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Council retreat spotlights communications challenge: loss of local paper, social media limits and outreach gaps
Summary
Council and staff spent the retreat diagnosing a multi‑year decline in traditional local news, gaps reaching non‑English and underrepresented communities, and the attention‑economy limits on civic engagement. City communications staff reviewed tools, metrics and near‑term steps.
At its March 1 retreat the Issaquah City Council and city communications staff focused a substantial portion of the meeting on community engagement and how the city communicates with residents. Council members and staff framed the problem broadly: fewer residents attend public meetings than before COVID, the city lost its long‑standing local newspaper, and social platforms and generational differences are fragmenting how people receive local information.
City communications staff described the department’s tools and reach, and said the city manages the website, multiple social channels (Facebook, Instagram, X), a weekly email newsletter (Insider), topic‑specific subscriber lists, podcasts and video, print signage for projects, and in‑person outreach. Staff reported…
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