The answer to the above question is, quite a lot, actually.

In May, the East Oregonian reduced publication days from five times per week to three times (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays), and the Hermiston Herald was converted from a small weekly paid newspaper to a mass distribution free product covering west Umatilla County and northeast Morrow County.

Either of these projects would have been a heavy lift, but we chose to tear off the proverbial Band-Aid all at once and enacted both changes at the same time.

While the Herald has long been a weekly newspaper for the Stanfield-Hermiston-Umatilla area, as well as a news bureau for the East Oregonian, it was clear that remaining a small paid-circulation weekly was no longer the best use of resources nor adequately serving these rapidly growing communities. The decision was made to convert the Herald into a free mass-distribution weekly blanketing that market by direct-mailing to 14,500 households throughout the area. It has been very well received.

At the very same time, we reduced print publication days at the East Oregonian and it has gone as well as or better than could be expected. Under the extraordinary circumstances that every small business now finds itself in these days, it was a necessary move to align expenses with the new revenue realities. But the truth is, this move had been seriously contemplated even before the onset of COVID-19.

We have not decreased our news-reporting footprint. Our three weekly editions are loaded with local news and features, and readers have responded favorably.

Our current print home delivery for the EO is actually up for the year and we have recently witnessed a significant increase in single-copy sales from local retail and rack locations, as well as tremendous growth in our online subscriptions. It all adds up to an average paid audience of nearly 5,000 local households.

The real growth, however, is online. For instance, did you know that www.eastoregonian.com reaches between 50,000 and 60,000 unique readers on an average every week? You read that right. Our online footprint extends throughout the Pacific Northwest with thousands of readers logging in from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and beyond every day.

The transformation of the newspaper industry as a whole — from print-centric operations to online multimedia outlets — is well underway. The pandemic is merely speeding up this process.

Another big change is coming for yours truly. I am stepping down as regional publisher here in Pendleton at the end of June. My wife and I will be relocating to Texas shortly thereafter to be closer to our extended family.

The operation is being left in the very capable hands of the talented Andrew Cutler as regional editor and Karrine Brogoitti as regional sales director. Both are media veterans and natives of Eastern Oregon.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Eastern Oregon and will certainly miss so many good people I’ve had the pleasure to meet and work alongside. My parting advice is this: Please don’t take your local newspaper for granted. Now, more than ever, local news is vital and the folks here at your local newspaper are working hard every day to keep you informed, both in print and online.