Thanks, Sublette County!

by Rhonda Swain

By now you probably know that the Sublette Examiner has sold, effective Aug. 1. To those people who have questioned Cat, Deanne, Sheri and I about whether or not the paper was sold, we signed a confidentiality agreement when we first considered selling that prohibited us from disclosing any information. While it was not comfortable for us to not be upfront about the sale, we were bound by that agreement to keep the news quiet.

The Examiner was not on the market for sale – on the contrary, we were contacted by a newspaper broker who informed us that News Media Corp/Wyoming Newspapers Inc. was interested in purchasing the paper.

Two of the first questions we asked were whether or not our current staff would be retained and whether or not we would be required to change our editorial style or content. The staff will remain, as will our editorial style and content. So while the ownership of the paper has changed, much of it will remain the same.

It was important to us that our staff stayed, because without them we would not have been able to bring the paper to where it is today. We have gone from what we laughingly called “four broads publishing” to adding a photographer that first year (thanks, Delsa) to our current staff. Pam and Carie’s photos; Casey, Bill and Janet’s stories; Tera’s sales expertise (and before her, Isabel); Tim’s design skills; Donna’s all-around help and Jamie making the weekly paper run to Jackson have made it possible for us to create a paper that a newspaper corporation would be interested in purchasing.

Maybe more important, though, are the people of Sublette County who have supported us through this endeavor. From those who subscribed before we even had a paper to our advertisers and everyone else who believed in us – you are truly the ones who have helped to make this a successful paper.

We look forward to continuing to serve the residents of our communities and would like to say “Thanks, Sublette County!”