By John S. Wolfe
A year ago at this time, the small but growing community of Queen Creek, Ariz. received its news in the form of a monthly publication, which had recently changed hands.
Seeing an opportunity to serve the area in the far southeast valley of metropolitan Phoenix, Independent Newspapers launched the Queen Creek Independent on Oct. 6, 2004.
Distributed to 12,000 homes in the town of Queen Creek and adjacent Pinal County communities of Johnson Ranch and San Tan Heights, the Independent has made a difference.
"It's hard to believe it's been a year," Queen Creek Mayor Wendy Feldman-Kerr. "What struck me is that it's good to have competition, to have another viewpoint."
The paper has quickly become a favorite with advertisers, averaging between 18 and 20 pages a week.
Submissions from the community, particularly town news and calendar items, have been plentiful.
The Public Issue blog for Queen Creek has also been well-received, with a continuous back-and-forth on issues like incorporation in the San Tan area and the pressures of development.
The whole area has been undergoing change, with farms and fields replaced by housing subdivisions. The population has increased from 6,000 or so to an estimated 20,000 in five years. There are predictions that the number will increase to 100,000 in the next decade, despite the area's considerable distance from downtown Phoenix.
The newspaper has been a key piece in Independent's East Valley strategy.
The Queen Creek product is a bridge between the company's Chandler and Gilbert newspapers and the East Mesa and Apache Junction newspapers.
The combined distribution of 113,000 is unmatched in the area.
