The Kirkland Reporter started off originally as the Kirkland Review 36 years ago. Since its inception in 1973, the newspaper has gone through many changes over the years. In the 1980’s, the paper changed from being the Kirkland Review to the Kirkland Courier. From there, the Courier was changed in recent years (as of May 2007) after the newspaper underwent new ownership.

Today, the Sound Publishing Group in association with Black Press owns the Kirkland Reporter. The staff itself within the paper is a close-knit family, who take on multiple roles in order for the paper to be a successful paper. Notably, Mike Walter (Publisher) Carrie Wood (Editor) and Matt Phelps (Staff Writer) all do their part and then some, to provide the community of Kirkland, up to date news on a weekly basis.

From ownership changes to name changes, the Kirkland Reporter has certainly come a long way. But one thing that has stayed the same is the consistency that the paper holds in bringing rich and insightful content to the community of Kirkland.

The Kirkland Reporter is a, "hyper local" publication covering stories from the current city council election to the 4th of July Picnic to the latest gossip about the Bachelor. More adds result in more room for content. The newspaper relies a great deal on emails and phone calls from the thirteen neighborhoods it caters to for interesting stories and leads they want to read about. The Kirkland Reporter is excited about the recent launch of the community blog feature on their website, “It is a huge area for growth” said Walter, the Publisher at the paper. So far they have two faithful bloggers and are excited for upcoming participation. Members in the Kirkland community have an opportunity once a month to submit a story that they have written concerning a local event or issue.

Local Sports Stories: Not only do the “kids like getting their pictures taken,” the Kirkland Reporter gives that extra spotlight to cover the local high school teams.

Swimmers from both Juanita and Lake Washington practice at Juanita pool every week but only face each other once during the season.

Carrie Wood,
Kirkland Reporter

Community Stories: Unlike the more regional papers, the Kirkland Reporter gives the community more by informing them on what’s going on in their neighborhood.

Nearly 200 people, including elected officials, attended the groundbreaking for the new Allied Health Building and co-located WaNic Skills Center at Lake Washington Technical College Monday.

Matt Phelps,
Kirkland Reporter

Life without the Community Paper
With the main goal of reporting news, the Kirkland Reporter has provided a constant gateway for the members of the Kirkland to stay plugged-in with local events and spotlighting notable individuals within the community. In addition to that fact, the Reporter also provides an opportunity for businesses within the community to advertise to people in Kirkland. This mentality of keeping Kirkland interconnected is something that would be surely missed if the paper were to disappear.

The Kirkland Reporter is what is called a hyper-local paper. Meaning it breaks news down to the local level. When asked what Kirkland would be missing without the Reporter, Carrie Wood (editor) broke it down for us:

- Regional Coverage would suffer since alternative papers such as the Seattle Times or the PI cover a more broad range in terms of regions. Their coverage would not be as in-depth or be as numerous for the City of Kirkland versus the Kirkland Reporter’s coverage.

- The Kirkland Reporter also provides stories for those papers mentioned above in regards to what’s happening in Kirkland.

- Lastly, Carrie stated the importance of having nation & statewide news being translated with a local perspective.

Looking at this list, it is easy to imagine what kind of impact The Kirkland Reporter would have if it disappeared. Being a member of the city of Kirkland, I recognize that we do indeed have a special community, but there certainly would be a disconnect with the inhabitants of the city and the city itself if the Kirkland Reporter was not around.

Here is a collection our thoughts of our experience at the Kirkland Reporter.

Ashley - I learned a lot from our trip to the Kirkland Reporter. I recieved a better understanding about the interworkings of a community based paper.

Sanja - I really enjoyed visiting the Kirkland Reporter because the staff is really easy going and welcoming.

Jay - Its nice to see the inner workings of a local newspaper. The staff is friendly and very knowledgable. Overall the trip provided great insight to the road of journalism.

Ly - I can sum up my Kirkland Reporter experience with a quote: “Nothing is too small to know, and nothing is too big to attempt.” – William Van Horne