It is with great pride that we celebrate 125 years of community service to the citizens of Clark County. Most newspapers in the United States are now owned by corporate chains such as Gannett, McClatchy and Lee Enterprises. They are publicly traded on the stock exchanges and are subject to the complex tug of “maximum return on investment” challenges against maintaining a local ownership focus.
Independent newspapers like The Columbian number roughly 150 among a roster of 1,500 U.S. dailies, but local ownership is becoming increasingly rare. In the Northwest, The Columbian stands with a handful of locally owned and operated newspapers.Campbell family ownership began with my grandfather Herbert Campbell in 1921. He introduced many innovative improvements at The Columbian up until his death in 1941.My dad, Don Campbell, and my uncle, Jack Campbell, were co-publishers of the paper for most of their careers. My dad was the general manager in charge of the business functions, and my uncle was the editor. This arrangement worked very well, according to my dad, and he lost a great partner in the 1970s when Jack unexpectedly died at the age of 49. My Dad and Uncle Jack both loved the community and their role in managing the community’s daily newspaper, and they had a great run in their era.I chose a career in the newspaper business midway through college in the ’70s, even though I had grown up inside and around the family business since the age of 5. I thought I wanted to try something outside the family business, but eventually realized few careers are as interesting and meaningful as managing a locally owned community news organization. So I attended one of the best journalism schools in the country at the University of Oregon (I am biased on this) to complete my degree. I began my adult career here in 1979, and bought out the other owners — my dad and siblings — in 1996, consolidating ownership for the future.Today, my wife Jody is the community partnerships director here, playing off her experience connecting with the nonprofit organizations, and she also sits on our editorial board. She and I hold the majority ownership of the company, and our three sons are also stockholders. Ben, our eldest, is working here as our digital advertising strategist, and is the founder of our subsidiary advertising agency, Sprout Digital. This is a crucial part of our future digital business.Our two youngest sons, Will and Ross, are in the process of completing their college educations. There is substantial interest by the next generation of the Campbell family in keeping the business locally owned and operated. We will see the 100th anniversary of Campbell family ownership and management in 2021, and I am looking forward to the celebration!As far as the future of the business is concerned, any discussion requires a realization of the state of media companies today. There are significant challenges in running a newspaper in the modern era of technology. We are simultaneously in a mature industry (print) and an emerging new business (online). The print business has been solid for 125 years, but it is changing. Digital is the future, but print remains vital to the success of local news organizations for the foreseeable future. I think print will continue to be essential to our future for a long time.
The Columbian is now delivering local news and information in more ways than ever before through our various channels: The Columbian newspaper, the e-edition, Columbian.com, iPhone/Android apps, social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest), and Columbian blogs.
We are also able to aid and educate local businesses through our diverse portfolio of advertising and marketing solutions (newspaper/special sections, online advertising, Sprout Digital, etc.) We have more customized solutions and more avenues for advertising than ever before.
