The Free Press reached a new milestone this week, expanding their distribution into the Crowsnest Pass. Following several requests from local Elk Valley businesses for a broader circulation area, The Free Press will now be available at 38 locations throughout the Crowsnest Pass community, in Coleman, Frank, and Blairmore.
"The Free Press has had a busy two years," said Publisher Dave Hamilton. "We have taken a 115 year old newspaper from a paid circulation of just over 2,000 papers delivered per week to a total market coverage of over 7,000 papers per week in under 20 months. We have hired over 40 newspaper carriers, expanded our administrative, sales, and editorial departments by five positions, creating more than 45 jobs, many of which are their first jobs."
For the second time in the last three years, The Free Press’ commitment to community has earned them the title of Best Community Newspaper of the Year (General Excellence), awarded by the British Columbia and Yukon Community Newspaper Association. The weekly paper has donated over $380,000 in just the past 20 months to local fundraising organisations.
"Our goal is to assist our local merchants in reaching a Southern Alberta market without additional advertising costs, which we believe is extremely important during these non ideal economic times," commented Hamilton.
The Free Press now distributes over 7,000 weekly papers in the Elk Valley, South Country, and Crowsnest Pass communities, with almost 5,000 of those copies delivered door to door.