The Scottsdale Progress, the city’s original hometown newspaper, will resume publication as a Sunday weekly beginning September 16, 2018.
With an intense focus on local news, community issues and hometown features, the new Progress “will fill a void everyone who loves Scottsdale has felt for years,” said Steve Strickbine, President of Times Media Group, owner of the Progress, the Scottsdale Airpark News and 14 other community news outlets across the metro Phoenix area.
“Scottsdale is a unique place and a city whose story needs to be told well and with passion,” said Strickbine. “Our goal with the new Progress is to dig down deep into Scottsdale each week – to tell our neighbors here’s what happening, here’s why it’s happening and here’s who’s making it happen. We want to demonstrate the same commitment to the city and the same respect for its history the old Progress had, with a 2018 business model and leading-edge advertising opportunities.”
The initial circulation for the new Progress will be 40,000 printed copies every Sunday. Distribution will include home delivery to various neighborhoods and more than 700 locations where residents can pick up the paper for free. Digital news will be updated around-the-clock on Scottsdale.org, the heavily trafficked web site Times Media Group purchased for the Progress. In addition, every Sunday 50,000 free eSubscription copies will be emailed directly to residents of Scottsdale.
“As a lifelong resident of the Valley and as a publisher who understands what the Progress once meant to Scottsdale, this is a special announcement for our company,” said Strickbine. “I have tremendous respect for the importance of solid community journalism, and for the trust our readers place in us as a source for accurate information and the truth.”
The Scottsdale Progress first appeared May 6, 1948. That week’s front page reported that the city’s first movie theater would soon open on Main Street; Post 44 of the American Legion would dedicate its new building on First Street; and Scottsdale rancher and businessman Dick Searles was the new president of the Salt River Valley Water Users Association.
The Progress began daily publication in 1961. It ceased publication in 2009.
With a dedicated managing editor and staff of full-time reporters, the new Progress will cover everything from City Hall to schools, events and obituaries, said Strickbine. Reporters also will search out the many human interest stories to be found in one of the West’s most well-known cities.
In addition to the Progress and the Scottsdale Airpark News, Times Media Group also publishes the East Valley Tribune (EastValley.com), the Ahwatukee Foothills News (Ahwatukee.com), the West Valley View (WestValleyView.com), Nearby News publications, the San Tan Sun News, the Gilbert Sun News, the College Times, Lovin’ Life After 50, The Entertainer! Magazine, North Valley Magazine, 85086 Magazine, 85085 Magazine and the travel and information website Phoenix.org. The company also owns AZ Integrated Media, a media distribution and custom publishing company.
Acknowledging that resurrecting a fallen newspaper might be viewed as a modern-day contrarian investment, Strickbine expressed optimism about the future of the Progress.
“Local journalism has been at the core of what we do for more than 20 years and it has helped Times Media Group expand exponentially, despite all the so-called conventional wisdom,” said Strickbine. “Scottsdale residents love their city and they’re deeply engaged with civic life. If we tell great stories, we believe the Progress will once again play a vital role in this city. If we do that – and we create value for our readers and our advertisers, we know this newspaper will once again thrive, and we can’t wait to get started.”
