☀️Retro Sun

Friday, December 29 - 2023 Week 52

Sean Higgins

Dec 29, 2023

This. Is. It.

The final Friday and Sun of the year.

Don’t hold back.

☀️Fifty-two Suns

The Sun is about to set for the last time in 2023. We performed an autopsy, or maybe we should just call it a performance review, at the end of last year, and a retrospective of some Sun stats seemed apropos again.

The Numbers for 2023

Total issues: FIFTY-TWO! That counts the one you’re reading. This is both astounding and, of course, the bare-minimum of a weekly periodical. But it happened. In fact, as shared in the final issue of 2022, “the Sun has one goal for 2023: keep showing up.” If nothing else, the Sun came out every week.
Average views per issue: 290. Substack (the service that sends out the Sun) counts email opens and views on the web. We’ve got no other way to track it, so we’re trusting their analytics. This is both astounding and, actually, obviously not yet making much of a dent in the minds of Marysvilleans. But seeds start small, right?
Current Subscribers: 155. A “subscriber” is one who has entered his/her email and gets a fresh Sun delivered digitally every Friday. We started the year at 129 subscribers, so there has been a modest increase. Only a couple have unsubscribed. While math is not our strongest editorial skill, 155 readers out of over 80k residents means that the market is far from saturated.
Most viewed issue: 537 of the Sun and Soul which had an article about the souls in public schools as well as the first (and only so far) retraction required from the Sun.
Least viewed issue: 216 of A Jealousable Sun about loving our city into greater loveliness, which, I mean, really should’ve gotten more love.
Number of sun emojis ☀️ used: statistically, we must be approaching infinity by now.

Last year we included the percentage of those who opened a Sun and also clicked at least one link. It continues to be a curious phenomenon, and we’re not even including a number this time around the Sun, because hardly anyone follows the trails to further glory. That, OR the content here is just so satisfying.

The Best of 2023

With great publishing power comes great curating responsibility. Since the Sun does not have Top Men, the Editor can at least choose his Top Picks.

Lies All the Way Down - some thoughts in response to the killing at Covenant School in Tennessee
Best New Acronym: “GAGs” or Grievances Against the Governor
Most Important Argument: Abolish the Board of Education’s oversight of private schools

We did get to highlight a couple more local businesses:

And though it’s just a sample so far, we got to promote three local churches:

More of a Good Thing (?)

There is no doubt that the Sun is trying to do good things. That said, there are lots of ways to get updates. The city’s social team does a really good job, keeping the city website updated, posting to their X and Facebook feeds, sharing YouTube videos, and preparing City Scene Newsletters. There’s also the Marysville Pulse, which has a Facebook page and an email-every-weekday option that even includes the day’s weather forecast. Of course most of the local churches and businesses all have their own channels of communication, and I really do recommend liking and/or following and/or subscribing to as many as you can enjoy.

So, is the Marysville Sun worth the time it takes to publish it, or even to read it? It’s a question that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. But so far, no one else is saying the things that I wish were being said. The reason we can love Marysville is only because we love the Lord who holds Marysville together. The only way we can reckon with all the (stupid) decisions in our state, respond to the disintegration and destruction of so much of our culture, and still have hope in building for future generations, is because we have dominion-taking obligations as God’s image-bearers. Our pulpits certainly ought to preach as much, and our papers ought to publish according to the same standards for the blessing of the people.

Whether or not the Sun survives, we must be (and become more of) a people zealous for good works in the name of Jesus Christ. That is worth it.

Thank You!

Thanks to some Sun contributors from this past year, including Maggie Rothenberger, Ben Smith, Philip Kulishov, Mark James, and Joan Dabrowski.

And thanks to you, the ones who read the Sun and who are seeking to make Marysville a destination. Happy New Year!

☀️Vote for MARYSVILLE

The Herald continues to run their “Best of Snohomish County for 2023” poll through January 8. If you haven’t already, click here to cast your votes. Take special note of: