Nearly all the staff of Juneau’s only print newspaper have left the publication for a new, web-based local news outlet.
Large-scale changes for the Juneau Empire began last month, when former Managing Editor Mark Sabbatini resigned and launched the Juneau Independent.
The Empire’s publisher did not respond to an interview request. The company posted a job opening for a local government reporter on Monday. Reporters from Carpenter Media Group’s other Alaska papers on the Kenai Peninsula have been publishing articles to the Empire’s website this week.
Erin Thompson, editor for the Empire’s sister newspapers on the Kenai Peninsula, now oversees the capital city’s paper. She said she was not authorized to speak on the matter.
In the meantime, the Juneau Independent has achieved state nonprofit status. Sabbatini said he is also working to get tax-exempt status, which he says will open the door for more grant funding.
The Independent is now flush with new staff, including a managing editor, two contributing reporters, a student intern and a volunteer reporter. Sabbatini said he didn’t expect this level of interest, which is both a boon to the publication and a financial responsibility.
“(The) challenging and tricky part, which we’re now taking on, is, you know, having an actual paid staff and running this as an actual nonprofit corporation,” he said. “That takes more money and more effort.”
Sabbatini is working to make the Independent financially sustainable. He says running the publication as-is would cost about $200,000 a year. He says he started the venture with about $20,000 of seed money from four donors. Since launching, he says it has raised over $40,000 more from contributions.
Bruce Botelho is the Independent’s board president. He said he believes the Independent will be able to sustain itself.
“I think there is a viable path, or actually would say several different paths, forward, and I think it will come from folks who are willing to donate to get this level of coverage in Juneau,” Botehlo said.
But another board member is less sure about the Independent’s future. Larry Persily is a longtime Alaska journalist and owner of the Wrangell Sentinel. He framed the Independent’s challenge in an Alaska-themed metaphor.
“It’s certainly not an adult salmon. It’s a very young salmon leaving freshwater, going out in the ocean to grow up, and whether it lives and comes back, is uncertain,” he said.
For now, Juneau residents can find new articles on both publications’ websites and in the twice-weekly print edition of the Empire.
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