Commentary: Secret prize inside: Merry Christmas from the Daily News

Thumb through today’s Daily News and you’ll spot a gift made just for you.

No need to dig to the bottom of the Honeycomb box or sift through Cracker Jack for a sneak peek — this one’s much easier to find.

A hint: It’s a must-have for Christmas and birthdays.

That’s right.

Gift wrap.

It’s a full-sized sheet of eco-friendly, holiday wrapping paper. It was printed here in downtown Lewiston by the talented newspaper pressman elves at Revolve Print and Pack — a new Northwest packaging company specializing in a wide range of easy-to-custom-brand, eco-conscious solutions for gift wrap (rolls and sheets), e-commerce shipping, butcher and pellet grill smoking paper, and other commercial uses.

It’s cool stuff — we’re actually the first in the U.S. to retrofit a traditional newspaper press to produce paper and packaging in a roll-style finish.

Revolve Print and Pack — the youngest child of our 133-year-old family- and employee-owned Tribune Publishing Co. — is an adventurous offshoot aimed at transforming our business model to preserve two of our nation’s last independent daily newspapers, the Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Lewiston Tribune.

We hope this eco-forward, recycle-ready, lovable and totally local design strikes you — featuring Christmas day front pages from the 1980s era Idahonian and Palouse Empire News — and brings a splash of nostalgia and charm under your tree.

We search high and low for front pages from the Pullman Herald to no available.

The ribbon and Scotch tape? That’s all you.

The idea hit us just last week and we couldn’t resist for two reasons.

First, it’s a fun way to say “Merry Christmas” and thank you.

And second, it’s also a fun way to share a peek at the innovative hard work we’re putting in to grow and adapt our business model to support local journalism — which we’ve openly shared with you before. The entire news industry — newspapers, radio and television — continues to be gutted by economic disruption. And bad things happen in towns without local news, known as news deserts.

So, before the holidays officially arrive, thank you.

Thanks for reading, subscribing and supporting one of our nation’s remaining 86 independent newspapers.

We’re passionate about preserving and protecting local news.

We also understand our rare brand of independent local journalism will not survive without you and broad community support.

The Daily News branded gift wrap isn’t just festive — it’s also a way to share a glimpse behind-the-scenes of our business.

And yes, it’s Santa-approved. Of course.

Our business bet is on eco-friendly, low-cost, custom-printed paper for a surprisingly wide range of prospective partners, made with chemical-free, soy-based ink. Unlike glossy coatings, glitter and foils (which is often not recyclable and ends up in landfills) our products will capture the interest of consumers, high schools, universities, e-commerce and traditional organizations alike.

It’s made, designed, printed and converted entirely within a tight, 113-mile closed loop.

We’d love to hear what you think.

We’re opening our state-of-the-art print facility for tours next year.

Until then, keep it Merry and Bright.

If you’re in the “how can I support a free (local) press in other ways” mood, or maybe you’re looking for a last-minute gift, scan the QR code that accompanies this story.

You’ll find links to our free newsletters, the Tribune (and Daily News) Shop, a holiday gift subscription offer, free app download, Made By Us (we should always think buy local first) campaign, news archives, new Inland 360 event calendar, letter to the editor forms and the RevolvePrintandPack.com webpage.

And for goodness sake, your wrap job doesn’t have to be perfect, but fold and tape the end of your Revolve-wrapped package with love — the most important part of the holidays.

Alford is editor and publisher of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Lewiston Tribune. He can be reached at alford@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2208.