It’s been six months since my last update about YachatsNews, so given all that is going on I thought it might be an appropriate time for a little news about the news.
Some quick background. I launched YachatsNews in January 2019 because I saw a lack of traditional community journalism in Yachats and south Lincoln County. The first few months the site attracted an average of 750 page views a month. By the end of 2019 that had grown to average 15,000 page views a month. (Go to ABOUT in the blue “menu” bar to read more about my background, news philosophy and website rules.)
Now, pushed by coronavirus coverage in Lincoln County and Oregon, traffic to the site has nearly quadrupled since February. There were more than 39,000 “unique visits” and 60,000 “page views” during a 30-day period in July.
Nearly 600 people have signed up to receive an email reminder each Friday of items posted to the site. (But remember, I post items almost every day.)
Since January 2019 there have been more than 1,000 items posted to the website – everything from investigative reports, stories on government meetings, arts and entertainment, breaking news and police reports, news briefs, obituaries, letters, and features about local people doing interesting things. And since March, of course, there have been tons of local and state stories about the pandemic.
I also subscribe to the Lund Report, a nonprofit news service that covers Oregon’s healthcare industry, and post many of its stories on YachatsNews. I also have access to statewide government and political stories the Oregon Capital Bureau in Salem, a service of EO Media and Pamplin Media Group.
The one hiccup was the launch of arts and entertainment coverage in January. It was fine until March, when the pandemic shut down cultural activities. I plan to resume that coverage whenever those activities resume.
The pandemic also hurt advertising on the site. But with the strong growth in numbers, there are three new advertisers: Pioneer Connect, which serves south Lincoln County with telephone and internet service; the site’s first real estate advertiser, DJ Novgrod of Emerald Coast Realty in Yachats; and, the Yachats Chamber of Commerce, which had to move its annual spring arts and crafts market online.
Outside of a little advertising income, I finance the venture out of my own pocket – showing a net loss of about $3,000 last year. I spend money paying for stories from freelance reporters, regular website tweaks and maintenance, access to other news services, and just the cost of gathering news – about $3,700 so far this year.
Net advertising income for the first six months of 2020 was $1,300. I also received about $2,000 from a donation campaign at the first of the year.
Like I said in January, I don’t need or want to make money from the site, but I’d like it to break even, even as I get more outside help (and therefore expense) to expand coverage.
So, if you are inclined to help financially, please use the “Donate” button in the blue “Menu” bar at the top of the site or the link at the bottom of each story.
But, unlike many other mainstream news sites that are behind (or have gone to) pay walls, access to the site is free. I intend to keep it that way as a community service project.
That’s all for now. But if you have questions or comments, please you can email me at YachatsNews@gmail.com or simply call 503-970-3867. I’d be happy to answer any questions.
— Quinton Smith/YachatsNews