Dear readers,

The Reporter has proudly covered the communities of Covington, Maple Valley and Black Diamond since 2005. We appreciate the opportunity to chronicle life in these communities while reporting on issues that matter to local readers.

Today’s media landscape has required us to take a closer look at how we can sustain coverage in this fast-growing section of King County. The reality is that our newspaper is more than just a service – it is also a business. Our ability to cover a community depends on maintaining a stable source of advertising revenue. A publication like The Reporter relies heavily on support from the local business community in order to operate.

Starting Sept. 6, we will begin publishing this newspaper as the Kent-Covington Reporter and will focus on the communities that support us. Readers will continue to find local news and views from these cities in a larger newspaper each week. The decision allows us to produce quality local journalism in Kent and Covington while making our newspaper more financially stable. As such, we will no longer include regular coverage of Maple Valley except for the most compelling news stories.

Covington news will be available online 24/7 at covingtonreporter.com. Coverage from the Black Diamond area will be shifted to The Courier-Herald, our sister newspaper based in Enumclaw.

Mark Klaas, longtime editor of the Kent Reporter and a veteran journalist, will oversee the new Kent-Covington Reporter. Danielle Chastaine, the current Covington-Maple Valley Reporter editor, will focus on covering news and events in Covington each week. Delivery will continue to households within the Covington zip code of 98042.

This is a tough decision, but ultimately one that allows us to maintain a presence in Covington and do our part to keep the public informed about local matters. Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Polly Shepherd, publisher

Andy Hobbs, editorial director