Peterson: Changing the conversation in the Vail Daily’s commentary pages
Let's keep it local and focus on Eagle County

Want to talk to strangers about polarizing issues?
Sounds like a real kick in the pants, right?
Well, that’s what I actually did on my birthday this year, and it was quite enjoyable.
Here’s why: Nobody got into a shouting match, and nobody stormed off in a huff or was asked to leave.
Here’s what did happen: Everyone who showed up to one of the local Above the Noise forums hosted by Rocky Mountain Public Media in August got to know some of their neighbors in this valley who see the world differently than they do.

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Given some of the invective that makes its way into my inbox, I had my doubts about Rocky Mountain Public Media’s crazy idea to “build a stronger Colorado media ecosystem.” Yet I’m constantly hopeful that there’s common ground to be found in our tight-knit community, which is why I signed up the Vail Daily to be a partner.
We watched a documentary about the power of civil discourse called “Undivide Us” and then we sat and had respectful conversations about things like gun control, abortion, immigration, censorship and LGBTQ+ rights.
No, that’s not a misprint.
Sure, there was some awkwardness, but once people got to talking, we got along quite well. We learned about each other, and we came to understand why we feel the way we do about certain issues. Face to face, there was tangible proof that our American experiment is alive and well and that we’re not as divided as we might think.
Two questions have gnawed at me in the weeks since: What about all the people who weren’t there in the room with us? And what about all the noise that’s only getting louder as we barrel toward Election Day on Nov. 5?
Is there any way to be above it?
I’ve sat in this editor’s chair for nearly six years. During that time, I’ve read your letters, your emails, your columns, and listened to you on the phone or in person, whether on the chairlift, at school pickup, at the grocery store or anywhere else we might have crossed paths. Here are some unsolicited observations about the state of our local media ecosystem from my front-row seat at the Vail Daily:
The further away the news happens, the less we agree…
That’s not a local issue — it’s a national trend that reflects our divided country and a world in turmoil. Trust in news and journalism is near an all-time low, yet trust in local news organizations remains strong. We saw that in our most recent readership survey last year when 75% of the more than 3,000 readers who responded told us they trust the Vail Daily more than national outlets such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (57%) or state outlets like the Denver Post and Colorado Sun (55%).
I see this every single day. When it comes to national politics, the views get more extreme, and our echo chambers only widen. We’ve seemingly lost the ability to reason, and we’re quick to label people based on incomplete information. Why is this? If I have one diagnosis for why our views have gotten so calcified, it’s because …
We’ve got unhealthy media diets
We’re fitness-obsessed in this valley. We watch what we eat, and we prioritize wellness. But too many of us fail to limit what we swallow every day from our smartphones. We doomscroll on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, or binge cable news and hyperpartisan podcasts. As a kid, I knew that junk food was in the checkout aisle at the grocery store next to the original fake news: tabloids with screaming headlines in bright red and yellow.
But now those empty calories are everywhere, just a click away on the misinformation superhighway or pouring into our social media feeds. This is how national misinformation narratives trickle down to us. Yes, I absolutely want the Vail Daily to be a part of your healthy daily media diet, but this isn’t a pitch for organically sourced local news or a plea for media literacy. Rather, it’s a call to action for all of us to get off our phones and stop living so much of our lives online. It’s true: I’m the news guy telling you to stop looking at the news.
Sure, I can enjoy a good Facebook debate (preferably about ’80s hair bands), but ask yourself: Is anyone winning these arguments? Are we any closer as a community because of them? Is being reactive on Facebook about threats to our local schools or trucks crashing on Interstate 70 or the complex issue of death by suicide driving us toward any meaningful solutions?
Trump Derangement Syndrome is a real thing
The same goes for its variants, Biden Derangement Syndrome, and now, Harris Derangement Syndrome. This concept that every single problem in our lives stems from those holding our nation’s highest office or seeking it is overly simplistic and cynical. It lacks logic and reason, as does the hyperbole from both major political parties that we’re effectively doomed as a country if we don’t stop (insert name here) from becoming president.
I’m not underselling this November’s presidential election, but in case you haven’t noticed, our votes in Colorado are pretty much inconsequential. We haven’t been a battleground state since 2008, and a Republican presidential candidate hasn’t won in Colorado since 2004, and not in Eagle County since 2000.
Meanwhile, we’ve got pressing issues to decide right here, right now — with 14 statewide questions on the ballot — and local races and questions that will have a real impact on our daily lives. I get it: You can’t watch a football game or turn on the radio without running smack into all the noise. This year’s presidential candidates aren’t reading our newspaper, however, nor are most members of Congress. But our local elected officials are paying attention to our news reporting and our opinion pages — and those opinions have the power to sway policy.
‘It’s just an opinion’ doesn’t mean it should be published
I hear this all the time or see it online: “It’s just an opinion. Why not just run that letter or that column? Why would you censor someone’s speech?” Here’s why: Not amplifying misinformation or disinformation is the mission of the free press. It’s right up there with holding power to account and keeping elected officials in check. It’s not hard to see the correlation between the decline in local news across the country and the rise of increased polarization. Studies have shown that mass layoffs of journalists and the shuttering of trusted local news sources have led to more political corruption and allowed outlets that spread misinformation to fill the void.
So, yes, you’re free to have your opinion, but, no, it’s not running in the Vail Daily if it’s not rooted in any verifiable facts.
As one of my instructors used to say, journalism isn’t quoting someone who claims it’s snowing outside and another who says it’s sunny — it’s opening the window and looking for yourself.
National politics has an outsized impact on local news
So little of what we do at the Vail Daily touches on national issues. Our local news team is focused on what’s going on in this valley, and we’ve expanded regional coverage by reallocating reporting resources across our group of mountain papers. But, while we added a statehouse reporter last year to cover our legislators in Denver, we’re not looking to add a White House correspondent anytime soon. If we report on anything at the federal level, we’re delving into how legislation and funding impacts us here, or how federal agencies are managing our public lands. We also pick up the day’s headlines from The Associated Press for a World and Nation page.
So why run local and national columns on our commentary pages that delve into national issues? Why run political cartoons? My response has always been the same: we’re a nonpartisan news organization that embraces a diversity of opinions, and having locals offering takes on the issues of the day is good for civic engagement. It’s been a hallmark of the Vail Daily. But here’s the rub: Readers increasingly don’t see it that way. Either they’re mostly tuning out those opinions — because there’s already a glut of them out there on the internet — or they’re singling out something they don’t agree with to write off our entire local news operation.
Finding common ground
So what’s the upside? I keep coming back to that room full of strangers and the idea of somehow being above the noise. There was a time, pre-internet, when locals and national columnists writing about national issues on the local opinion page carried significant weight. But, in 2024, the amount of takes you can find on national issues — especially those that conform to your worldview — is overwhelming.
Meanwhile, a lot of letters from readers writing about local issues — proposed developments, dwindling wildlife, decreasing snowpack, I-70 accidents, and shortages of child care and housing, among others — draw considerably more eyeballs than some of the columns on national issues that take up valuable real estate in our print pages and online.
That’s why we’re shifting our opinion section by focusing more on local issues and perspectives and moving away from the national political discourse that seems to dominate so many conversations.
This isn’t a retreat from our toxic national politics but rather a renewed focus on the mission statement that has been printed beneath our flag for decades: Bringing Communities Together.
I promise we’ve got more in common than those things that divide us, but if we’re going to move away from the polarization that pushes us to extremes, we’ve got to fight inertia.
We’ve got to be willing to listen to each other, which starts with creating a space where people can hear different viewpoints, share their experiences, and find common ground on challenging local topics.
If you’ve got something to add to the conversation, I’d love to hear from you.
Nate Peterson is the editor of the Vail Daily. Email him at npeterson@vaildaily.com.