Columbian Editor Craig Brown’s first press pass dated October 1999 was signed by then-editor Tom Koenninger. (The Columbian)
After almost seven years of writing this column, this is my last one. I’m retiring as editor of The Columbian and Columbian.com as of Monday.
Will Campbell, whose family has owned The Columbian for four generations spanning more than a century, will take over running the newsroom. I couldn’t be more delighted for him. It’s the final step in a transition that has been in the works since I was hired for this job. Will has earned the right to be our editor and is full of good ideas that will make our products better.
With hard work, community support and a little luck, I think he and his brother, Publisher Ben Campbell, will succeed. But it will be difficult. Newspapers around the country are still going out of business at a record pace.
In Northwest Washington, the La Conner Weekly News published its last edition Dec. 18 after serving Skagit County since 1879. Two years ago, Southern Oregon lost the Medford Mail Tribune, a quality daily paper serving a county of 220,000 people. Other once-strong papers, including the Eugene Register-Guard and the Everett Herald, operate as hollowed-out shells after being sold to large investor-driven newspaper chains.
In other words, citizens shouldn’t take their local newspaper for granted — and vice versa. But I remain optimistic about The Columbian for several reasons:
Family ownership: Through four generations, Campbell family members have kept quality journalism at the forefront of their business.
Reader support: While our printed newspaper circulation continues to drop, we’re showing promising growth in digital subscriptions.
A strong niche: Nobody else offers such a comprehensive news report about Clark County. We are not Oregon, and we don’t want just Oregon news.
Great journalists: Our talented and trained staff of 30 journalists is among the largest in the Northwest.
Acknowledgments
Before I go, I want to thank and acknowledge some people who have been important to my career here. Although I’ve been in charge of the newsroom only since Feb. 17, 2017, my first Columbian byline appeared Nov. 25, 1987. I was a regular freelancer for a year or so, then worked elsewhere for a decade before returning in 1997 as a business reporter and, after a few months, business editor. Julie Anderson was my colleague, friend and mentor in those days, and I appreciate everything she taught me, which helped me land a job covering technology entrepreneurship at The Oregonian.
After returning to The Columbian as metro editor Oct. 29, 2001, I worked for Editor Lou Brancaccio. Lou taught me volumes about being a good editor and manager, and I am pleased to call him my friend.
One day in the fall of 2016, Lou said he was retiring and that I was under consideration to be the next editor. The news was kept so quiet that I actually went over to then-Publisher Scott Campbell’s house and did my interview at his kitchen table, along with Ben, Will and the family dog. The dog and I got along, and here I am today.
I’m being flippant, of course. But I want to thank the entire Campbell family — Scott, Jody, Ben, Will and Ross — for always treating me with respect, understanding and kindness. Never in all of the years I worked here was any news decision questioned or story edited or pulled from publication by any member of the family for personal or business reasons.
I can’t emphasize enough how rare that is.
Thanks to my wife, Sandy, and daughter, Melissa, for putting up with all those nights, holidays and weekends I had to work. I will now be home an annoying amount of the time.
Finally, thanks to you for reading my column, subscribing to The Columbian and supporting our local journalism. This is how our democracy is sustained.
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