This week marks a major step forward for the Bayside Gazette and Ocean City Today, as the local company that publishes both weekly newspapers begins countywide coverage for readers and advertisers.
The Bayside Gazette, which has become the definitive news publication in Ocean Pines and Berlin, is expanding to include the Snow Hill and Pocomoke City areas, giving it a reach that makes it the only newspaper to concentrate exclusively on all the mainland communities in Worcester County.
Going back to the 1970s, multiple newspapers have attempted to become the one paper serving the entire county, but found it impossible because of the tendency of those publications to concentrate on the Ocean City resort sphere to the detriment of coverage everywhere else.
The fact was and continues to be that Worcester’s traditional communities just aren’t that interested in the goings on of a resort town that has no effect on their day-to-day lives.
That’s how it was back in the days of the Worcester Democrat in Pocomoke and the Democratic Messenger in Snow Hill and how it is now. It’s also the principle that we intend to follow with the Bayside Gazette, as it covers Ocean Pines, Berlin, Snow Hill and Pocomoke, which have more in common with each other than they do Ocean City and West Ocean City.
Ocean City Today, meanwhile, will continue to follow its successful formula of focusing on the resort, West Ocean City and county government.
We feel that going all-in with two papers makes more sense than attempting to claim expanded readership with a single paper simply by distributing it to more areas. To be effective as a news source and an advertising medium, people have to read the product.
To that end, this expansion of the Gazette’s readership base establishes the final link in an advertising network that stretches from Bethany, Ocean View and Fenwick Island, Delaware, which is blanketed by our sister paper, Coastal Point, to across Worcester County with Ocean City Today and Bayside Gazette and then up through Somerset and Wicomico counties via agreements with the Crisfield-Somerset County Times and the Salisbury Independent.
That’s about 75,000 newspapers, with upwards of 150,000 readers.
While that’s hard to beat in terms of circulation, it still all comes down to providing good local coverage with each publication.
To accomplish that, Brian Gilliland of Snow Hill has been named associate editor and will cover the towns of Snow Hill and Pocomoke for the Gazette. He had been covering Worcester County government.
Josh Davis, whose Ocean Pines and Berlin coverage has elevated the Gazette to its present level, also has been named associate editor and will continue his excellent work in northern Worcester.
Greg Ellison, a veteran reporter, who only recently returned to his home state from a multi-year stint in Colorado, will cover county government, and Ocean City reporter, Katie Tabeling, who also recently joined the staff, will add West Ocean City to her beat. Kara Hallisey will continue to cover police, business and features for Ocean City Today.
One other addition to the news staff is Ocean Pines resident Taylor Sloan, as Ocean City Today’s new entertainment writer/photographer.
All these plans, however, will mean nothing without the participation of readers. We invite and encourage residents of Pocomoke and Snow Hill to submit their announcements, news items, story suggestions, letters to the editor, photos and calendar of events notices to us for publication at editor@baysidegazette.com. Sales inquiries should be directed to Assistant Publisher/Sales Director Elaine Brady at ebrady@baysidegazette.com.
All else should be sent to Stewart Dobson, publisher (and former Worcester Democrat editor back in the day) at sdobson@oceancitytoday.net. We look forward to serving you from the beach to the bay.
– Stewart Dobson
The Bayside Gazette, which has become the definitive news publication in Ocean Pines and Berlin, is expanding to include the Snow Hill and Pocomoke City areas, giving it a reach that makes it the only newspaper to concentrate exclusively on all the mainland communities in Worcester County.
Going back to the 1970s, multiple newspapers have attempted to become the one paper serving the entire county, but found it impossible because of the tendency of those publications to concentrate on the Ocean City resort sphere to the detriment of coverage everywhere else.
The fact was and continues to be that Worcester’s traditional communities just aren’t that interested in the goings on of a resort town that has no effect on their day-to-day lives.
That’s how it was back in the days of the Worcester Democrat in Pocomoke and the Democratic Messenger in Snow Hill and how it is now. It’s also the principle that we intend to follow with the Bayside Gazette, as it covers Ocean Pines, Berlin, Snow Hill and Pocomoke, which have more in common with each other than they do Ocean City and West Ocean City.
Ocean City Today, meanwhile, will continue to follow its successful formula of focusing on the resort, West Ocean City and county government.
We feel that going all-in with two papers makes more sense than attempting to claim expanded readership with a single paper simply by distributing it to more areas. To be effective as a news source and an advertising medium, people have to read the product.
To that end, this expansion of the Gazette’s readership base establishes the final link in an advertising network that stretches from Bethany, Ocean View and Fenwick Island, Delaware, which is blanketed by our sister paper, Coastal Point, to across Worcester County with Ocean City Today and Bayside Gazette and then up through Somerset and Wicomico counties via agreements with the Crisfield-Somerset County Times and the Salisbury Independent.
That’s about 75,000 newspapers, with upwards of 150,000 readers.
While that’s hard to beat in terms of circulation, it still all comes down to providing good local coverage with each publication.
To accomplish that, Brian Gilliland of Snow Hill has been named associate editor and will cover the towns of Snow Hill and Pocomoke for the Gazette. He had been covering Worcester County government.
Josh Davis, whose Ocean Pines and Berlin coverage has elevated the Gazette to its present level, also has been named associate editor and will continue his excellent work in northern Worcester.
Greg Ellison, a veteran reporter, who only recently returned to his home state from a multi-year stint in Colorado, will cover county government, and Ocean City reporter, Katie Tabeling, who also recently joined the staff, will add West Ocean City to her beat. Kara Hallisey will continue to cover police, business and features for Ocean City Today.
One other addition to the news staff is Ocean Pines resident Taylor Sloan, as Ocean City Today’s new entertainment writer/photographer.
All these plans, however, will mean nothing without the participation of readers. We invite and encourage residents of Pocomoke and Snow Hill to submit their announcements, news items, story suggestions, letters to the editor, photos and calendar of events notices to us for publication at editor@baysidegazette.com. Sales inquiries should be directed to Assistant Publisher/Sales Director Elaine Brady at ebrady@baysidegazette.com.
All else should be sent to Stewart Dobson, publisher (and former Worcester Democrat editor back in the day) at sdobson@oceancitytoday.net. We look forward to serving you from the beach to the bay.
– Stewart Dobson