From the Editor: Walla Walla Union-Bulletin announces change to print frequency

With time comes changes, and the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin has been around a long time. We’re aiming to be here a lot longer, so we’re making an important, strategic change designed toward that goal.

The Union-Bulletin has seen substantial growth in its digital audience over the last two years, and online subscriptions continue to grow while print readership has declined approximately 10%. And as our readers change and grow, so must we.

Beginning May 1, the U-B will publish print editions on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

We will continue to publish eEditions, those online replicas of the daily newspaper available to subscribers on our website, every day — in fact, we’ll be adding Saturdays to our eEditions as well.

And you’ll be able to find local, regional, national and world news, sports and feature stories online every single day, throughout the day, as you can today.

The Union-Bulletin is committed to serving our readers now more than ever, and we know that our future is critical to the future of the communities we serve. It is with this in mind, and after long and careful thought, that we have decided to reduce the number of days we’re publishing and delivering a printed newspaper, and here’s why.

In an industry where advertising has dropped at least 45% since 2016 — those are real numbers provided by the U-B’s advertising director, Matt Lohrmann — we must be light on our feet and nimble in our business practices to keep from going under like so many of our media counterparts in cities much larger than Walla Walla.

As the COVID-19 pandemic further reduced spending by local advertisers, we knew we would have to shift gears and face realities if we were to keep local journalism alive in the Walla Walla Valley.

This means investing in our future, and the future of journalism is digital. We are strengthening our newsrooms and focusing on community reporting rather than clinging to the past and obsolete business models while hoping for the best.

The Union-Bulletin has 13 full-time journalists in our newsroom where most newspapers are reducing staff and have far fewer people to cover communities much larger than those in the Walla Walla Valley. We know this is essential to keeping our readers informed and engaged.

Here at the U-B, we are proud of our deep roots in the community. We like to say we’ve been around for more than 150 years because we can trace our presence in the Walla Walla Valley to the birth of the Walla Walla Statesman in 1861 and the Walla Walla Union in 1868.

But while the Union-Bulletin has remained consistent in its mission to serve readers, we have always been a newspaper in transformation, changing to meet the needs of our readers.

The Statesman went from weekly to daily in 1878. The Union went from weekly to daily in 1881. Then they merged into the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin in 1906. They had morning editions and evening editions, then just afternoon editions, and then they dropped Saturdays.

Large broadsheets crammed with unbylined briefs eventually became smaller-format pages with long stories providing the names of reporters. Photos were then printed in color. And 20 years ago, the internet as a news platform made its presence known. A decade ago, social media came into power.

Now, this spring, the Union-Bulletin is moving to a three-day print publication schedule. Here’s what you can expect.

High-quality, comprehensive and in-depth journalism — the kind of storytelling the Union-Bulletin has produced for 150 years — published every day online and in our seven-days-per-week eEdition.

Sports coverage published immediately online and in our eEdition and roundups in print three times per week and in a weekly email newsletter.

Feature stories in a new Explore Walla Walla Valley section published three times a week in print and daily online, with calendars of events, profiles and recommendations for eating, drinking and exploring our communities and recreation areas.

Continued publication of our monthly Lifestyles magazine.

Breaking news online, in email newsletters, on social media and — coming soon — in a Union-Bulletin app under development now.

Bigger newspapers on Tuesday, Thursday and Sundays starting May 1, with even more local coverage so you won’t miss a thing.

Print subscribers will be able to choose between three-day and Sunday-only delivery.

Death notices will appear in every eEdition, as they are submitted to the U-B, but obituaries will only be published on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. That way, print readers won’t need to worry about missing an obituary.

Afternoon delivery will continue, and we will still use paper carriers. This is an important part of our business model, so while many newspapers are shifting to mail delivery, we will continue to work with local carriers to deliver the U-B to your doorstep.

As we approach May 1, we’ll continue to share details about upcoming changes to the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. We hope for your continued support as we move forward.

If you’d like to share your thoughts on these changes or if you have questions or concerns, please email us at feedback@wwub.com.