Time flies when you’re having pun
Oregon Coast TODAY marks its 20th birthday
Niki Price’s glittering prose made the TODAY soar
By Patrick Alexander
Oregon Coast TODAY
Memorial Day Weekend is a time of commemoration on the Oregon Coast, marked most visibly by Depoe Bay’s Fleet of Flowers, now in its 80th year.
But here at TODAY Towers, there is also cause for more lighthearted celebration as we mark 20 years of Oregon Coast TODAY.
The first edition of the TODAY hit the streets on May 23, 2005, as the coast geared up for Memorial Day Weekend. Founders Dave and Niki Price, both veterans of local news at the coast and beyond, launched the publication as a way to highlight the area’s wealth of arts, culture and outdoor activities. From that day to this, the TODAY has aimed to be the go-to source for fun things to do on the Central Oregon Coast, for locals and visitors alike.
It wasn’t long before the paper became a beloved fixture in coffee shops, bookstores and breakfast nooks from Yachats to Manzanita — each edition filled with snappy stories, a vibrant calendar and pun-packed headlines.
The annual April Fools stories were also a big hit, ranging from Gandalf the Gray Whale taking up residence in the D River; to the state parks department filling in Depoe Bay’s spouting horn; to the draining of Devils Lake (so popular that it made a repeat appearance this year).
After just a few years in business, the TODAY saw its first major challenge when the Great Recession began to bite in 2007. But the Prices showed their business savvy by guiding the paper safely through the two-year slump. It is, however, fortunate that Dave’s hair had already turned white before the recession began.
Dave and Margery Price in Depoe Bay
By 2012, the TODAY was thriving sufficiently to attract the interest of EO Media Group, which bought the paper in November of that year, allowing Dave and Niki to embark on new careers with Oregon Coast Community College and the Lincoln City Cultural Center respectively.
This is where I became part of the TODAY story, coming on board first as editor and later assuming the role of publisher. Having worked in local news at the coast for the prior six years, the move to the TODAY offered a refreshing chance to focus on the fun side of life.
Despite being headquartered in Salem and focusing on hard news, EO Media Group were excellent stewards of our whimsical publication. While the sale meant that everything behind the scenes changed completely, the TODAY marched on as before, with a lighthearted touch, a focus on fun and puns aplenty.
And so, life went on for about seven years until one morning in 2020 when we received an email letting us know that a performer from Seattle had canceled her upcoming trip to the Oregon Coast out of concern about a novel coronavirus.
Little did we know this was just the start. Over the next week, I received notifications canceling almost every single event that we had slated for publication in the upcoming edition.
By Friday, the governor had issued an order shutting down bars and restaurants throughout the state.
Throughout the following few months, we, like so many businesses, had no choice but to get creative; figuring out how to keep an events and entertainment newspaper going during a period when there were no events — and in a world that was getting less entertaining by the day.
While every edition was a challenge in its own right, the bigger picture was ensuring the TODAY would survive long-term — and that meant buying it.
By July 1, 2020, the deal was done and Oregon Coast TODAY returned to coastal ownership, with longtime contributor Gretchen Ammerman coming on board as editor, bringing talent, versatility and a can-do attitude.
Thanks to the unflinching support of longtime advertisers like Chinook Winds Casino Resort and Kenny’s IGA, as well as an outpouring of love from our Team TODAY members (see facing page), we made it through COVID and emerged stronger than ever.
Now as we enter our third decade, the mission remains clear: to serve the coast with curiosity, creativity and as many terrible puns as we can muster.