''The Quoddy Tides'' is a

community newspaper Community journalism is locally-oriented, professional news coverage that typically focuses on city neighborhoods, individual suburbs or small towns, rather than metropolitan, state, national or world news. If it covers wider topics, community ...

published in Eastport, Maine covering several communities in

Washington County, Maine Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, its population was 31,095, making it the third-least populous county in Maine. Its county seat is Machias. The county was established on June 25, 1789. ...

and

Charlotte County, New Brunswick Charlotte County (2021 population 26,015) is the most southwestern county of New Brunswick, Canada. It was formed in 1784 when New Brunswick was partitioned from Nova Scotia and named for Queen Charlotte. Once a layer of local government, t ...

. It styles itself the "most easterly published newspaper in the United States". It is published on the second and fourth Friday of each month. The first issue was published on November 29, 1968.

History

''The Quoddy Tides'' was founded by Winifred B. French, who moved to Eastport in 1955 with her husband, a physician, and their family. After the closure of local newspapers in Eastport and nearby Lubec in the 1950s and 1960s she saw a need for a community news outlet. After a year spent researching the newspaper business, she launched ''The Quoddy Tides'' with its first issue on November 29, 1968. The newspaper covered communities in "the region touched by the tides of

Passamaquoddy Bay Passamaquoddy Bay () is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, between the U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick, at the mouth of the St. Croix River. Most of the bay lies within Canada, with its western shore bounded by Was ...

" on both sides of the border between Canada and the United States. For several years the paper's

typesetting Typesetting is the composition of text for publication, display, or distribution by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or '' glyphs'' in digital systems representing '' characters'' (letters and other ...

and paste up were done on the Canadian island of Deer Island. The copy, advertisements and other newspaper contents, and the finished paste ups, were taken from Eastport to Deer Island and back by seasonal ferry in the summer or by fishing boat in the winter. The first edition of ''The Quoddy Tides'' appeared late. A note on the paper's front page explained that the editor (Winifred French) "had a car accident taking copy to the printer in Blue Hill and now has a broken nose and black and blue eyes". Since the first issue, the paper has never been late publishing. Winifred French was named Maine Journalist of the Year in 1979. In 2018 she was inducted into the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame. Winifred French died in 1995 and was succeeded as publisher and editor by her son Edward French.

Circulation

As of August 2017, circulation was about 5000. In 2019 ''The Quoddy Tides'' had subscribers in every American state except

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

Publication

The newspaper is owned by Edward French and his siblings. As of 2016 it had six full time staff as well as free lance correspondents in the communities covered, for a total of about 30 contributors. The area covered includes "Eastport, Pleasant Point, Perry, Pembroke, Robbinston, Charlotte, Dennysville, Whiting, Lubec, Campobello, Deer Island, Grand Manan and some coverage (and circulation) in Calais and Machias." The newspaper, which has a biweekly dateline, is printed each 2nd and 4th Friday each month and is available on newsstands throughout the

region. Print subscriptions are mailed nationwide and fully searchable digital archives are available. The paper is printed on the press of '' The Ellsworth American''.

References

External links

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Google Newspaper archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quoddy Tides, The Newspapers published in Maine 1968 establishments in Maine Newspapers established in 1968 Eastport, Maine Mass media in Washington County, Maine