Yellow Pages
A half-century ago, the newspapers held a virtual monopoly on news and advertising, especially in small towns.
“If you’re looking back 50 years ago, we were almost the only game in town,” said Val Feltus, Skagit Publishing’s advertising director.
But over the years, the newspaper and advertising industry has changed. Even though a newspaper like the Skagit Valley Herald can report the day-to-day news of Skagit County better than anyone, changes in economy and consumer habits have changed how the newspaper business operates.
In the newsroom, reporters and editors compete against many different competitors, but few cover Skagit County to the same extent as this newspaper. The newspaper’s ad reps, however, compete against radio stations, mail advertisements and cable media giants.
“We’re competing against companies that are much, much bigger than our own,” said Publisher Stedem Wood.
Feltus said at one time, ad reps acted more like cashiers at a restaurant — they simply took the orders as they came in.
Then came cable television and mail advertisements. Those two advances alone brought affordable advertising alternatives to businesses and pushed newspaper advertisers into a more competitive market.
“At that point, we had to step up and prove what our value was,” Feltus said.
As online news and advertising took off, readers and advertisers gained even more options. Creating a newspaper now means providing advertising through the printed newspaper and online.
Feltus said the readers are there, which means advertisers can benefit from advertising on both sides of publication.
“The newspaper content is in more demand than it ever has been,” Feltus said.
For advertisers, the task is to present that to businesses, showing them not just how many newspapers are being printed, but how many eyeballs are staring at a computer screen reading Skagit Publishing material. Feltus said advertisers now think in terms of “audience” instead of “circulation.”
That requires, again, proving the value of the published content.
Wood said a lot of that comes from a talented newsroom with a focus on the community.
“The job of gathering, presenting, editing and researching for important stories takes a lot of people with a considerable education and a good bit of experience,” Wood said.
* This report is part of a special section celebrating 125 years of news coverage by the Skagit Valley Herald. To see others, click on the headlines below:
Family’s newspaper lineage dates back to E.W. Scripps in 1878
Longtime carrier learned about dependability
Back in time, A look at some notable businesses of yesteryear
Company ‘lifer’ never planned to stay long
Readers share opinions of the newspaper, positive and otherwise
Newspapers provide link to past, present and future for local woman
