According to anniversariesbyyear.com, traditionally an appropriate gift for an 18-year anniversary is feathers, while the modern suggested gift is porcelain. No, please don’t bring us porcelain birds— I just thought the information was interesting.
Moving forward, exactly 18 years tomorrow, we will have published our first issue of The Signal under the ownership of the Stricharts. A couple of years earlier, the former owners closed the paper and went out of the newspaper business entirely. I had worked there for four years selling advertising.
With a lot of work and a little luck, Steve and I decided to resurrect the publication, beginning in January of 2000. Starting the process in our dining room with the help of an enthusiastic staff, a few weeks later we went to print and enjoyed the fruits of our labor. To announce the revival of the newspaper, we relied on the kindness of Shel and Sheldon Grossman, owners of Bixby Knolls Detail Center and Car Wash, who, in early February of 2000, announced to the world on their giant outdoor reader-board “Welcome back, Signal Newspaper.” That first issue featured a photo of the big sign under the bold headline declaring, “We’re Back!”
Approximately a year later, we were fortunate and had the opportunity to acquire another local publication called the Signal Hill Star Tribune and legally became the Signal Tribune. Fast-forward 18 years, and we are still at it.
We currently have a great crew of regular staff members who copy-edit, sell advertising, lay out the paper and design ads, as well as some pretty darned talented reporters/writers who contribute to the paper on a regular if not weekly basis. I give a big thank-you to those valuable employees— Cory Bilicko, Denny Cristales, Sebastian Echeverry, Barbie Ellisen, Kathy Green, Sharon McLucas, CJ Dablo, Anita Harris, Izzie Hallock, Adam Buchsbaum, Zoe Adler and Rachael Rifkin. We couldn’t create this weekly miracle without you!
I hear a lot these days about the future of newsprint, and I am challenged almost daily about our insistence on publishing print news. I believe in newspapers and am proud to publish what I call “refrigerator journalism.” What do I mean by that? The amazing stories that we publish, thanks to our dedicated writers and reporters, are many times exclusives, and feature articles that our readers are likely to cut out and share with others, whether mailed or posted onto their refrigerators for other family members to read.
I know that business has been tough for the newspaper industry for several years, but I firmly believe that as long as the smaller newspapers stay hyper-focused and keep reporting on local news, they will survive and even thrive. Yes, social media is also important. I understand that. And we are constantly upping the quality and features of our own social media. Nevertheless, I know that folks still want to hold newspapers in their hands— our readers tell us that they want something tangible to read, learn from and enjoy while drinking a cup of coffee.
Finally, I want to thank our gracious readers and loyal advertisers. We love you all! Here’s to another 18 years— or more!