Dari Mart convenience stores from Springfield to Cottage Grove will now carry single-copy editions of The Chronicle – an expansion to 15 total stores.
The two local family businesses are partnering to help ensure small and rural communities in the southern Willamette Valley continue to receive non-partisan and unbiased news coverage about their families, friends and neighbors.
The move brings The Chronicle to a much wider audience than it has ever had before as foot traffic equalling more than 100,000 people each week shop at the 15 convenience stores in our areas.
“This is a game-changer for our newspaper and readers,” said Denise Nash, co-owner and chief operations officer for Nash Publishing Group, which publishes the weekly Chronicle newspaper, chronicle1909.com online, and social media pages on Facebook and Instagram. “We’re thrilled to be associated with a local, quality franchise such as Dari Mart.”
The Chronicle has maintained a steady readership of approximately 20,000 per month, even through the pandemic years of 2020 and ’21.
The paper has forged a position by offering hyper-local news and information for communities which otherwise receive little to no coverage – Springfield, Creswell, Cottage Grove, and Pleasant Hill. The Chronicle is the only subscription-based, locally owned paper serving those communities.
“Growing up in Junction City, I’ve always appreciated the local paper,” said Joe Gibson, Dari Mart’s director of purchasing and product management. “As a reader and sports fan, we’d check to see if our friends were mentioned. It was exciting. For older people, it’s the community events and local news. The local papers are definitely something we get behind. It appeals to all different ages.”
During the five editions of the weekly paper in September, The Chronicle published more than 900 names of area residents involved in local events, high school sports, business, and the November election candidates, among others.
Most readers subscribe annually for home delivery of the paper, which is only $40. Seniors and military veterans receive 15% off that price.
In addition to the expanded distribution, The Chronicle also relaunched its website, adding features and functionality to make the site more responsive. Among the new items are an improved “Search” tool, easier access to obituaries, queries by author/writer, and more.
