Camden Spiller shares his vision for the purchase of The Reflector Newspaper

Camden Spiller
The Reflector Newspaper

Seventeen years ago, after 100 years of local ownership, The Reflector Newspaper was sold in 2010 to a publishing group that owned newspapers from California to Washington. Most recently, it was owned by the Taylor family of CT Publishing of Centralia, Washington, alongside Centralia’s The Chronicle and the Nisqually Valley News, since 2020.

Thanks to Chad and Coralee Taylor, The Reflector has thrived while many local papers have ceased to exist or were bought out by media conglomerates far removed from the communities they serve.

As the Taylor family sought to focus their efforts on other holdings, they felt something was missing at The Reflector: Local ownership. And so they began a process to find a new, local owner for The Reflector who would continue their legacy of stewarding this storied institution, but with a deeply rooted personal presence in north Clark County.

My vision for Battle Ground has always been to make it an even better place to live, work and raise a family. As I mentioned in an article in The Reflector earlier this year, my family believes deeply in local ownership. With my wife’s family going back five generations in Clark County, our commitment to Battle Ground is also very personal. This is where we are choosing to raise our children, and where we hope our children and grandchildren can build their lives.

When I heard that the Taylor family was interested in selling The Reflector, I welcomed the conversation because we believe our community deserves local institutions owned by local people. Our community has many things worth preserving; our local newspaper is one of those things.

And so, 17 years after it left, we’re bringing The Reflector back home.

What will stay the same – and what do we hope to strengthen?

There is so much good about The Reflector that we don’t intend to change. However, with any 117-year-old institution, there is a need for investment. We plan to take the next six months to assess how we can ensure that The Reflector can serve the north Clark County community for generations to come.

My intent is for The Reflector to celebrate what is good without pretending everything is perfect. It should raise questions without tearing people down and give residents reliable information instead of leaving them with the kind of rumor-filled stories we see passed around social media. In many ways, we want to see The Reflector become more connected to life in north Clark County.

We also intend to invest more in the people who run The Reflector. After the transition period, we intend to replace Centralia-based management and support functions with local management and staff. Current local staff will be given an opportunity to apply for positions under the new ownership, and we’re particularly grateful that the current Editor-in-Chief, Centralia-based Eric Schwartz with CT Publishing, will remain at the helm for a transitional period.

Potential conflicts of interest

As you may know, my brother and I founded Maddox Industrial Transformer, and then, enjoying success there, we went on to real estate development, and to help found Al & Ernie’s Bakery Cafe, the Battle Ground Farmers Market, and other projects around the community.

The Reflector will inevitably continue to include coverage relating to our family and our businesses and our various projects in the community. But I want to be clear that when that happens, it won’t be puff pieces or pulled punches. The coverage will disclose any potential conflicts and will not give us special treatment. North Clark County does not need a newspaper that belongs to our family. It needs a newspaper that belongs to north Clark County.

Our plan going forward

Building on the legacy started in 1909, we intend to continue investing in The Reflector.

We will be working with CT Publishing and the Taylor family on a smooth transition, and expect to have fully assumed operations by July.

Battle Ground and the communities across north Clark County are growing, and growth always brings questions. What should change? What should stay the same? How do we welcome new people without losing the character that made people want to come here in the first place? How do we create opportunities for our children? How do we become more than a bedroom community where many are forced to leave the area for work and recreation?

A healthy local newspaper can help foster honest conversations on these and other important questions.

No doubt, we will not get everything right. No owner, publisher, editor or reporter ever does. But we will approach this responsibility with hard-working humility, transparency and a deep respect for The Reflector’s role in the life of the community.

We need local news, by local people, for local people. That kind of newspaper is worth preserving. And that is why we believe this is the right time for The Reflector to come back into local hands.

As The Reflector returns home, our commitment is to ensure that it truly reflects our community as a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family.