An agreement has been reached for the sale of the Whidbey Examiner newspaper and its related web site by Kasia Pierzga, to SoundPublishing, Inc. The sale is effective today. Pierzga will continue to serve as the Examiner’s publisher/editor.

“I’m very glad that Kasia will continue to lead the Examiner,” said Gloria Fletcher, President of Sound Publishing. “The Examiner is a quality publication serving readers and business in the Island community very well.”

The Whidbey Examiner was first published in 1995 and has been owned by Pierzga since 2006. The Examiner focuses on news, events and people in the central Whidbey Island area including government and other issues of interest countywide.

Pierzga will work directly with Lori Maxim, Sound Publishing’s Vice President of West Sound Operations. “I’m excited to have Kasia and her team join the Sound Publishing family. Their award-winning newspaper and quality journalism are great examples of their commitment to Whidbey Island,” Maxim said.

The Examiner has won many awards for journalism and advertising, and twice received the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association’s prestigious General Excellence Award – first place in 1998, and second place in 2011.

“I’ve had a lifelong passion for newspapers, and I feel very strongly about the critical role  they play in their home communities,” Pierzga said. “The newspaper industry today is facing many challenges, but those challenges also can be seen as opportunities to grow and change. I’m pleased to have the opportunity to join an organization that’s helping to ensure the continued success of community newspapers.”

Sound Publishing is the largest community newspaper group in the Pacific Northwest, owning and operating 52 publications with a combined circulation over 730,000. Sound also publishes The Whidbey News-Times, The South Whidbey Record, Whidbey Crosswind and Homes & Land on the island.

For additional information, please contact Gloria Fletcher 425-503-7453 or gfletcher@soundpublishing.com.