Taylor Family Acquires Centralia (WA) ChronicleBack to News

In January 2021, it was announced the Taylor family had bought the Centralia (WA) Chronicle, the Nisqually Valley News in Yelm and The Reflector in Battle Ground from Lafromboise Communications. The Lafromboise family had owned the Centralia newspaper for 52 years.

The transaction means the newspapers will remain a family-owned operation, which owner Jenifer Lafromboise Falcon said was one of the many things that made her comfortable trusting her family’s legacy with the Taylors. She said the Taylors have a “bright vision” for the future of the company.

The Taylors plan to leverage their experience and success in growing their other company, The Silver Agency, to improve the newspapers’ bottom line and bring new options for advertisers. The agency, which they founded in 1998, originally specialized in traditional marketing and advertising. It has evolved and adapted in the digital world, now also offering business development, coaching, training, and process implementation.

Chad Taylor, who has been a Chehalis city councilor since 2002, regularly presents on marketing advisory panels for large corporations. Chad and Coralee also advise in the beta testing programs for Google, Facebook, and Instagram in online digital ad placement. They are certified partners for Google/GMB, Bing, Facebook and Instagram.

We took some time to sit down with Chad and Coralee Taylor to learn more about their plans for the newspapers.

What is it about the newspaper business that made you want to buy these newspapers?
Our appreciation of hyperlocal reporting and the thought it could go away. The Chronicle, Nisqually Valley News, and The Reflector are the primary sources of local news for the areas they serve and our desire to see them remain local and viable helped drive our decision to purchase the newspapers.

Without a strong local newspaper, communities risk being defined and served from the outside in.The thought of not having a local family-owned newspaper was troubling to us.
Without local ownership of the papers, the independent nature of Lewis County, Clark, and South Thurston could slowly blend into Olympia or Seattle to the north of Longview, Kelso, and Portland to the south.

Chad, you have been a city councilor for a number of years. Will you continue to serve in that role now that you own the newspaper covering the news of the city?
No, I will be resigning as a Chehalis City Council member. I think it would be inappropriate to be an elected official and own the official paper assigned to cover it. It would also put reporters in awkward positions in interviews on issues.

How active will the two of you be in the newspaper business? Are any of your other family members also going to work at the newspapers?
We will be there seven days a week. We believe in working side by side with the team. Our son Franklin and his soon-to-be wife will join us each day with tasks.

You also own an advertising agency. Will you continue to own that business?
Yes, we own The Silver Agency in Chehalis, WA and yes, we will continue to operate that company. The businesses will stay separate, but will actively work together to help advertisers utilize the paper’s services in a way that has never been possible before. The ability to offer businesses packages with agency services behind the scenes gives our sales team the kind of tools they’ve been needing to rebuild our industry.

Do you have any changes planned for the newspapers?
We will be adding new revenue streams to the advertising departments that will add significant value by helping businesses grow and spend their valuable advertising dollars more effectively.