Cutler

Starting in July, EO Media Group is launching Go! Magazine, a weekly arts and entertainment publication designed to do exactly what it says — get readers to “go” out and experience all of what Eastern Oregon has to offer. For readers in Union, Baker, Umatilla and Morrow counties, Go! will be in your Thursday newspaper. For readers in Wallowa and Grant counties, you will receive the magazine every Wednesday.

Go! is designed to be a solid platform to connect our readers in more diverse — and I hope, interesting — ways. The magazine gives you plenty of options to know what is going on where and in what town, with a calendar of event dates and times for a host of weekly entertainment venues throughout the region. The accompanying website, goeasternoregon.com, will offer a mobile-friendly digital version of the magazine and calendar to take with you as you explore Eastern Oregon again. After more than a year of staying home, we are all ready to take to the roads and start celebrating at festivals, rodeos, concerts and events throughout the region.

After trying to find ways to work more efficiently and working on joint projects such as Northeast Oregon Artisans and AgriBusiness, the six papers that make up EO Media Group’s eastside publications are launching Go! Magazine as another shared venture for our readers.

La Grande and Baker City readers are more than familiar with the product, since it has been a staple of those papers for more than a decade.

Our six papers — The Observer, Baker City Herald, East Oregonian, Wallowa County Chieftain, Blue Mountain Eagle, and Hermiston Herald — are combining resources to expand the reach of the magazine.

Ultimately, what we do — all we do — is centered on our readers. We are a news product, sure, but all six newspapers also provide a vehicle for readers to know what is going on in the towns that dot our great region of Oregon.

That kind of reach is something we take some pride in. Eastern Oregon is a big chunk of real estate. But we have managed to provide a comprehensive news package at our newspapers on a consistent basis for a long time. While we are proud of that, we are most proud of the fact that we can furnish our readers with complete coverage in a remote part of our great state.

Finding a way to work more efficiently by designing and then executing joint programs between our newspapers is a way to “work smarter” and the payoff — which is what really matters — is that our readers will gain a wealth of new information.

Our six papers provide unprecedented reach across our region and the addition of Go! will ensure that our readers continue to receive the benefit of our combined newspaper team strength.

I am especially pleased that we will be able to give you, the reader, more resources to make decisions and to go and see places and events that are part of our common heritage.

While it is great that we are expanding the product to new areas of the region, none of it would mean anything if we didn’t have someone to be a “champion” for the product, someone to see it through from beginning to end week after week. For us, that someone is Lisa Britton, who is based at the Baker City Herald and can be reached by phone (541-406-5274) or by email (lbritton@bakercityherald.com). If you have an event that you’d like to let readers know about, she is the person to contact. We need information at least a week in advance of publication, so the sooner you can submit an event, the better. We welcome news about concerts, art shows, festivals, community events, museum exhibits and more.