As 2021 comes to a close — and as I prepare some of the end of the year lists that will appear in future editions — I can’t help but look back and reflect on all that has happened.
Spoiler alert: It’s a lot.
This year, we’ve celebrated our first birthday (April) and received a General Excellence award from Oregon Newspaper Publisher Association (September). We said goodbye to former Hood River Editor Kirby Neumann-Rea as he left for McMinnville (April), and hello to new staff writers Alana Lackner (May) and Noah Noteboom (June). We saw sports pages go from zero (no in-person school, sports or activities at the beginning of the year due to COVID restrictions) to six.
We’ve also seen the events calendar, What’s Happening, go from virtual (and virtually nonexistent) meetings to a full, mostly in-person listing for everything from theater and music performances, to club meetings, to vaccination clinics, to children’s events, as vaccinations became more readily available and restrictions eased.
We revamped our police records, shifting the focus to notable events. And we rolled out a few reoccurring features, most notably Gorge Local — In Business and Educators Spotlight. Regardless of what we’re covering, the pandemic has been an overarching theme — and the innovative ways people have continued to do business or teach (or entertain, provide healthcare, lead, help their neighbors, show support) has been a constant reminder that we may live in different corners of the Gorge, but we are all in this together.
This was the year we also rolled out our online paywall. Subscribers to the print edition automatically receive full access to our website, e-Editions and archives with an easy subscription link; we also added an online only option.
Subscribers to both the print and digital editions receive updates as they are posted, and new content is posted almost daily, as news unfolds in real time. Another bonus: Being able to access the newspaper anywhere — be that in line at a local grocery store or on a beach in Mexico.
P.S. Just in case you are wondering, we are committed to having a print edition — we know that not everyone likes the digital interface of the worldwide web and instead prefer a paper copy. (Hey Mom, that’s you!)
Of course, without our subscribers, we wouldn’t have a newspaper to share. We rely on that support — financially, yes, but also for tips, letters to the editor, press releases and event listings.
In the spirit of giving, we have a special offer: With your paid yearly subscription, you can give a free subscription to anyone who does not already subscribe. You can be a new subscriber yourself, or you can be renewing; we simply ask that the free subscription go to someone who you think would enjoy the paper but who does not, for whatever reason, yet subscribe.
For more information, email SUBSCRIBE@GorgeNews.com — you can also email me at trishaw@gorgenews.com, and I will get your query where it needs to go.
Thank you again to our subscribers — we appreciate you.
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