Not too long ago, when Saint Alphonsus Medical Center-Baker City announced that it planned to close its birth center, which it did on Aug. 26, the Baker City Herald made that story its own.

Through the reporting of that newspaper, the concerned voices of local residents — and medical personnel — were heard. The story was picked up across the state by other media outlets and secured the attention of Oregon’s senior senator and the governor.

The case of the birth center is a good example of how locally produced journalism can shine the light on a specific, important subject. The Herald’s work created a compelling tale that informed readers.

Informing readers is any news organization’s top priority, or should be, and EO Media Group is preparing to take another step into the future in our ongoing mission to inform the public.

Beginning Oct. 30, EO Media Group will launch six regional reporting teams. Each team will be made up of an editor and two reporters. Their job? To tackle important issues through in-depth investigative reporting. Each team will have a specific topic — from government and politics to social services, education and natural resources — and will report on issues that impact all of us in Eastern Oregon.

Why is this important?

It is important because the issues that affect Eastern Oregon are no less significant than problems other portions of the state face and must overcome. Often it seems as if our region is marginalized for its conservative political views. All too often it feels like priorities generated in an urban setting are applied to areas such as Eastern Oregon — rich in traditional industries such as ranching and farming — where they are either unusable or simply inappropriate.

Our investigative reporting teams will be able to tackle systemic issues facing rural communities that struggle to remain relevant and vibrant in a blue state where most of the population resides hundreds of miles away from the heart of Eastern Oregon. Our teams will bring our issues — Eastern Oregon issues — into the larger statewide conversation.

How did we arrive at the specific topics? They are the issues we heard most frequently from residents we met with during listening sessions throughout our communities. That doesn’t mean there aren’t other topics that deserve attention — rural health care, for one — and we will cover those topics as well.

We also are pursuing philanthropic funding to be able to add to our existing reporting staff to better tell those important stories.

Now, we do an excellent job providing readers with news they can use, but some key issues that impact our corner of the state don’t get the kind of attention we would like. There are a lot of inequities in Eastern Oregon, from the unhoused to public health and safety, that often create frustration. Big issues that affect the poor and rural communities are often reported on but, because of our rural nature, don’t resonate as far as they could.

Local journalism should drive conversations among all of us and, maybe most important, also fuel solutions.

Our six-team concept will help provide that bridge between where we are now and where we could be in terms of informing the public and pushing flashpoint issues to the forefront.

After all, access to factual, trusted information is crucial to democracy. I believe this system will make our newspapers in this part of Oregon even more versatile and useful. Because informed communities can better contribute to solutions that are the best fit for all Oregonians.

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Andrew Cutler is the regional editorial director for the EO Media Group, overseeing the Wallowa County Chieftain and five newspapers in Eastern Oregon.