4 — THE CHRONICLE
THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019
OPINION
Expansion,
magazine
increases
exposure
Owner / Publisher
Noel Nash
noel@chronicle1909.com
Co-Owner
Denise Nash
denise@chronicle1909.com
Executive Editor
Erin Tierney
erin@chronicle1909.com
Sales & Marketing Director
Cheryl Richard
cheryl@chronicle1909.com
Creative Director
Andrew von Engel
andrew@chronicle1909.com
Editor, Graphic Designer
Jen Blue
jen@chronicle1909.com
Community Editor
Gini Davis
gini@chronicle1909.com
Entertainment Editor
Ron Hartman
ron@chronicle1909.com
Contributors
Aliya Hall
Victoria Stephens
Dana Merryday
Yaakov Levine
Pat Edwards
Richard Heyman
Phone: 541-895-2197
Fax: 541-895-2361
Online: Chronicle1909.com
The Chronicle
(USPS permit 2781)
is published each
Thursday by
Nash Publishing
Group, LLC.
The office is located at
34 W. Oregon Ave.
PO Box 428,
Creswell, Ore., 97426.
Periodicals Postage paid at
Creswell, Ore. Subscriptions
are nonrefundable, but are
transferable.
POSTMASTER
Address changes:
The Creswell Chronicle, PO
Box 428
Creswell, OR, 97426
Member of the Oregon
Newspaper Publishers
Association
EDITORIAL:
Email editorial
inquiries to Erin at
erin@chronicle1909.com.
Deadline for community
contributions is Friday
at noon, unless noted
otherwise. Deadline for
calendar submissions
is Monday at noon to be
inserted in that week's
Thursday edition. For
best results, please
submit calendar items at
least two weeks before
the date of the event.
Please include date,
name of event, time, loca-
tion and contact infor-
mation.
ADVERTISE:
Deadline to place an
advertisement is Monday
at noon to be included in
that week’s edition.
Email inquiries and infor-
mation to Cheryl at
cheryl@chronicle1909.
com.
PHOTOS:
The Chronicle’s staff
takes photos of many
special events and mile-
stones in peoples’ lives.
You can order prints
from our photographers
by contacting us at
541-895-2197. Prices are
determined in consulta-
tion with the photogra-
pher, and depend upon
the size and number of
photos. Purchase a copy
of the magic, memorable
moments in your life.
FILE PHOTO/MIKAI VON ENGEL
The big picture: While Harry Holt Park is the center of Creswell's universe, the entire town is in the middle of the southern
Willamette Valley, and a true gateway to Springfield, Cottage Grove and Oregon's wine country.
Creswell at heart of coverage
cross the country, newspa-
pers are being taken out
at the knees by the media
conglomerates of this world. A
recent merger of Gannett and
Gatehouse created the largest
newspaper company in the coun-
try, with more than 1,000 papers.
Shortly after the buyouts, hometown
journalists are axed. Production is
shipped off to another state. Businesses
lose an essential means of local promo-
tion. The city’s narrative is lost. The
community’s voice is stifled.
Then, it turns into a whisper.
What’s left is a skeleton of a newspa-
per, strung together carelessly by syndi-
cated content and newswire bylines – a
rag one would prefer not to use even in
a birdcage.
“Local” is the lifeblood of journal-
ism; when extracted, everyone loses.
We see it happening all around us. The
community suffers because their strug-
gles, successes and all the inbetweens
go undocumented. Advertisers leave
because there is no content on the pages
to keep readers engaged.
How disorienting it must be to have
no means of knowing what is happening
directly around you. That’s a tough pill
to take – both from a journalistic and a
community perspective.
Good thing none of us have to swal-
low that pill.
The methods of the mass media-hold-
ing companies are for the birds; The
A
Chronicle is running
in the opposite direc-
tion, and having a
helluva time doing it.
In the past
ERIN
six months, The
TIERNEY
Chronicle has under-
gone a whirlwind of
changes, always with
the intention to better serve our readers.
The Chronicle newsroom has been
renovated to attract local passersby
and equipment has been modernized to
produce work more efficiently. Our staff
has more than doubled with people who
actually live in, interact with, and care
about the communities they serve.
But in order to demonstrate effec-
tive journalism, in order for advertis-
ers to thrive, the paper needs to be seen
by more eyes – an effective method for
these intrinsically linked communities.
Think about it. We’re all connected
– Creswell, Cottage Grove, Springfield.
There is value in building a strong
network of neighboring communities
that we all interact with in some way or
another; whether it be for work, visiting
friends and family, shopping or recre-
ating, there is no doubt that Creswell
is part of an interconnected regional
economy.
Only about 20% of people who work
in Creswell also live in the city; fewer
people both live and work in Creswell
than commute into or out of the city.
Data from the most recent U.S.
Census Bureau (2015) shows that 16%
of the workforce population living in
Creswell works in Springfield; mean-
while, 9% of people working in Creswell
commute from Springfield, and those
numbers are expected to become higher.
Commuting plays an important role
in Creswell’s economy, because employ-
ees in Creswell are able to access work
from people living in the city, and in the
broader Willamette Valley.
As the aphorism goes, a rising tide
lifts all boats.
How cool is it that these stories about
local people, businesses, events and
opportunities are now being seen by
three times as many readers?
How great is it that we can now give
exposure to the Creswell Wellness
Center to readers in Springfield, or
Cornbread Cafe to readers in Cottage
Grove?
Rest assured, Creswell is not losing its
hometown newspaper; we are growing
so that we can better serve our readers.
This week, we start our journey branch-
ing out into Springfield, but Creswell is
not losing its hometown newspaper. We
give, we get, we give, but we will never
take away from our heartbeat.
Erin Tierney is the Executive Editor
of The Chronicle.
To our
a dve r-
tising
family,
St a r ti ng
wit h t h is
CHERYL
we ek’s
RICHARD
paper and
conti nui ng
forward we are jumping up
our game big time! One thou-
sand weekly papers will be
placed in grocery racks from
Eugene to Springfield to
Cottage Grove, in addition to
those distributed in Creswell.
The other 1,000 or so will be
mailed to hand-picked neigh-
borhoods in Springfield.
This is big news for every
advertiser we have: Tailored
placement! Our goal is to
grow in subscribers and
targeted delivery and rack
placement is the best way.
You will see lots of positive
changes in this week’s paper
as well. We want our neigh-
bors to know that they have a
community paper doing local
news right. Now Springfield,
Creswell, Cottage Grove and
Pleasant Hill have a paper
focusing on hyperlocal news.
The Emerald Valley
Magazine will come out the
first part of November. This
full-color lifestyle magazine
will be designed as a flip-
book, with two covers: Half
of the magazine is devoted
to Springfield and the other
half of the magazine and
cover will focus on Creswell,
Cottage Grove and Pleasant
Hill. There's a pattern here:
Southern Lane County is our
coverage area.
The magazine will be 64
pages, and we will be print-
ing over 10,000 copies.
Combining the two maga-
zines gives advertisers a
huge distribution area. The
magazines will be placed
in the 3,500 mailed news-
papers, as well as placed in
area grocery store racks,
25 area hotels, and 75-plus
businesses in Springfield,
Creswell, Cottage Grove and
Pleasant Hill.
Thank you for partnering
with The Chronicle!
Cheryl Richard is the Sales
& Marketing Director for
The Chronicle and General
Manager of Emerald Valley
Magazine.
LET TER TO THE EDITOR
Rent is not too high
Dear Editor,
Frequently I hear the
complaint, “rents are too
high,” or “housing prices are
too high.”
Are the people making
these claims thin k ing
clearly?
The reason housing costs
are difficult for people to
afford is often because wages
are too low.
Wages are low because too
few workers will organize to
demand and receive fair pay.
Citizens hope the govern-
ment will subsidize housing
or control rents.
Be responsible: organize!
Ed Gunderson
Creswell