Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

This article is about the newspaper. For the island named Beachcomber, see Beachcomber (island).

The Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber is a weekly newspaper based in Vashon in the U.S. state of Washington. It covers local news, sports, business, and community events for Vashon Island and Maury Island. The Island Beachcomber publishes once a week on Wednesdays. The newspaper is part of Sound Publishing, a group of local newspapers owned by the Black Press Group.

Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

Type	Weekly newspaper
Format	Broadsheet
Owner(s)	Sound Publishing
Publisher	Daralyn Anderson
Editor	Elizabeth Shepard
Founded	1957
Circulation	2,531 (as of 2023)[1]
OCLC number	17239155
Website	vashonbeachcomber.com

History

The Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber was founded on March 7, 1957, by Carl Nelson and John VanDevanter. It competed with an existing newspaper, the Vashon Island News-Record, which was founded in 1919 from the merger of two local newspapers. The News-Record was purchased by the Beachcomber in 1958 and was merged into the publication.^[2][3][4] Nelson and VanDevanter sold the newspaper in 1975 to Jay and Joan Becker, who also became the co-editors.^[5][6]

The Beachcomber was acquired by regional chain Sound Publishing in 1995 and converted into a tabloid-sized newspaper. The newspaper was also switched from mail delivery to home delivery for its 4,500 paid subscribers on Vashon and Maury islands. Jay Becker was retained as editor.^[7] In May 2020, Beachcomber editor Kevin Opsahl was laid off after being furloughed in March 2020. The Beachcomber was reduced to two editorial staff members, reporter Paul Rowley and arts editor Elizabeth Shepherd.^[8]

References

1. "Sound Publishing Media Kit, 2023" (PDF). Sound Publishing. April 1, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
2. Haulman, Bruce; Donnelly, Terry (November 23, 2011). "Vashon Island Newspapers" (PDF). Vashon History. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
3. "The Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber (Vashon, Wn.), 1957–Current". Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries. Library of Congress. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
4. Haulman, Bruce; Findlay, Jean Cammon (2011). Vashon-Maury Island. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-7499-8.
5. Bagwell, Steve; Stapilus, Randy (2013). New Editions: The Northwest's newspapers as they were, are, and will be. Carlton, Oregon: Ridenbaugh Press. pp. 291–292. ISBN 978-0-945648-10-9. OCLC 861618089.
6. "Obituaries: Joan C. Becker". Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber. April 11, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
7. Epler, Patti (October 3, 1995). "The paper is the news on Vashon". The News Tribune. p. B1. Retrieved November 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Rowley, Paul (May 7, 2020). "Beachcomber editorial staff down to two". Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber. Retrieved April 10, 2023.