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Boulder Weekly

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Coordinates: 39°59′02″N 105°14′52″W / 39.983791°N 105.247757°W / 39.983791; -105.247757
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Boulder Weekly
Front page
TypeAlternative newspaper
FormatTabloid
Owner(s)Stewart Sallo
PublisherFran Zankowski
EditorShay Castle
Founded1993
Headquarters1495 Canyon Boulevard, Boulder, Colorado
Circulation35,000
OCLC number62674422
Websiteboulderweekly.com

Boulder Weekly is an alternative newsweekly that publishes every Thursday in Boulder, Colorado. The paper is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN)[1] and is owned and published by Stewart Sallo.[2] While there were tentative plans to transition to an employee-owned enterprise with Sallo's planned retirement, the paper abruptly and unceremoniously laid off most staff in summer 2025 after the publication of the July 3-9 issue.[3][4]

Overview

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After the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, Sallo left Santa Cruz, Calif., where he had ownership of two publications — Summer Santa Cruz and Student Guide.[5] By 1992, he had set his sights on Boulder, Colorado. He moved to Boulder in 1993, and the first edition of Boulder Weekly hit the stands on Aug. 19 of that year.

Between 1996 and 2000, Boulder Planet operated as a competing publication to the Weekly. The continued publication of the Weekly despite the competition has been a source of satisfaction for Sallo.[6]

Initially, Sallo saw the paper as a business opportunity in a city lacking a weekly newspaper. However, an article by Joel Dyer in 1994 reshaped Sallo's view on the newspaper's potential impact ("Deadly ground: Beech Aircraft toxins poison open space," Sept. 14, 1994). As a result, Boulder Weekly's editorial direction shifted toward a more aggressive, alternative approach to news. Dyer later became editor of Boulder Weekly, eventually leaving the paper to write books and publish his own newsweekly, the Fort Collins Weekly, from 2002 to 2007.

Succeeding Dyer, Greg Campbell maintained the investigative editorial direction, publishing articles such as "Eternal flame: Think you've paid at the pump? Try paying with your life. Boulder Weekly visits Nigeria," April 19, 2001, which exposed the suffering of a Nigerian village at the hands of an Italian gas company. Campbell is the author of Blood Diamonds: Tracing the Deadly Path of the World's Most Precious Stones.

Wayne Laugesen, following his tenure at Soldier of Fortune magazine, served as Boulder Weekly's editor. In 2003, Pamela White took on the role of editor, becoming the first woman to do so. She came to the Weekly after serving as editor of Colorado Daily. Joel Dyer returned to the Weekly as editor in November 2011.[7] He was last listed on the masthead as editor-at-large in the April 6, 2023 issue [8][9] Shay Castle was appointed the new editor on October 30, 2023.[10]

In December 2024, the paper announced that publisher Sallo plans to retire[11] and that staff launched a fundraising campaign to explore the possibility of transitioning the paper an employee-owned co-op.[12][13][14]

In July 2025, the Weekly published its last issue. In an interview with community radio station KGNU, Sallo defended his decisions.[15]

Awards

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Among the Boulder Weekly's awards, in April 2023 it won seven awards in the Society of Professional Journalists' Top of the Rockies competition including two first prizes.[16] In April 2018, it won 27 awards in the 2017 Society of Professional Journalists' competition, including 10 first prizes.[17][18]

References

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  1. ^ "Association of Alternative Newsweeklies". Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  2. ^ "Stewart Sallo". Huffington Post.
  3. ^ Blades, Shavonne (July 11, 2025). "Publisher's Note: No Goodbye, No Final Page: What the Loss of Boulder Weekly Means for Us All". Yellow Scene Magazine. Retrieved July 11, 2025. We produced stories that sparked dialogue and made real change, all while scrambling to make rent. We were the first media outlet in the country to question whether the Oklahoma City bombing was domestic terrorism. We sent a reporter to Bosnia. The staff made Boulder Weekly matter 25 years later, Yellow Scene is the last locally owned print publication in Boulder County. Everything else is owned by a hedge fund, a franchise, or a conglomerate
  4. ^ Bounds, Amy (July 10, 2025). "Boulder Weekly's future uncertain after reporting staff laid off". Boulder Daily Camera. Retrieved July 11, 2025. In December, Castle wrote a Boulder Weekly piece letting readers know Sallo was planning to retire and had agreed to work with the staff on a transition to employee ownership. The Weekly started a campaign to raise $10,000 through the Colorado Gives Foundation. The plan was to work with the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center to explore a co-op model…
  5. ^ "Boulder Weekly | NewsandViews | NewsSpin". Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  6. ^ Katz, Gene Ira. "Buzz | Boulder Weekly: The only independent newspaper in Boulder, Colorado". www.boulderweekly.com.
  7. ^ "Dyer Succeeds White as Boulder Weekly Editor - Association of Alternative Newsmedia". Association of Alternative Newsmedia. November 17, 2011. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  8. ^ "Boulder Weekly - April 6, 2023". Boulder Weekly. November 6, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  9. ^ "Boulder Weekly - April 13, 2023". Boulder Weekly. November 13, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  10. ^ "Shay Castle named Boulder Weekly editor in Colorado". Association of Alternative Newsmedia. October 30, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  11. ^ Castle, Shay (December 23, 2024). "Who owns the news? You can!". Boulder Weekly. Retrieved January 1, 2025. founder and owner, Stewart Sallo, is looking to retire. Rather than sell to the highest bidder, Stew has graciously decided to work with the Boulder Weekly team on a transition to employee ownership. We're fundraising now for the first step, a feasibility study to outline the operational and financial requirements for such a venture. Thankfully, we're being guided by experts at the nonprofit Rocky Mountain Employee Ownership Center... We're exploring a co-op model that would put workers and community members in charge of business decisions. (For ethical reasons, editorial power would remain with the editorial team.)
  12. ^ Hutchins, Corey (December 6, 2024). "Boulder Weekly journalists want to buy their paper and make it employee-owned". Editor and Publisher. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  13. ^ "Boulder Weekly newspaper wants to become employee-owned". Boulder Daily Camera. December 7, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  14. ^ Hutchins, Corey (December 6, 2024). "Boulder Weekly journalists want to buy their paper and make it employee-owned". Inside the News in Colorado. Retrieved January 1, 2025. The free independent paper that has served the entire county for 30 years isn't at risk of folding if employee ownership doesn't pan out, says Editor Shay Castle, but those who work there are looking at a co-op model as an initial option. The paper isn't even technically listed for sale, she said... the Colorado Sun, also worked with the RMEOC on its transition...
  15. ^ "Boulder Weekly publication suspended; staff fired – KGNU Community Radio". Retrieved July 21, 2025.
  16. ^ "SPJ Colorado Pro Announces 2023 Top of the Rockies Winners". Society of Professional Journalists. April 22, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  17. ^ "Boulder Weekly wins numerous awards at Top of the Rockies journalism contest - Boulder Weekly". Boulder Weekly. April 26, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  18. ^ "Print: Circulation of 30,000 to 75,000". SPJ COLORADO PRO. April 14, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
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39°59′02″N 105°14′52″W / 39.983791°N 105.247757°W / 39.983791; -105.247757

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