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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