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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 2015)
OPINION 4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2015 ‘We’re the iPhone 6 of West Coast destinations’ L ast Sunday’s edition of The New York Times carried its redesigned weekly magazine. At 100 pages, it was much larger than what readers were used to. I cannot say that I like the new magazine better than the prior version. But I understand what Times editors are up to. New and periodically redesigned products are the essence of survival. Our Coast magazine is not a Steve new product. Our fourth annual Forrester issue appeared this week. But this year’s issue is such a leap forward in design and content that it qualifies as a redesign. This is also the first time we have sent the magazine into Canada. Advertisers for years have asked us to reach the British Columbia market, and we’ve done it. Advertising growth allowed us to grow from 90 to 100 pages. R ebecca Sedlak operates on two time frames. On a weekly basis, she is editor of Coast Weekend. On a yearly cycle she edits Our Coast. Before entering our newsroom as a Snowden intern in 2012, Sedlak was a University of Oregon journalism major with an emphasis in magazines. It was a hands-on program with a final project to redesign an existing magazine. Sedlak chose Urban Farmer. To prepare for this year’s issue, Sedlak looked at a lot of travel and regional magazines such as 1859. “I wanted to make this issue of Our Coast have more of a real magazine feel,” she said. “I wanted to add departments with different themes and bigger feature stories back in the magazine — pieces that are meatier and full of substance for the reader.” Readers tell us how much they like Our Coast magazine. John Bruijn, our production manager, has given Our Coast its distinctive look. Bruijn’s genius has been imitated by our coastal competitors. Bruijn also designs the Pendleton Round-Up magazine for the East Oregonian and the visitors guide of the Wallowa County Chieftain. One of the basic elements of the Our Coast strategy of four years ago was to recruit writers from outside our region. In the current issue the talented Knute Berger of Seattle describes the FisherPoets Gathering. It was Berger’s first trip to the gathering, so there is a freshness to his observations. This was much better than having a writer give us his fifth annual take on the event. Berger is author of Space Needle: The Spirit of Seattle. In Cassandra Profita and MJ Cody we enjoyed two returning Portland-area writers. At the same time, we have local writers from around our region, such as Lynette Rae McAdams of the Long Beach Peninsula. W e conceived Our Coast in the belief that it was possible to sell our communities as one region, as opposed to separate destinations. Seaside and Cannon Beach publish visitors guides for good reason. But our newspaper company is the one publishing entity that sees the broad sweep of our Columbia-Pacific region on a daily basis. JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Our Coast Editor Rebecca Sedlak and Design Director John Bruijn look over proofs of Our Coast magazine in the Daily Astorian office. coast, but close enough to consider coming here. If I didn’t live here already, I would plan a trip to the area after looking through the magazine.” Winters and the Observer are our partners in producing this magazine. He says, “Most people I know get a kick out of thinking we’re especially clever and lucky to live in such a remarkable eaders in our region and beyond tell us how but somewhat overlooked place. It’s like having much they enjoy Our Coast. This week Matt bragging rights for being the first in your circle Winters, publisher of the Chinook Observer, of friends to discover a great new restaurant or received this message. “The improvements just social trend. We’re the iPhone 6 of West Coast keep coming! What a perfect way to reach out destinations.” to communities that are far from our wonderful — S.A.F. Betty Smith, our advertising manager describes her enthusiasm for Our Coast: “There is a joy we all feel creating this magazine. The joy comes from how rich our area is and how much we all recognize how very lucky we are to live in this magical place.” R Letters welcome How to Submit a Letter to the Editor Letters should be exclusive to The Daily Astorian. We do not publish open letters or third-party letters. Letters should be fewer than 450 words and must include the writer’s name, address and phone numbers. You ZLOOEHFRQWDFWHGWRFRQ¿UPDXWKRUVKLS All letters are subject to editing for space, grammar and, on occasion, factual accuracy. Letters written in response to other letter writers should address the issue at hand and, rather than mentioning the writer by name, should refer to the head- line and date the letter was published. Discourse should be civil and people should be referred to in a respectful manner. Letters referring to news stories should also mention the headline and date of publication. Submissions may be sent in any of these ways: E-mail to editor@dailyastorian.com; Online form at www.dailyastorian.com; 'HOLYHUHG WR WKH $VWRULDQ RI¿FHV DW 949 Exchange St. and 1555 N. Roosevelt in Seaside. Or by mail to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 T HE Where to write • U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonami- ci (D): 2338 Rayburn HOB, Washington, D.C., 20515. Phone: 202- 225-0855. Fax 202-225- 'LVWULFW RI¿FH 6: Millikan Way, Suite 220, Beaver- ton, OR 97005. Phone: 503-326- 2901. Fax 503-326-5066. Web: bonamici.house. gov/ • U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D): +DUW6HQDWH2I¿FH%XLOGLQJ Washington, D.C. 20510. Phone: 202-224-3753. Web: www.merk- ley.senate.gov • State Rep. Brad Witt (D): State Capitol, 900 Court Street N.E., H-373, Salem, OR 97301. D AILY A STORIAN Founded in 1873 Phone: 503-986-1431. Web: www.leg.state.or.us/witt/ Email: rep.bradwitt@state.or.us • State Rep. Deborah Boone (D): 900 Court St. N.E., H-375, Salem, OR 97301. Phone: 503- 986-1432. Email: rep.deborah boone@state.or.us District RI¿FH 32 %R[ &DQQRQ Beach, OR 97110. Phone: 503- 986-1432. Web: www.leg.state. or.us/ boone/ • State Sen. Betsy Johnson (D): State Capitol, 900 Court St. N.E., S-314, Salem, OR 97301. Telephone: 503-986-1716. Email: sen.betsy johnson@state. or.us Web: www.betsyjohnson. FRP'LVWULFW2I¿FH32%R[5 Scappoose, OR 97056. Phone: 503-543-4046. Fax: 503-543- $VWRULDRI¿FHSKRQH 338-1280. • Port of Astoria: Executive Director, 10 Pier 1 Suite 308, Astoria, OR 97103. Phone: 503- 741-3300. Email: admin@porto- fastoria.com • Clatsop County Board of Commissioners: c/o Coun- ty Manager, 800 Exchange St., Suite 300, P.O. Box 179, Asto- ria, OR 97103. Phone: 503-325- 1000. STEPHEN A. FORRESTER, Editor & Publisher • LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager • CARL EARL, Systems Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager • DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager SAMANTHA MCLAREN, Circulation Manager