By Elizabeth Phillips
Founding and Current Board Member
A brief phone call from Rebecca Young was all it took.
The Valley Journal of 34 years was closing.
It was 2009, one year into a worldwide financial crisis. Small, local newspapers were rapidly folding as advertising revenues dropped. Even large newspapers were closing or merging.
Rebecca knew how important our local paper was to keeping us informed about town government, school sports and Carbondale events. She and Pat Noel began the Valley Journal in 1975. It was the best of smalltown journalism on a shoestring budget, always full of wonderful photography.
This time around, Rebecca had the vision that our own locally-produced newspaper must be in the hands of its readers as a nonprofit. Hence the phone call and emails to a few hardy souls she thought might join her in taking up the challenge.
Lynn Kirchner at Amoré Realty gave us a space to meet and eventually rented us an office.
Within the group answering the call there was a wealth of publishing knowledge. Others around the table stepped up for similarly crucial jobs, such as delivery, ad sales and bookkeeping. A few volunteers and generous donors put the whole idea into motion.
We did meet with more than a few skeptics, of course. But after 15 years of publishing and delivering a well-written newspaper every Thursday, we have proven that community-supported, local journalism works.
It is not an easy task to fill those yellow boxes each week, and your financial support is always needed. A SUNscriber commitment can be a modest monthly donation connected to your bank account. Information on how to set that up can be found on our website: www.soprissun.com/donate
Here is the good news: staff has expanded, our grantors are from all over Colorado, our readers are from Rifle to Aspen and with the website we reach international readers interested in Roaring Fork news. The paper now has so many contributing journalists and artists that we’re losing count. We are striving to pay our talented staff a living wage and provide them with benefits. The Sun earns numerous awards yearly. These are all signs of a maturing business.
Our mission is to inform, inspire and build community by fostering diverse and independent journalism. I believe we have served that mission and will always be looking for innovative ways to improve the way it is delivered. Thank you for your ongoing support.
To read more about our history, search for “The newspaper’s in their hands now,” an article by the Los Angeles Times about our first edition. Other informative reads include “Valley Journal collection comes home” by Will Grandbois and “The Sun shines through” by Raleigh Burleigh, both at www.soprissun.com
Editor’s note: As we approach our 15th birthday celebration, Feb. 8 at the RVR Barn, I raise a heartfelt toast to our founding board of directors, without whom The Sopris Sun would never have risen: Russ Criswell, Peggy DeVilbiss, Allyn Harvey, Colin Laird, Barbara New, Elizabeth Phillips and Rebecca Young.