In the summer of 2005 a group of friends got together for coffee with one idea in mind—creating an independent, locally owned newspaper in Jasper.
Frustrated with the direction of The Jasper Booster, the community’s longstanding SunMedia paper, the group wanted a newspaper that reflected the values and lives of the people who lived in Jasper.
With that idea in mind, the group of five got down to business, reaching out to professionals in the industry, securing office space and putting together a small, yet dedicated team of journalists and newspaper designers to create the Fitzhugh.
“As a group we thought that by starting a new newspaper we could bring more interesting and diverse stories to the community,” said Shelley Koebel, owner of Snowdome Coffee Bar and one of the five publishers who started the newspaper.
“When we started it we felt The Booster was not meeting the needs of readers to know what was going on in the community.”
Using their entrepreneurial skills as local business owners, the group—which also included Ray Robinson, Larry Robinson, Archie Karas and Ross Pugh—made haste and published its first newspaper a few months later on Nov. 3, 2005.
“We had a fairly steep learning curve,” recalled Ray Robinson, owner of Robinsons Food.
“I think we were a little naive,” he said, explaining the group was more concerned with creating a good product that would resonate with the community than creating a sustainable business model.
Koebel shared similar feelings about the paper’s first few years.
“We were totally naive. I think we were thinking more about the community than we were about being financially successful.
“I think what really drove us was thinking that we could somehow improve the community and improve access to information and to knit the community together in a different way.”
At the outset, one of the big decisions the group had to make was whether or not to charge for the paper. Ultimately, they decided to offer it for free.
“I think we wanted market penetration. We wanted to make sure that it got picked up and read and we were confident we could generate the revenue we needed through advertising, but it wasn’t so easy,” said Robinson.
“It was probably the right thing to do to go free, but you always second guess yourself after the fact, what could we have done different?”
The second big decision was deciding who to hire to carry the paper through its infancy.
“We didn’t go big, but we picked people who were young and had a lot of potential,” said Koebel. “Our goal was to find who would match what our vision was, which was the big stories and the beautiful photography.”
In the editor’s role, the group hired Dan Roberts, who was born and raised in the Banff/Lake Louise area and had previously worked for the Rocky Mountain Outlook News in Canmore.
On the photography side of things, the group turned to Jessica Gergely who came from Southern Alberta and was a photojournalism graduate from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
Prior to joining the paper, her freelance work often appeared in CanWest newspapers, now known as the Postmedia Network.
Putting it all together was Diane MacPherson, the paper’s production manager, and Jeanette Leitch, who helped as a production assistant and sales representative.
About a month into the paper’s operation, Bob Covey was hired to work as a reporter. He is now the publisher of The Jasper Local, the community’s newest publication.
Prior to joining the Fitzhugh, Covey bounced around Vancouver Island working for various community newspapers.
“The Fitzhugh really had to prove itself for the first year,” said Covey. “It was a big shake up for the community, people were excited, but also a little bit hesitant to jump on board. They weren’t sure if this thing was built to last or if there were political motives, they were just a little bit cautious,” he recalled.
About a year and half into his job, he took over as the editor of the paper.
Under his leadership, he made it a point to use his teams’ strengths and engage the community as much as possible.
“Every time someone phoned in with a story or came into the office with a story I wanted to do it. I didn’t want to turn anyone away. I wanted to be really open because we were still competing with
The Booster and we wanted to get every bit of traction we could,” he said.
“I think the key for us was we were telling stories that Jasperites always knew were happening, but never really saw being reflected in the paper.”
Despite the paper’s early success with keen readers, there were also some hard lessons to learn early on.
In January 2006, the paper published a damaging article about Jasper’s municipal council and staff. The article was written by a contributor and wasn’t properly vetted. The newspaper was forced to publish a retraction and apology two weeks later.
Covey, who was still a reporter at the time, described it as a “water shed moment” for the paper.
“It was a real game changer. Suddenly [the publishers] realized this wasn’t a game, this wasn’t something where you could spray these sorts of accusations around without consequences.
“It was really damaging to the paper,” recalled Covey.
To add to the paper’s early challenges, Koebel said it took nearly two years before the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association officially recognized the paper, hurting its ability to generate additional advertising dollars and cement the paper’s credibility within the industry.
The silver lining amongst the Fitzhugh’s early struggles was the paper’s dedication to community journalism.
“When it started we did a lot of profiles on people,” recalled Koebel, adding the very first profile was of Rev. David Prowse.
“I still look at that story and find it very emotional because it was probably the perfect introduction to what the community was all about.”
She said in those early days the publishers would have weekly editorial meetings with the newsroom to discuss what they wanted to do the following week.
“Most of the time we were fairly successful in keeping it newsworthy and entertaining, but we weren’t always successful,” said Koebel, explaining sometimes there were disagreements about what should be included in the paper.
“Sometimes people criticized us because we weren’t controversial enough,” she said, adding one of her favourite parts of the paper was a section that showcased the most environmentally friendly person each week.
Other notable parts of the paper were the beautiful photo spreads found in the centre of the paper, depicting someone or something that was unique to Jasper, from launching boats in Maligne Lake to Jasper’s annual rodeo.
In 2011, Koebel sold her share of the company to Bob Doull, president of Aberdeen Publishing. The rest of the group sold their shares the following year, allowing Aberdeen to become the sole owner of the paper.
Reflecting on those early years and the sale, Koebel said she’s proud that the paper still exists.
“It took another similar minded person to believe in it and keep it going.”
Under new ownership, the company has taken a hands off approach, allowing the newsroom to work independently and focus on what it does best—reporting the news.
Aberdeen Publishing owns 13 different publications throughout Western Canada, including Vue Weekly, an urban weekly published in Edmonton, and Kamloops This Week.
While many different reporters, editors, publishers and designers have come and gone over the years, a few deserve recognition for their contributions to the Fitzhugh's growth and success.
Karen Young steered the newspaper through its early years as the newspaper’s publisher from 2007 to 2012. Under her watch the paper won more than a dozen awards, including being named the best overall newspaper in its class in 2010 by the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association.
Melissa Morris, the production manager at the time, was also an integral part of the paper’s early success, designing colourful, eye-catching papers and setting the tone for the Fitzhugh’s design for years to come.
In October 2011, Nicole Veerman, the paper’s current editor, left Yellowknife, N.W.T., to join the Fitzhugh as a reporter.
In 2013, Veerman moved into the editor’s chair and Matt Figueira was hired as the paper’s advertising representative and later that year, took over the publisher’s role, which he still holds today.
That year, Mishelle Menzies, took over as the paper’s production manager and ushered in a new layout that continues to earn the paper accolades amongst its peers.
Today, Laura Coulson is the newspaper’s production manager. She is the brains behind the newspapers’ new masthead, revealed on the front page of this week’s paper.
Paul Clarke joined the paper in the spring of 2015 and is the paper’s reporter.
Over the years the newspaper’s website has also evolved as technology has improved making it easier for people to access information as it happens. The current website, www.fitzhugh.ca, allows readers to leave comments, participate in a weekly poll and read a PDF version of the physical paper a day before it hits newsstands.
The Fitzhugh is also active on Facebook and Twitter, uploading photos, videos and links to its stories and is often a place where the community can engage with one another about the latest news affecting the community.
Paul Clarke
[email protected]
