Your longtime community newspaper is moving forward in a new era with a fresh leader at the helm.
Seasoned media guru Jeff Mitchell, 60, has taken on the role of publisher for the Hollister Free Lance and the three area MainStreet Media newpapers under the South Valley Newspapers umbrella, which includes the Gilroy Dispatch and the Morgan Hill Times.
“I see community newspapers as being leaders in the community,” Mitchell said. “And I’m looking forward to getting involved here.”
Most recently, Mitchell was publisher of the Santa Cruz Good Times, an alternative weekly also under the umbrella of MainStreet Media. Mitchell is taking over for Dana Arvig, previously the interim publisher and advertising director for South Valley Newspapers. Arvig has accepted a new position in her hometown of Salinas.
Believing that people look to their hometown papers for guidance and information, Mitchell is committed to ensuring South Valley Newspapers reflect the voice and spirit of the community in print and in digital formats.
And despite a trying time for newspapers, Mitchell is certain the Hollister Free Lance – one of the oldest continuous businesses in town – will endure by being the foremost provider of quality news content in the region.
“As we move forward, yes we’ve had to make cuts, but we are starting to see a little bit of a resurgence,” he said.
MainStreet Media has experimented with ways to most efficiently get newspapers into the hands of subscribers, most recently with a switch to U.S. Postal Service Delivery – and then a switch back after readers voiced their preference to have their paper delivered via a carrier.
“We learned from that lesson. We found the mail to be unreliable and slow,” Mitchell said. “Now it may take a few weeks to get the kinks worked out, but soon service will be much better – and faster.”
Originally from Fresno, Mitchell studied communications and graphic design at Fresno State University before entering a four-decade career in media and sales.
After serving in the advertising departments at several Central Coast newspapers, Mitchell founded his own advertising agency, where he worked for 18 years. After his agency closed when three major clients dissolved, Mitchell found his way back to the newspaper industry in San Diego and Santa Cruz in various executive roles.
Aside from reading newspapers, Mitchell is an outdoors enthusiast who loves to bike, ski and paddleboard. He is married with two grown children, two grandsons and two mini dachshunds who compete in wiener dog races.
