11/20/08

Changes to paper's distribution an unfortunate reality

by Beckye Randall

Since we began publishing North County Outlook more than a year ago, readers have asked, “How can you do all this for free?”

“All this” includes offering free classifieds, publishing obituaries without a charge, and mailing the paper directly to more than 30,000 homes and businesses every two weeks.

The reality is, we can’t.

Our goal has always been to support the community newspaper solely on display advertising revenue. While our advertisers recognize the benefit of getting their message out in these tough times, and they have been incredibly loyal to the paper, most are trimming their advertising budgets. Meanwhile, printing and postage costs have increased and we’ve added part-time staffers to help manage the workload.

We know that North County Outlook is a welcome presence in your mailbox every two weeks, but we simply can’t sustain a free distribution of 30,000-plus addresses. So, effective January 1, our circulation will be reduced to approximately 23,000 homes and businesses in our core—the I-5 corridor from Marysville to Arlington (see map below).

To thank our loyal readers who fall outside this area, those who subscribe by January 1 will receive two years of home ­delivery for the price of one year—$25

.
In speaking to other publishers at the recent Washington Newspaper Publishers Association convention, we know that even our reduced circulation will still be far ahead of the norm for community newspapers. Nevertheless, cutting back on our coverage area was a very tough decision for all of us here at North County Outlook.

If your address falls outside our core area, we hope you’ll consider subscribing to North County Outlook. Simply click on the Subscribe button on the Home Page, print out the form and send it in. Give Debbie a call at (360) 659-1100 if you prefer to make payment arrangements by phone.

We’re grateful for the overwhelming support our readers and advertisers have shown, and we appreciate all the wonderful comments we hear about the paper and the information it delivers.

Let’s continue the dialogue.