Changes are coming for “The Santa Fe Reporter,” which has been running for 50 years. The alt weekly has a new publisher and is looking for a new owner.
Editor and Publisher Julie Ann Grimm is passing her title onto Senior Correspondent Julia Goldberg, who first started with The Reporter as an intern in the 1990s.
“I don't think people are going to see massive changes,” Goldberg said. “On the other hand, I'm a different person. I have a different sensibility, so they might see some changes here and there – I’m not planning to be invisible – but I don’t think anything drastic.”
Goldberg previously worked as an editor at The Reporter for over a decade. She also helped get a reporting program off the ground at the now-shuttered Santa Fe University of Art and Design, and said she’s looking forward to working with more young reporters in her new gig.
Grimm said in a story in the Reporter "It’s been an incredible privilege and honor to create and grow with the Reporter,” Grimm says. “I’m so grateful to everyone who has trusted us to tell their stories and has followed along with our coverage as we’ve tried to shine a light and keep the community connected. This is a vital organization and I know it has a bright future.”
Co-owners Richard Meeker and Mark Zusman are also looking to sell The Reporter. Both are based in Oregon and own another alt weekly, “Willamette Week,” there. Meeker said they’re getting a new project off the ground in Oregon to train people in investigative and enterprise reporting.
He said he hopes the announcement drums up interest from locals who could take The Reporter on.
“The Reporter is financially in positive shape and has been since 2016. We're just hoping to find people who are genuinely committed to local independent journalism, and we believe they're there,” he said.
He declined to name the selling price but said, "it's a sound business."
In the meantime, Goldberg and Meeker said readers can keep expecting the free weekly paper and newsletters to continue as usual.
This coverage is made possible by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and KUNM listeners.
