First demo issue of The Grapevine.
Congratulations. This is the first step toward providing honest, believable news and information for Escondido, San Marcos, Valley Center and beyond filling the void left by the departure of all local media in 2013.
This publication is being out together by a partnership of former North County Times personnel, local marketing and sales people and community contributors and sponsors. You’ve probably seen us online at www.EscondidoGrapevine.com. This 8-page edition, printed courtesy of San Dieguito Printers of San Marcos, showcases a little of what we’re about and about to do in print.
The initial 16-page tabloid editions will include many more features and concepts not displayed in this edition. We’ll also have a lot more in the ways of opportunities for full page, half-page, quarter-page and eighth-page ads.
We plan on running a weekly history feature. Looking back at old issues of local newspapers, we’ll provide snapshots into the past. For example, 25 years this week, county supervisors approved a study of landfill sites leading to the Gregory Canyon controversy. Escondido City Council was grappling with an out-of-control budget necessitating service cuts. And more of the same to follow.
Publisher Shera Sandwell hands out The Grapevine at Escondido Public Library.
We hope to have a robust music, arts and entertainment presence with on-the-ground coverage, great features and a calendar giving a clear, concise accounting of dates and places. Other coverage will include blogs and reviews.
Other features will include restaurants coverage, health and lifestyle, the metaphysical world, and a beefed up sports section. As we grow, we hope to add significant coverage for these areas and hope to have one or two people reporting on sports along with photographers.
Other plans include cartoons and comics, crossword puzzles, Q-and-A features, even treasure hunts and community-building media projects.
Our project is organic, ever-changing and finding new ways to connect people with information and news they truly can use. Come along for the ride.
