Publisher’s Notebook: COVID changed The Astorian — for good

Published 12:30 am Saturday, July 3, 2021

After 15 months, the black-and-yellow CORONAVIRUS banner under The Astorian’s front page masthead is gone.

Finally, Oregonians are free of masks, closures and restrictions that hobbled us during the the coronavirus pandemic.

In April 2020, I wrote a column that outlined our priorities for The Astorian as we dealt with workplace restrictions.

Only our managers, a few reporters and production staff worked in the office, just a handful of people out of a staff of 35. Our office doors were locked, most staff worked from home and those inside wore masks, washed hands frequently, socially distanced and disinfected workspaces. At the time, I remember thinking that we would certainly be back in the office by fall — never imagining it would be 68 weeks.

The shifts in our organization over these COVID-19-restricted months are not going to disappear as quickly as the banner on the front page. Despite any misgivings I had when we sent everyone home to work remotely, most of our staff has been juggling caregiving, online schooling and working from home for well over a year. And they have managed that juggling act quite well.

So well, in fact, that there’s no reason to make them return to the office five-days a week. I miss the camaraderie of a full office, but in reality the work is getting done with less interruptions, and our employees are happier. Our teams will be able to work both in the office and from home to help alleviate the worry of day care or time spent commuting.

Customers with appointments or who buzz at the door will still be able to speak with someone in our office, but for the next few months our doors will remain locked during business hours. Since many employees will work both from home and in the office, our reception area won’t be staffed all of the time. Those who are in the building are glad to answer the door and assist when they hear the doorbell.

During the past 15 months, EO Media Group, The Astorian’s owner, has accelerated centralizing design, service and accounting functions that used to be performed at each location in the company. Astoria is the location of the graphic design center for company advertising, as well as the customer service call center for the company subscription services.

Through the power of broadband, those employees, working from home, have answered calls and designed advertising for customers all over Oregon and southwest Washington state. Online options allow customers to manage their subscription and advertising orders and payments from anywhere there’s cell or internet service. If you’d like help creating an online account, call our customer service center at 800-781-3214.

From March 2020 through this May, digital subscriptions grew by 83%, as readers took advantage of The Astorian’s digital options, including the e-edition, daily website news, apps and newsletters. Overall, circulation grew by 8.4% during the virus restrictions, as print and online readers found local news important for credible updates to quickly changing information.

Living through the past 15 months has changed the way we all interact and do business. In the column written in April 2020, I could see already that The Astorian’s business would be different after the pandemic. “As we chart our course for what lies beyond the pandemic, we will emerge a different organization, in many ways with a stronger sense of purpose and newly-found skills and efficiencies.”

Post-COVID, look for The Astorian to continue to innovate to serve our mission to our readers as the local news leader, “committed to reporting and distributing local news and information because a well-informed public keeps our communities strong.”

Have an idea for us? Let me know at kborgen@dailyastorian.com