about the value of our editing and infrastructure and what this can bring to your work. Love Tweeting and talking on Facebook to friends? We need you, too.

 Want to make a quantum leap in your writing and reporting? Gain new skills as a blogger or reporter? We are offering two workshops this fall.  Contact info@thevancouverobserver.com to find out more...

 Become a social media/pr volunteer
We need volunteers to help us in the office on a regular basis, doing social networking, learning the drupal software and helping manage the content on the site. Just tell us how many hours you're available, how regular you want to be, and we can start you on something. If you want to work from home, that's okay, too. 

Help us raise money, lend your skills as a designer, do outreach for us in your community.

Support the Vancouver Observer with a financial contribution today.
Find out more: Contact Us