New Local Website Launched by Salem Monthly

The new Website WillametteLive.com features local stories and it also carries stories from the Salem Monthly.

(SALEM, Ore.) - A brand new Website launched last week in Salem is the latest advancement for the Salem Monthly newspaper. WillametteLive.com is packed with information that will provide local people with plenty of information they can use.

The Salem Monthly was launched in April, 2004 by A.P. Walther and his staff. Since that initial publication, the paper has found its way into more and more hands and its popularity in Salem and many other communities in Western Oregon has grown to the point that they now distribute to 750 different locations every month.

Early predictions that Salem would embrace an alternative publication to the area's only newspaper, the Statesman Journal, have proven true. Cliff Boyer with the Salem Monthly says opens new options for this Salem media group. "I'm excited about the possibilities," Boyer said.

"Our readers have many more options to interact with Salem Monthly and the Web site, as well as other readers. We have interactive blogs and expanded opportunities for readers to comment and respond to our stories, interviews and profiles."

Shawn Estes has taken the reigns of WillametteLive.com. He says local news needs to come from local people. "The goal for WillametteLive.com is to provide news and entertainment coverage for the Willamette Valley. Our plans include covering from the epicenter of the Willamette Valley outward." Estes says the need has developed as more and more news outlets begin to funnel their news from outside perspectives.

"It's hard to tell whether you are getting the news from your town, or from someone across the country," he added.

Among other things, the Salem Monthly has shown that they will take on hard issues, gaining a reputation as a serious organization that area politicians hear from on a regular basis.

Estes says it goes well beyond news too. "Local events are a big focus of our online coverage, classified listings will help our readers buy/sell for no cost to them, restaurant, nightlife, and venue information will help promote local businesses and help local foodies to find a new place to eat."

The new Website WillametteLive.com features local stories and it also carries stories from the Salem Monthly. There is an event calendar that is very extensive and the site is loaded with the latest information about local music and art, as readers of the Salem Monthly have come to expect, Cliff Boyer said.

"We have new content everyday which supplements the stories we carry in the newspaper. It's a great opportunity for us to examine more local issues and tell more stories about what's happening in our area. It's easier now for our readers to submit information about upcoming events and we list events from a broader area around the Willamette Valley, including Portland and the coast."

He added, "The Web site is an important step for us as we expand and grow to better serve the mid-Willamette Valley as a source for news and entertainment information."

I have lived in the Pac NW for the past 8 years. I started a web hosting/network consulting company on the southern Oregon coast in 1999, which later sold to a local Salem business in 2005.

Shawn Estes has been in the Pacific Northwest for eight years. He says he met A.P. Walther, the publisher of Salem Monthly, about a year ago. "He and I crossed paths and found that we share similar feelings about harnessing the power of the Internet to help promote the good things about this area. From that vision, WillametteLive.com was born."

Estes is more than a journalist too, he designed part of the system the Website runs on.

"Technically, the website runs on a couple of different platforms. One of which is custom made by myself, the other is a customized version of an open source project called Scoop. Many sites run versions of this software, the most popular being the political website DailyKos. We feel that this base will allow us to focus on developing content and new features to accommodate our growing users."