111 Bethel St., N.E. Olympia, WA 98506 360-754-5400 www.TheOlympian.com The Paper The Community

The Paper

Founded: The newspaper was established in 1889 to lead the crusade to make Olympia the capital after Washington gained statehood. The first home of the earlier Morning Olympian still stands at Legion Way and Washington streets. Knight Ridder purchased The Olympian from Gannett in August 2005. The McClatchy Company purchased The Olympian from Knight Ridder in 2006.

Key Executives:
John Winn Miller, President and Publisher
Vickie Kilgore, Executive Editor
Frank Bauer, Advertising Director
Christian Lee, Director of Marketing and Circulation
Carol Achatz, Human Resources Director
Trish Carroll, Operations Director
Jennifer Matts-Sprague, CFO

General Hiring Contact: Human Resources Director Carol Achatz at 360-754-5491 or e-mail cachatz@theolympian.com

Distinction: The newspaper of record for Thurston County, The Olympian has earned a reputation as a watchdog of state government, leading the effort to change state public disclosure laws to keep government meetings open to the public.

Market: Newspaper Designated Market (NDM) consists of Thurston County and part of Mason County at the southern point of Puget Sound in Western Washington. Located approximately one hour south of Seattle, the core market consists of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater.

Circulation Area: Four counties in the South Puget Sound area of Washington

Site: A 53,000-square-foot newspaper facility

Readership: 74,460daily; 89,349 Sunday

Circulation: 32,658 daily; 39,535 Sunday

Size: Averages 38 pages daily; 74 pages Sunday

Single-Copy Sales: 11% daily; 21% Sunday

Newspaper Website: www.TheOlympian.com

Monthly Page Views/Unique Visitors: 3,223,400 monthly page views; 345,804 monthly unique visitors

Production: Goss Urbanite Technology -- capacity is 64 pages with 20 pages of full color and 10 pages in spot color in a collect run; pint in process inks Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black -- CMYK; NW regional print site for USA Today averaging 70,000 to 110,000 copies for Monday through Friday editions; Heidelberg NP-632-22 Inserter; news -- APT Falcon; classified -- APT Falcon; circulation -- Digital Technology International (DTI); advertising -- Genesys 2.6; ad production -- MEI ALS Paper Layout, MEI Classified Pagination, MEI Roundhouse 4.5 Tracking; In Design Editorial/ROP Pagination; AP/GL -- PeopleSoft

Total Employees: 200

Newsroom Employees: 46

 

Major Awards:

2007

• Society of Professional Journalists, Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest
• First place, graphics, Al Kenaga
• First place, general news photography, Stephen Herppich
• First place, sports news photography, Stephen Herppich
• Second place, investigative, Christian Hill
• Second place, environment and energy, John Dodge
• Second place, health, Ingrid Stegemoeller
• Second place, spot news photography, Tony Overman
• Third place, government, Adam Wilson
• Third place, general news photography, Tony Overman
• Honorable mention, news page design, Debbie Cockrell
• Honorable mention, education, Heather Woodward
• Honorable mention, photo page, Tony Overman
• Honorable mention, spot news photograph, Steve Bloom
• Washington-Oregon Associated Press, Regional Photo Contest
• First place, news, Toni Bailey
• Second place, features, Tony Overman

Bureaus: Statehouse bureau on the Capitol Campus

Ongoing Special Projects:

• The Health of Puget Sound, a continuing series
• Regular enterprise on access to health care, including a community forum featuring Washington's two U.S. Senators
• Expanded coverage of water rights and the impact of growth
• Investigation into ownership issues pegged to the bankruptcy of the Olympia Brewery
• The impact of the war in Iraq on local military families. The Olympian sent a photographer to Iraq for six weeks in 2006 to document the efforts of troops from Fort Lewis, a major local military base
• Attention to open records: The Olympian initiated and is credited with passage of state legislation in the 2007 legislative session stipulating that attorney fees paid by public agencies are public records
• Electronic delivery that includes a variety of newsletters, including one dedicated to commuters and available as a PDF or podcast
• Increasing video production at TheOlympian.com and moving from weekly to daily staff-produced vodcast

Major Advertisers: Macy’s; JCPenney; Sears; Target; Shopko; Rite-Aid; Wal-Mart; Walgreens; Best Buy; Circuit City; McKinney’s Appliance; Discount Auto Parts; Shuck’s Auto Supply; Key Bank; Washington Mutual; Safeway; Albertsons; Lowe’s; The Home Depot; Ideal Furniture; Phyl’s Furniture; Red Wind Casino; Little Creek Casino; Lucky Eagle Casino

Special Publications: Health; Best Bets; Sourcebook; CareerBuilder Weekly; Apartment Finder Weekly; Weekend; Home & Lifestyle

Well-known Newsroom Personalities: Chester Allen, outdoor reporter and columnist; John Dodge, senior environmental reporter; Matt McVay, vodcast delivery

Community Involvement: The Awards of Excellence, organized annually by The Olympian to recognize high school students in the arts, community service, academics and athletics; Pet Parade; The Washington Center for the Performing Arts; The Olympia Symphony orchestra; The Military Family Support March; The Olympia School District Education Foundation

Employee Affiliations: The pressroom is represented by GCIU Local 767M

The Community

Location: The southern point of the Puget Sound in Western Washington. Thurston County is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan counties in the state.

Transportation: Interstate 5 provides ready access both north and south. Amtrak also has a station in the market for travel from Vancouver, B.C., to Los Angeles and points east. The closest international airport is the Seattle-Tacoma Airport (SEA).

Market Population: The population of Thurston County is 227,326.

Thurston County Households: 90,377

Population Growth Rate: 6.67% estimated growth rate from 2006-2011

Ethnic Makeup: 84% white; 5% Asian; 5% Hispanic origin; 2% Native American; 3% African American; 1% Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders; 2% other races

Education:
34% have high school degrees
36% have some college education
19% have college degrees
11% have post-college degrees


Median Age: 37.48 years

Median Income: $56,283 in Thurston County

Average Home Price: $282,231 for three bedrooms

Average Rent: $600-$852 for two bedrooms

Climate: Average maximum temperature -- 60.4 degrees; average minimum temperature -- 39.5 degrees; average annual precipitation -- 50.76 inches; average annual snowfall -- 18.1 inches

Major Employers/Industries: State of Washington; local public education; Providence St. Peter Hospital; the federal government; Target Corp.; The Evergreen State College; Capital Medical Center; Group Health Cooperative; Safeway; South Puget Sound Community College; Panorama Corp. (adult living community); Intercity Transit; Illuminet/VeriSign; The Olympian; Home Depot

Major Retailers: Macy's; JCPenney; Sears; Mervyn's; Target; Shopko; Rite-Aid; Wal-Mart; Walgreens; Best Buy; Circuit City; Cabela's, McKinney's Appliance; Discount Auto Parts; Shuck's Auto Supply; Les Schwab; Fred Meyer; Safeway; Albertson's; Thriftway; Top Foods, Costco, Lowe's; Home Depot; Ideal Furniture; Phyl's Furniture

Higher Learning: South Puget Sound Community College; St. Martin's University; The Evergreen State College

Culture: Local performing arts center and symphony; local theater; a lively independent music community; vibrant cottage arts community. "Time" magazine called Olympia "the hippest town in the West."

Sports: Local prep sports dominate, but The Olympian also covers the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Seahawks and the Seattle Super Sonics as well as the University of Washington Huskies and the local teams from St. Martin's University and The Evergreen State College.

Major Annual Events: Harbor Days; Arts Walk; Christmas Forest; Sand in the City; Pet Parade; Capital Food and Wine Festival; Lacey Spring Fun Fair; Lakefair; Thurston County Fair; the Procession of the Species

Tourist Attractions: The Washington State Capitol; Capitol Campus and Museum; Percival Landing; Boston Harbor; Olympic Flight Museum; Wolfhaven International; Hands-On Children's Museum; Bigelow House Museum; Shipwreck Beads. The area also serves as the gateway to the natural recreation areas of Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, Olympic National Park and the Olympic National Forest.

Recreation: A premiere Northwest recreation portal with golf, freshwater and saltwater fishing, hiking, camping, biking, sailing, boating and kayaking. There are also seasonal children's activities as well as art galleries and musical entertainment.

Nightlife: Olympia is the birthplace of the Grunge music movement and still maintains a vibrant independent music scene.

Claim to Fame: The capital of Washington since territorial days, Olympia is known to Native Americans as "the black bear place." The city’s name came from its great view of the Olympic Mountains. A boulder in downtown Sylvester Park marks the end of the old Oregon Trail. Earthquakes in 1949, 1965 and 2001 damaged many historic buildings.

Famous Citizens: The late Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana; Courtney Love, lead singer of Hole; comedian Josh Blue; Simpsons creater Matt Groening

Trivia: President Harry Truman fished on Budd Inlet and Franklin Delano Roosvelt passed through on his way to the Olympic National Forest. Tumwater was the first white settlement north of the Columbia River. The public library was one of those funded by Andrew Carnegie. A geoduck (pronounced goo-ee duck) is both a long-necked clam and the mascot of The Evergreen State College.

Area Information:
The Olympian/Sourcebook
111 Bethel St., N.E.
Olympia, WA 98506
360-754-5400

Thurston County Visitors and Convention Bureau
P.O. Box 7336
Olympia, WA 98507
360-704-7544
www.visitolympia.com

Recent Issues of the Newspaper:
The Olympian
Circulation Department
111 Bethel St., N.E.
Olympia, WA 98506
360-754-5400
www.theolympian.com/services/circulation

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