The Times wants to be a voice for the people of Santa Maria, chronicle local history, and allow readers to be better connected to their hometowns. "We want to provide our customers with the news, how they want it, when they want it," she said, referring to phone, tablet and print options that are now available to subscribers.īoth Leifeste and Cooley said they are proud to be part of the community, and are energized by the possibilities presented by local autonomy. The Times has worked over the past decade to ensure that it is providing local news in an ever-expanding digital marketplace, but Leifeste reiterated that digital growth doesn't mean that the paper is going away. People are getting their papers on a regular basis and there aren't the delivery issues we were experiencing," Managing Editor Cooley said. "I think the change to same-day mail delivery has been received really well by the community. Because of industry issues, gas prices and impending changes to California labor laws, daily delivery was moved in 2021 from carriers to same-day mail. In an attempt to help local advertisers through the economic uncertainty the Times started a "Match Program," matching the ad spend of local businesses dollar for dollar.Ĭhanges at the Times have not been limited to advertising, the press room or the newsroom. "We were able to stabilize financially, you know, because COVID was a huge hit to our business, just like everyone else's." "On the business side, I think it's really important that we were able to bring in that commercial print business," Leifeste pointed out. Local autonomy allowed press manager Paul Colaluca and Leifeste to add contracts with papers large and small over the past two years, so if you're reading a newspaper on the Central Coast or in the Central Valley, there is a good chance that it was printed in Santa Maria. "So we're pretty excited and pretty proud of that." "We went from printing 200,000 copies a month to 1.2 million today," said Terri Leifeste, vice president and group publisher. Laughlin, was a local businessperson working to inform the public about the city developing around them, and provide a place for local merchants to advertise. The Santa Maria Times printed its first edition in April of 1882 and was founded and spent much of its history under local ownership. "As a news publication we don't talk about our business regularly and it's exciting to give a little bit of the long-standing contribution that we have made in the community," said Marga Cooley, managing editor for Santa Maria California News Media Inc. The leadership team of the Santa Maria Times is excited to share that change with the community. But despite the monumental changes, it is a return to an earlier model that could be the most significant change that the Times has seen - a return to locally based ownership. That says nothing of the advancements in the way the paper is created, produced and delivered. 24-In its nearly 140 years covering the Santa Maria Valley, the Santa Maria Times has chronicled the growth and development of the Central Coast, the size and structure of the cities of northern Santa Barbara County, the evolution of economic engines, and the regional impact and global importance of what is now Vandenberg Space Force Base.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |