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| Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night: Delivering the May edition to Zion Canyon |
Written by Josh Warburton
As the temperatures start to rise and we settle into these hot summer months, kids will be playing outside, families will be taking vacations, and I’ll be here, working. It’s not that I don’t want to take a vacation—and I’m thinking I may actually do that this summer—but I’ve just been so focused on work projects. Specifically, I’ve been working to keep The Independent flourishing and our web presences online, at SUindependent.com and Springdale.co, expanding in both scope and audience.
Our print circulation grew to a record all-time high this month, bucking trends for print newspapers in many markets that are shrinking and making The Independent the most widely-distributed print publication in our region. Our newest addition, the Zion~Springdale Guide, has been a hit and has dramatically increased our pickup in the greater Zion Canyon area, basically doubling it in a single month. That’s an area where we already had the highest number of businesses per capita as distribution locations in any market we serve—and with the record number of visitors coming to Zion Canyon, it’s no wonder.
In addition, our expanded downtown St. George section features a beautiful mixture of content, including Mayor Jon Pike’s monthly sentiments, downtown event articles, a map, and small business spotlights and listings. Pickup in downtown St. George also spiked this last month, with the wealth of visitors finding their way to our stands. “Good problems,” as my advertising director Scott Dunford likes to say.
Online, we’ve continued to grow our content set as well as the scope and depth of content, building our reputation as a watchdog, a conversation-starter, and the go-to resource for events and entertainment info. If you haven’t already, you should subscribe to our weekly email promoting our Sunday Edition, which is a virtual calling card of our online content that represents what we like to produce on a daily basis.
Watch for a big series of announcements on SUindependent.com this month. I’ll give you two hints: pics and mobile content.
Again, check out our new sister site, Springdale.co, where we are delivering town-level news for locals and visitors alike in the greater Zion Canyon area. Happy reading!
