By Don Nelson
It’s been incredibly gratifying to hear many of you express appreciation for how the News covered all the events that challenged the valley during the summer of 2014 and beyond. I hope I have thanked each of you enough for your kind words.
A couple of things we are doing this fall are related to our own journalistic journey through the past several months.
As I wrote earlier, we are working hard on a special publication that will appear Dec. 17, to be called Trial by Fire. It will be a magazine-style publication similar in size to our summer and winter recreation guides.
We are describing Trial by Fire as a keepsake because it will not only document the events of last summer, but will also draw on the personal stories of valley residents to infuse a powerful human element. We will be doing stories about the economic, environmental and emotional impacts of our common experiences in the summer of 2014, with a strong “forward spin” that looks to the future and what long-term recovery really means for the Methow.
We are asking the community to support Trial by Fire in a couple of ways. We hope you will share your personal experiences and insights to ensure that the publication genuinely reflects the Methow’s character and resilience. You don’t have to have lost your home. Any fire-, flood- or storm-related experience or observation can be part of the story.
And we will be asking our valued advertisers to support Trial by Fire to help us make its publication and free distribution possible. We are offering reduced advertising rates — significantly less than the costs for similar ads in our other special publications — and special placement options for Trial by Fire.
I’m never comfortable talking about money, but there’s no way around the reality that we need the community’s ongoing support to continue bringing you the best journalism we can in print and online. Like a lot of local businesses, we had a challenging summer. When our advertisers are struggling, we feel it too.
Starting this week, we’re going to do something we haven’t done for a long time: We are launching a subscription drive, and we’re reducing the yearly rate for any new subscribers, subscription renewals or subscription extensions. We’re calling it a “sub sale,” and the local subscription cost will actually be lower than it was a few years ago.
Plus, we are offering the opportunity to contribute to fire relief efforts with an option to also donate to Room One in Twisp.
For a limited time, our Okanogan County annual subscriptions will go for $29 (compared to $33 now); out-of-county subscriptions will cost $39 (compared to $44 now); and out-of-state subscriptions will be $49 (compared to $55 now).
If you’re not a subscriber now, we hope you’ll take advantage of this offer. If it’s time for you to renew your subscription, you can do so at the sale prices. If it’s not yet time to renew, we don’t want to leave you out: You can extend your existing subscription for one year at the sale price.
If none of those apply, consider buying a subscription for a relative or friend who would enjoy regularly receiving the best local news source in the Methow. Or buy a subscription that we can in turn donate to someone in need who couldn’t otherwise afford to subscribe.
In each case, you can choose to add $3 to your check or credit card bill, and that money will go directly to Room One.
We think the Methow Valley News is already a bargain, and our sale prices make it even more so. Call us at 997-7011 or email frontdesk@methowvalleynews.com to find out more about the sub sale and Trial by Fire.
It’s going to be a busy fall for us — we’re investing a lot of energy into Trial by Fire, our “sub sale” and of course the weekly newspaper. Plus, you will be seeing Methow Valley Winter 2014 – 15 next week, and Valley Vows a few weeks after that.
We couldn’t do any of it without you.
