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Five years later, persistence is still paying off
On Sept. 3, 2021, Gig Harbor Now founding editor Ed Friedrich hit the “publish” button on the first article we ever published. The headline: “Persistence pays in launch of new Gig Harbor news organization.”
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Since then, we’ve hit that publish button 3,425 more times. That’s an average of nearly two stories per day.
In those five years, readers have clicked into our stories more than 9.4 million times, according to Google Analytics. That number made my jaw drop when I saw it.
We’ve managed all that thanks to the hard work and dedication of our volunteer board of directors, our freelance journalists, and the generosity of the Gig Harbor community.
Gig Harbor Now board members and staff celebrate the launch of the news organization. In the front, from left, are Charlee Glock-Jackson, Pat Lantz, Linda Filson and Pat Schmidt. Across the back are Ed Friedrich, Brady Friedrich, Jenny Wellman and Olga Torres-Inglebritson. Brady Friedrich / Gig Harbor Now
Origin story
It occurs to me that we haven’t told our origin story in quite a while. I wrote about it on our first anniversary, back in 2022. But judging by our readership statistics, many of you weren’t with us back then. So here’s the Reader’s Digest version:
GHN’s history actually reaches back eight years, to May 2018. That’s when Gannett printed the final edition of the weekly newspaper Gig Harbor Life.
Gig Harbor Life editor Ric Hallock and reporter Charlee Glock-Jackson wanted to create something to replace it. While Hallock eventually had to take a paying gig elsewhere, Charlee stuck with it. Even though, in her words, at times it seemed like “a big fantasy, sort of.”
Our most popular stories
The most popular stories Gig Harbor Now has published in its five years, as measured by online page views.
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- Peninsula School District suspends all three Gig Harbor High girls basketball coaches for rest of season, January 2025: 125,174 page views
- Anthony’s Restaurants group buying Gig Harbor’s landmark Tides Tavern, January 2026: 50,549
- Conservative, progressive values collide in state superintendent race, October 2024: 49,550
- Peninsula School District reeling from loss of beloved para-educator in KP shooting, January 2026: 46,458
- Heritage closing tasting rooms in Washington and Oregon, including here, October 2025: 39,354
- Day Tripper: A visit to Poulsbo, Washington’s Little Norway, December 2024: 35,706
- Westbound Tacoma Narrows Bridge needs more than just a facelift, June 2026: 35,289
- State suspends treatment provider’s license, November 2025: 34,519
- Harbor Happenings | Big crowd expected for protest on Point Fosdick Drive, June 2025: 31,866
- Summer Sounds at Skansie 2026 schedule set, February 2026: 30,190
Someone suggested she contact Pat Lantz. “And once Pat got the idea of making it happen, it happened,” Charlee said.
Pat and another former legislator, Larry Seaquist, both got involved with the early efforts. They reached out to Ed, who covered them during his days as a reporter and editor at the Kitsap Sun in Bremerton.
Retired and with four decades of local newspaper experience, Ed agreed to join the effort. He said he “never considered not doing it.”
“The community really does need to know what’s going on in their world, in their immediate space, to be able to make decisions that affect them,” Ed said. “And they didn’t have that information available to them” before Gig Harbor Now.
Nonprofit
One of the key early decisions was going with a nonprofit business model. The nascent Gig Harbor Now board of directors made the decision against the backdrop of a for-profit newspaper industry in free fall.
The old model — a print newspaper, supported by advertising and subscription fees, with corporate owners or shareholders — was failing. Why not try something different?
Members of the Gig Harbor Now Board of Directors. From left, Stace Gordon, Jenny Wellman, Heidi Giles, Rick Meeder, Lynda Filson, Dave Martens, Kathy Cummings, Sandy Jeter and Tyler Calvi.
It’s worked, because we are in a community that values local news and has the resources to support it.
We’ve also been honored to have the support of a number of foundations and philanthropic organizations, like the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation and the Google News Initiative. Many local businesses have supported us, through advertising, sponsorship or both. (See our biggest supporters here.)
We’ve managed to achieve financial stability that way. Donors are the biggest part of it, and I’m encouraged that we’re seeing a jump in small contributors. That reflects the growth of our readership and our importance to the wider community.
Ed Friedrich, the founding editor of Gig Harbor Now, interviews former state Parks Commissioner Pat Lantz during the grand opening for Kopachuck State Park in August 2025. Lantz was also Gig Harbor Now’s founding board president. Photo by Vince Dice
“The $5-a-month contributions make a difference. They make a huge difference,” said Candace Savage, our past board president. “That idea of (donating the equivalent of) a cup of coffee. If we get enough people giving us $5 a month, we can pay for more reporters. We can do it. That’s all it takes.”
Here’s to five more
So, yes, I’m going to end this column with a fundraising plea. Sorry (not sorry).
We have two huge things happening between now and the end of 2026.
Up first is our fall fundraiser, set for 5 p.m. Sept. 23 in the lodge at Kopachuck State Park. We will have entertainment by comedian Jerry Seinfeld Miner, a delicious meal by Snuffin Catering, live and silent auctions and more.
This is a crucially important event for us every year. If you want to laugh, have the opportunity to buy some great stuff and support Gig Harbor Now, buy a ticket here.
The author — Gig Harbor Now editor Vince Dice — looks for photos during the 2026 Maritime Gig Grande Parade.
And by November, we’ll be deep into our NewsMatch campaign. As a reminder, that’s where dollars we raise locally are matched by a coalition of national funders. It’s the financial cornerstone of Gig Harbor Now.
The money we raise goes directly to funding the journalism we do every day. It pays for the stories that our audience has clicked on 9.4 million times in five years.
Just in the past couple months, we’ve told you about a settlement that allows for the development of a smaller housing project in Purdy. We’ve explained why Gig Harbor High School is looking for a new athletic director, for the second time this summer. We’ve covered new businesses and ancient history.
As we mark five years, we look forward to continuing to cover our community for the next five. Can you help?
Vince Dice joined Gig Harbor Now in March 2022, when the publication was six months old.