In today's media environment, that is quite a notable accomplishment.
Jeb Bing, the Pleasanton Weekly editor, has been a fixture at the paper since before it started in 2000. He, along with Pleasanton Weekly President Bob Thomas, Art Director Shannon Corey and Advertising Director Chris Paterson spent close to a year conducting focus groups and establishing the systems and processes to create a newspaper that fit the needs and desires of Pleasanton residents. Launching a newspaper is no small task!
Current members of the staff who were on that original masthead are Jeb Bing, Shannon Corey (although she now works at the Palo Alto office), Dolores Fox-Ciardelli and Trina Cannon.
The staffers tapped quite a few residents to give their input on what type of media source was needed in Pleasanton including Brad Hirst, Jim Ott, Ken Mercer, Jack Dove, Tom Fox, Ron Hyde, Marty Indibritzen, Pat Kernan, Juanita Haugen, Charles and Kay Huff, Chris Miller, Bob Philcox, Joe Callahan, Steve Fast, Debra Acosta (now McKeehan) and Jeri Long. Some of those folks have since passed away, as has the first PW president, Bob Thomas.
The first edition carried letters to the editor welcoming the paper and wishing us luck and much success from locals such as Otis Nostrand of the Hop Yard Alehouse and Grill, Rick Pickering from the Alameda County Fair, Ralph Rajs from ClubSport and Mayor Ben Tarver.
In the world of newspapers, celebrating any anniversary is noteworthy. While many metros are closing their doors or going to an online-only format, the Weekly has endured. I believe part of the reason is because the staff of professional journalists provides news and information not readily available elsewhere.
Another important reason is the support we receive - financial and moral - from the community.
Because we are not a subscription-based newspaper, we rely mainly on advertising to pay our bills. A few businesses that had advertisements in the first edition continue to support us - Kris Moxley of the Moxley Team, Valley Community Bank and Clover Creek.
We also started a Support Local Journalism membership campaign to help fund quality community journalism Pleasanton residents have come to expect.
The goal of the paper, as Jeb wrote in his first "Around Pleasanton" column, was "to provide the most accurate and consistently reliable news coverage and commentary of interest to all of us who live and work here."
This continues to be our goal.
