Donna and Ken Melchor founded the Clovis Roundup community newspaper in 2010 with a mission to serve the community and showcase the Clovis Way of Life through a dedicated news source.
Fast forward to 2018 and you’ll find that the Clovis Roundup is bigger and better than ever. As a proud member of California News Publishers Association (CNPA), we continue to deliver quality content for both our print and digital platforms.
But, as we continue to grow, we are constantly looking at ways to improve. In one of our latest efforts to expand our reach, we have placed more of an emphasis on our online presence and social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). In an age where social media has a major influence, we take full advantage of that opportunity as another outlet to distribute our stories to the community. For the latest news and updates, be sure to visit our website or follow us on social media, @ClovisRoundup.
Entering 2018, we also look forward to bringing back our “B section” – an 8-page insert dedicated to school news and sports here in Clovis. We discontinued this section in 2017 as we hit a tough time with the passing of our founder, Ken Melchor, who also served as Vice President of Sales. As we get set to relaunch this section, keep in mind that we are the only newspaper that covers prep sports in Clovis. The popularity of this section between student-athletes, parents and school staff is evident: in 2016, within just six months of introducing our sports and school news section, our readership increased by 30,000 per issue. We do this because we understand the importance of showcasing our students and athletes, and promoting their accomplishments.
Staying connected
In a time when daily newspapers are becoming extinct (only 1,408 dailies remain nationwide), community papers like us are thriving (7,000 community papers nationwide). What makes community newspapers like Clovis Roundup stand out? It’s our service to the community as YOUR news source. We report on news going on in your neighborhood, your city council meetings, your school campuses – news you don’t get much of from a major daily paper.
Open up a copy of a daily newspaper and you’ll find that most of its content is national and world news. Even though they are more established and larger than us, keep in mind that it’s not the size of the paper that determines its bite – it’s the community-based content that engages readers from cover to cover.
Proud to serve you
As an award-winning newspaper, we have a dedicated staff that loves what they do.
It all starts up top with with our owner and publisher, Donna Melchor. Her love and passion for the City of Clovis and its people is the inspiration behind our publication. For her dedication to the community, Donna has been honored as the 2012 Business Woman of the Year by the Clovis Chamber of Commerce and as the recipient of the 2014 Spirit of Clovis Award, presented by the Clovis Hall of Fame.
Up next is Billy Xiong, our Operations Manager who has been with us since the beginning. When he first came on board, he was only contracted to design ads for a handful of clients. Today, he manages all operations from ad design to web content to the production of our new “Clovis Matters” video series. We would not be where we are today if it wasn’t for him as his talents play a crucial role to our success.
Earlier I mentioned our sports section, which is championed by Paul Meadors. In addition to serving as an elementary school teacher and athletic director, he is the Sports Editor of the Clovis Roundup. As the head of our sports department, Paul is heavily involved in all things Clovis Unified sports. He has covered countless student-athletes and written about hundreds of defining moments. In 2016, Paul won a Gruner Award for his sports coverage while going up against some of the top newspapers in the Central Valley, including The Fresno Bee. That same year, we also won a Gruner Award for photojournalism.
On our team, we also have Letty Madrigal and Caitie Reeg, both of whom play important roles here in the office.
As a recent Fresno State graduate with a degree in public relations, Letty joined our team in January 2017 as an intern. Today, she handles our social media while serving as our Community Relations Coordinator, where she is in charge of finding new and creative ways to expand our reach and connect with our readers.
Caitie, our Community Relations Specialist and daughter of Donna, handles all of the administrative duties here at the Roundup while maintaining our community relationships. She is looking forward to re-launching Get Fit Clovis, our health and fitness community outreach program, here in 2018. Along with providing fitness-related news and tips for our publication, Get Fit Clovis facilitates meet ups and serves as a support group for those in Clovis and the surrounding communities who desire a healthier lifestyle. Stay tuned for the official launch.
Give us a chance
Go and see for yourself what makes us YOUR community newspaper. Just like when Ken and Donna took a chance on Clovis, we ask that you do the same for us. Subscribe for just $25.95 annually or pick up a free copy of the Clovis Roundup from one of our 70+ distribution locations and dive into quality content and extensive coverage of YOUR community.
Since our paper is supported 100 percent by our community and local business owners through advertising, we are always looking for partners in our community that see the value of our coverage. For community partnership or advertising information, give us a call at (559) 326-2040 or email us at ads@clovisroundup.com.