The Alberni Valley News reached an important milestone today. Five years ago, on Aug. 25, 2006, the very first edition of our newspaper hit the streets of Port Alberni.
Since then, we’ve delivered news that counts to every home, every Friday and—with our strong presence on the Internet— every day online.
“Congratulations to the staff at the News,” says Mark Warner, president of Black Press Island Division. “They have a lot to celebrate after just five years in the Alberni Valley. They have brought a vital new voice to the community in a short time and I know they look forward to serving the Valley for many years to come.”
The Alberni Valley News is owned principally by David Black, a Victoria businessman whose company owns other publications on Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, B.C.’s Interior, Alberta, the Pacific Northwest, Ohio and Hawaii. We are not affiliated with any other newspaper in the Alberni Valley, but rather are a stand-alone publication.
As in most small towns, it takes awhile to lose the “newbie” status and be taken seriously. After five years, we hope people realize that we’re here to stay and are committed to the community—not only through our news and advertising products, but also from our community and personal involvement in Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, the Relay for Life, Tour de Rock, Girl Guides, youth sports and local churches, to name a few.
Our editorial philosophy is to go beyond the traditional “who, what, where, when, why and how” of a story to ask the tough questions: the “what ifs”, and “where do we go from here”. Our small staff strives to tell a good story, be entertaining when appropriate and package it all with strong art and design. We’ve won several awards for doing just that, on the local, provincial and national levels.
In recent months, we’ve bid adieu to our founding publisher, John Tierney, who has moved on to Where Victoria, and welcomed Teresa Bird to the helm. With a strong background in community newspapers, she looks forward to leading our team, and settling in the community with her husband.
“I see the News as a reflection of the community it serves: lots of potential to grow and succeed,” says Bird. “I want to be a part of that. I believe there are exciting times ahead for the Alberni Valley.”
So we’ll pause today and celebrate our milestone with an open house (1–4 p.m. in our new office, at 4656 Margaret St., beside Big Pig Subs).
We welcome our readers, carriers, drivers and clients to come by and help us celebrate with a slice of cake and a smile. And tomorrow, we’ll return to telling the stories that matter to our readers.
~ Susan Quinn is editor of the Alberni Valley News.
editor@albernivalleynews.com