Dear readers,
Historically, the Pikes Peak Bulletin has been a Manitou Springs paper, though it has undergone several iterations, including briefly as a section in the nonprofit newspaper mash-up Sixty35. That operation went dark last year, and the Bulletin disappeared with it – though it was quickly rescued and resuscitated by a group of loyal readers.
When the Bulletin re-incorporated as a nonprofit, we included Ute Pass in our coverage area as well as the Westside of Colorado Springs. This was in part because the Ute Pass had lost its newspaper, as had the Westside when the Pioneer ceased publication, leaving a news void in those areas.
But there was also a financial imperative – the Bulletin had not been economically sustainable for some time. Broadening the coverage area opened up new possibilities for advertising and subscriptions, and for grant monies. We are now poised to expand again, and for similar reasons: a coverage gap and financial necessity.
We see a need and a thirst for a weekly community newspaper that covers Colorado Springs. We’ve already taken steps in that direction with excellent public affairs reporting by Heidi Beedle and the new column by veteran investigative journalist Pam Zubeck. Next week we are making our Downtown Colorado Springs coverage an official part of what we do, and we will continue to allow our coverage area to expand organically.
To that end we are bringing on former Gazette reporter Abbey Soukup. She will head the Bulletin’s new Community section with an expanded events calendar plus a wide variety of feature stories – including event previews, arts and entertainment, small business and nonprofit profiles, and much more – all geared to connect readers with our local communities.
It is exciting and fun, and an honor, to reflect and record a larger portion of our Pikes Peak communities – and we think it will pull in the grant funders, advertisers, donors and subscribers that we need to keep us doing the good work. We want to keep making a paper that is meaningful and useful to you, that you look forward to reading each week because it will at once expand your world view and bind you tighter to the world around you.
The Bulletin was forged in the tight-knit and eclectic spirit of Manitou, and the personality of this publication reflects that. You can see it in our commitment to telling deeply personal stories, giving space for diversity in viewpoints and experiences, and celebrating the achievements of our community members from the youngest to the oldest. It is reflected in our up-close coverage of local government and other public bodies. It is in our commitment to supporting other nonprofits and grassroots groups dedicated to the greater good. We are going to grow and evolve – but that Manitou spirit will remain unaltered.
Sincerely,
Lyn Ettinger-Harwell
Heila Ershadi
