New owner seizes the TODAY
The Oregon Coast TODAY is under new ownership, as of July 1.
Patrick Alexander, who has headed up the TODAY as editor and publisher since 2012, has purchased the TODAY from EO Media Group.
“With its positive vibe and bad puns, the TODAY is a pleasure to run and — I hope — a pleasure to read,” Alexander said. “It has been wonderful to see the TODAY grow and thrive throughout these past eight years with EO Media Group and now I’m relishing the task of running the enterprise as an independent business.”
The TODAY is a free publication dedicated to arts, entertainment, live music, dining and the outdoors, throughout Tillamook and Lincoln Counties. The printed newspaper is distributed across both counties each week and reaches an additional 87,000 fans on Facebook.
“The TODAY was founded in 2005 by locals, and I’m excited to bring the paper back home and once again under local ownership,” said Alexander, who lives in Lincoln City with his wife, Krista Eddy, and assistant editor Quinn, 7. “Even before the pandemic, this country has been plagued by newspaper and radio station closures, and there are thousands of communities without their own local news sources. Oregon’s Central Coast, however, is blessed with a comparatively rich assortment of print, broadcast and online news sources, and the TODAY is proud to be a vital part of that ecosystem.”
Alexander hails from Scotland and moved to Lincoln City in 2007 to accept the position of reporter with The News Guard in Lincoln City. He joined the Oregon Coast TODAY upon its purchase by EO Media Group in 2012. Eddy juggles various commitments as visual arts director for the Lincoln City Cultural Center, founder of the Art Smart kids’ art program, and a freelance illustrator.
With a coverage area running from Yachats in the south to Manzanita in the north, the Oregon Coast TODAY is dedicated to showcasing the very best of the Oregon Coast.
“It almost goes without saying that Oregon Coast TODAY has become the one indispensable source of arts and entertainment news on the Central Oregon Coast,” said Chandler Davis, leader of the Newport Community Drum Circle. “As a reader and as a former professional newspaper and magazine writer, I have very much appreciated the consistently good writing that Oregon Coast TODAY has presented in its columns, profiles, and narrative feature journalism; and even in its useful dining, entertainment, and outdoor adventure reviews. And I haven’t even mentioned the puns!”
"Oregon Coast Today is on top of what's happening,” said Nan Devlin, executive director of Visit Tillamook Coast. “Not only do they tell the stories we want shared, they are the best reference guide to current events on the Oregon Coast."
Transitioning through the change in ownership with Alexander are Larayne Higgins, who will continue to handle advertising sales for the TODAY, and Gretchen Ammerman, who will assume the role of editor.
Ammerman has been writing for the TODAY since 2012 and is often to be seen engaging in endorphin-releasing feats of athleticism, accompanied by her trail dog, Scout. Higgins, who joined the TODAY in 2015, lists moving to the Oregon Coast as one of her best life decisions. No matter how hard she works, every morning she still feels like she's on vacation.
Re-joining the team as investors are Niki and Dave Price of Lincoln City, who founded the TODAY in 2005. They have stayed in the community since selling the TODAY in 2012. Dave serves as head of the Small Business Development Center at Oregon Coast Community College while Niki is the executive director of the Lincoln City Cultural Center.
“When Patrick shared the news that he was buying the newspaper and might be seeking other investors, we jumped at the chance,” Dave said. “And, we were joined by the two other investors who helped fund the launch in 2005, Drew Elder and Ethan Lovell. The three of us have been close friends since we met as freshmen in college in 1987.”
Elder and Lovell live in Colorado. Both have had careers in corporate finance, but both have also closely followed the Central Coast’s market – Drew was even a guest lecturer at Oregon Coast Community College’s Central Coast Marketing Academy in 2019.
“Niki and I will not be involved in day-to-day operations,” Dave said. “Patrick’s office isn’t big enough, and we are both busy with our own careers. Though the pandemic has hammered local businesses, we’ve been awed by the resilience of those entrepreneurs. Our investment in the TODAY is simply a reflection of the fact that we’re bullish on the future of the Central Coast’s economy and we are true believers that Patrick is ideally suited to take the publication to the next level.”
“It’s mostly about the puns,” Niki said. “Dave and I are thrilled that we might get a chance to contribute cheesy headlines and pitch our April Fool’s Day stories again. We’re looking forward to it.”