Published June 2004
Wanted:
your input
on changes to journal
“Change
happens!”
That bumper-sticker
proclamation is a familiar reminder of today’s fast-changing times. But,
even though change is often thought of negatively, “change” also can mean
“improvement” — moving on to better things.
“Improvement” is
what we’re planning for the Snohomish County Business Journal in the wake
of our purchase of the Everett Business Journal last month. A surprise
“for sale” call from the publisher of that publication, Kris Passey of
Sun News Inc. — who also owns the Marysville Globe, Arlington Times, Bellingham
Business Journal and Wenatchee Business Journal — brought an end to the
Everett journal’s six-year history.
But that’s not the
end of the changes in local business news coverage. In general, the Snohomish
County Business Journal will continue to publish news about businesses
and people in the county, as it has since 1998, in a format that has earned
broad acceptance by our readers and advertisers.
However, we’ve recently
reviewed our content and added some new features we believe you’ll find
useful.
Beginning with this
issue, we will be adding a new columnist, Jeffrey Gitomer, known nationally
and regionally as a powerful resource for sales tips and selling strategies.
He will be part of a new section, “Business Builders,” that also will
feature columnists James McCusker, Eric Zoeckler, Daniel Kehrer and Andrew
Ballard, each of them writing on such topics as business structure, people
management, business “how to” Web sites and marketing plans.
Our “Opinion/Editorial”
section will be expanded to two pages, using the second page for such
columnists as Deborah Knutson, president and CEO of the Snohomish County
Economic Development Council. She is joined this month by Everett Area
Chamber of Commerce President Louise Stanton-Masten, who presents a guest
editorial.
Real estate investment
columnist Tom Hoban will anchor a section that will be increasingly devoted
to real estate news in each issue, and investment columnist Eric Cumley
will continue to provide his personal finance column in yet another section.
Also, after six years
of providing free space for Everett Area and South Snohomish County Chamber
of Commerce news, we will be using those two pages for other purposes
as we continue growing our business coverage in Snohomish County. However,
we will be continuing to cover significant chamber events, add more chamber
activities countywide to our events calendar and be in touch as much as
possible with the county’s smaller chambers as well.
We will also be publishing
a new section, “Around the County,” with news of things we see and people
we talk to as we cover business news and events throughout the county.
It will be a place for short items that don’t necessarily require a whole
story but still have reader interest, such as what’s happening at a new
construction site or a light bit of humor found in a retail store’s window
or on a reader board.
Later changes will
include increased business news coverage in such prime growth areas as
Everett, Lynnwood and north Snohomish County; more tips and ideas to help
new businesses get started and grow; plus historical features that explore
the roots of today’s economic vitality.
Our surveys have
shown that our readers — more than 45,000 of them, counting pass-along-readership
— like our format and content. They also tell us that our readers recognize
the value of having a countywide business journal as a news source, a
networking tool and a business-to-business communication tool through
both articles and advertising.
We hope all of you
will continue to send us news releases, invite us to your business events
and suggest new ways we can serve you better. Since many of you may have
had favorite features in the Everett Business Journal that you would like
to see continued — such as business license listings — please let us know
your feelings.
We welcome your letters
to the editor, your ideas and your preferences. If enough readers want
a particular feature or service, we will try to accommodate those requests
within the limits of our staff time and publication space.
Above all, we will
continue to work hard to maintain the important role in the Snohomish
County business community that you’ve enabled us to fill.
That’s one thing
we will never change.
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