Boulder Weekly
Type | Alternative newspaper |
---|---|
Format | Tabloid |
Owner(s) | Stewart Sallo |
Publisher | Fran Zankowski |
Editor | Shay Castle |
Founded | 1993 |
Headquarters | 1495 Canyon Boulevard, Boulder, Colorado |
Circulation | 35,000 |
OCLC number | 62674422 |
Website | boulderweekly |
Boulder Weekly is an alternative newsweekly that publishes every Thursday in Boulder, Colorado. The paper is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN)[1] and is owned and published by Stewart Sallo.[2]
Overview
After the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, Sallo left Santa Cruz, Calif., where he had ownership of two publications — Summer Santa Cruz and Student Guide.[3] By 1992, he had set his sights on Boulder, Colorado. He moved to Boulder in 1993, and the first edition of Boulder Weekly hit the stands on Aug. 19 of that year. In the years since, Boulder Weekly has garnered numerous state journalism awards for opinion, news, features, and entertainment writing.
Between 1996 and 2000, Boulder Planet operated as a competing publication to the Weekly. The continued publication of the Weekly despite the competition has been a source of satisfaction for Sallo.[4] The paper is currently the only independent newspaper published in Boulder.
Initially, Sallo saw the paper as a business opportunity in a city lacking a weekly newspaper. However, an article by Joel Dyer in 1994 reshaped Sallo's view on the newspaper's potential impact ("Deadly ground: Beech Aircraft toxins poison open space," Sept. 14, 1994). As a result, Boulder Weekly's editorial direction shifted toward a more aggressive, alternative approach to news. Dyer later became editor of Boulder Weekly, eventually leaving the paper to write books and publish his own newsweekly, the Fort Collins Weekly, from 2002 to 2007.
Succeeding Dyer, Greg Campbell maintained the investigative editorial direction, publishing articles such as "Eternal flame: Think you've paid at the pump? Try paying with your life. Boulder Weekly visits Nigeria," April 19, 2001, which exposed the suffering of a Nigerian village at the hands of an Italian gas company. Campbell is the author of Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Deadly Path of the World's Most Precious Stones.
Wayne Laugesen, following his tenure at Soldier of Fortune magazine, served as Boulder Weekly's editor. He is best known for his award-winning opinion column "Wayne's Word," and his byline has appeared in national magazines and nearly every major newspaper in the United States.
In 2003, Pamela White took on the role of editor, becoming the first woman to do so. With a notable background in journalism, White emphasized human-rights reporting, with a focus on prison issues, women's rights, and American Indian issues. She came to the Weekly after serving as editor of Colorado Daily, where she and her staff won the 2000 Roy W. Howard Award for Public Service (National Journalism Awards) and several other national awards for investigative journalism.
Joel Dyer returned to the Weekly as editor in November 2011.[5] He was last listed on the masthead as editor-at-large in the April 6, 2023 issue [6][7]
Shay Castle was appointed the new (and current) editor on October 30, 2023.[8]
Recently, the paper employed 18 full-time staff members in addition to numerous freelance writers and circulation drivers. It publishes opinion, news, an outdoor recreation section, a food section, and an arts and entertainment section, as well as several special editions, notably The Best of Boulder County, Summer Scene, Winter Scene, Student Guide, and Vote Guide, its annual election guide. Regular contributors to the paper include John Lehndorff, Toni Tresca, Michael J. Casey, and many more.
In December 2024, the paper announced that publisher Sallo plans to retire[9] and that staff launched a fundraising campaign to explore the possibility of transitioning the paper an employee-owned co-op.[10][11][12]
Awards
Among the Boulder Weekly's awards, in April 2023 it won seven awards in the Society of Professional Journalists' Top of the Rockies competition including two first prizes.[13] In April 2018, it won 27 awards in the 2017 Society of Professional Journalists' competition, including 10 first prizes.[14][15]
References
- ^ "Association of Alternative Newsweeklies". Archived from the original on 2008-05-16. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
- ^ "Stewart Sallo". Huffington Post.
- ^ "Boulder Weekly | NewsandViews | NewsSpin". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
- ^ Katz, Gene Ira. "Buzz | Boulder Weekly: The only independent newspaper in Boulder, Colorado". www.boulderweekly.com.
- ^ "Dyer Succeeds White as Boulder Weekly Editor - Association of Alternative Newsmedia". Association of Alternative Newsmedia. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ "Boulder Weekly - April 6, 2023". Boulder Weekly. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ "Boulder Weekly - April 13, 2023". Boulder Weekly. 13 November 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ "Shay Castle named Boulder Weekly editor in Colorado". Association of Alternative Newsmedia. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ Castle, Shay (2024-12-23). "Who owns the news? You can!". Boulder Weekly. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
founder and owner, Stewart Sallo, is looking to retire. Rather than sell to the highest bidder, Stew has graciously decided to work with the Boulder Weekly team on a transition to employee ownership. We're fundraising now for the first step, a feasibility study to outline the operational and financial requirements for such a venture. Thankfully, we're being guided by experts at the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center... We're exploring a co-op model that would put workers and community members in charge of business decisions. (For ethical reasons, editorial power would remain with the editorial team.)
- ^ Hutchins, Corey (2024-12-06). "Boulder Weekly journalists want to buy their paper and make it employee-owned". Editor and Publisher. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
- ^ "Boulder Weekly newspaper wants to become employee-owned". Boulder Daily Camera. 2024-12-07. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
- ^ Hutchins, Corey (2024-12-06). "Boulder Weekly journalists want to buy their paper and make it employee-owned". Inside the News in Colorado. Retrieved 2025-01-01.
The free independent paper that has served the entire county for 30 years isn't at risk of folding if employee ownership doesn't pan out, says Editor Shay Castle, but those who work there are looking at a co-op model as an initial option. The paper isn't even technically listed for sale, she said... the Colorado Sun, also worked with the RMEOC on its transition...
- ^ "SPJ Colorado Pro Announces 2023 Top of the Rockies Winners". Society of Professional Journalists. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ "Boulder Weekly wins numerous awards at Top of the Rockies journalism contest - Boulder Weekly". Boulder Weekly. 26 April 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
- ^ "Print: Circulation of 30,000 to 75,000". SPJ COLORADO PRO. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2018.