From the pages of
The Sublette County Journal
Volume 5, Number 25 - 2/15/01
brought to you online by Pinedale Online


The Last Journal

The past couple weeks have been a blur. My purchase of the Roundup has filled me with both extreme excitement and raw fear. Only yesterday did it dawn on me that this would be the last Sublette County Journal ever published. I'm not ashamed to say that I've shed tears over this thought.

I really didn't have a master plan when I started this newspaper. I didn't write a business plan or survey the market. I don't have a formal background in journalism.

The Journal was based on a set of ideas: Focus on this place and the people who live here and the character of our community. Examine the landscape and try to understand how the land shapes our culture. Treat the readers like they are intelligent. Be informative, insightful, daring, opinionated, funny and entertaining. Challenge sacred cows, yet celebrate tradition and heritage.

Sublette County is a unique place. I felt it deserved a newspaper that was one-of-a-kind.

I had no idea how much work came with owning and editing a newspaper. I was na•ve about how both personal and public this business is. I've bled on these pages, and my editorials have encited those who disagree with me to make me bleed in public. I've given licks, but I've taken them too.

I've chosen to stop publishing the Journal and keep the Pinedale Roundup's name when we merge the two newsapers next week. The Roundup is 95 years old. Ranches included, it has to be one of the oldest businesses in Sublette County. The Roundup is an institution here, and deservedly so. I will respect this history.

I plan to marry the spirit and soul of the Sublette County Journal to the tradition and heritage of the Pinedale Roundup.

Thank you to all the people - family, advertisers, readers, staff, and contributors - who have helped me along the way. God knows I didn't do it alone.

Please follow me and my staff over to the pages of the Pinedale Roundup. We're going to do some great work there, I promise.

See The Archives for past articles.


Copyright © 1999, 2000 The Sublette County Journal
All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means must have permission of the Publisher.
The Sublette County Journal, PO Box 3010, Pinedale, WY 82941   Phone 307-367-3713
Publisher/Editor: Rob Shaul   editor@scjonline.com