Job shadow of The Royal Register editor yields story

ROYAL CITY - When looking for the inside story of newspaper journalism, one needs to go only so far as to sit down with The Royal Register's editor, Ted Escobar.

As a student at Yakima Valley Community College in 1971, Escobar was recruited by the Tri-City Herald to staff a new bureau in the Yakima Valley. The TCH was expanding its operation and sought to develop a young Hispanic reporter.

"I left college and went to work," Escobar said.

Years later, when a 2006 buy-out changed the administration of the Toppenish based paper for which he worked, Escobar left to find greener pastures. He spoke with the Columbia Basin Herald about starting a Spanish paper in this area, but a different opportunity presented itself.

The CBH wanted to develop The Royal Register to serve south Grant County. Its administration, sales people and paginator would be based at the CBH in Moses Lake.

Escobar is a one-man operation who gathers local news stories in the Royal Slope and Mattawa areas and news that affects the entire county. It's time-consuming work, because the news never stops, but Escobar enjoys it.

"You often find the stories that remind you why you're in this field," he said.

When sitting in on an Escobar interview, one can observe his time-tested information finding techniques. While interviewing Chief Brian Evans of Grant County Fire District Nos. 10-11, Escobar carried out his visit like a normal conversation. He has an ability to be a journalist and a community member at the same time.

"Brian knows me, and I know him," Escobar said. "He knows that I can get his message across without embarrassing him or the department."

Escobar sees big change coming for big papers like the Seattle Times as electronic information technology advances. He doesn't foresee many changes to the local newspaper industry, and that's fine with him.

"It's about the satisfaction of providing a service for your neighbor," he said. "It's not about the big story."

As long as noteworthy stories continue to surface on the Royal and Wahluke Slopes, news junkies can be certain that Escobar will be there to cover them.