Dear reader,
In the summer of 1980, a determined group of local people with a whole lot of moxie launched Wednesday Journal. What began as a single paper grew over the years into a family of community titles, welcoming the Forest Park Review, Riverside Brookfield Landmark and Austin Weekly News into the fold.
The past 45 years have been full of highs and lows, tough choices and proud moments. Through it all, our small but mighty team always focused on one thing: delivering independent and authentic local journalism. Always.
In 2019, to protect that mission for the long term, Wednesday Journal, Inc. transitioned into the nonprofit Growing Community Media. And since then, we’ve continued to do what we’ve always done: tell the stories of our communities.
In 2025 we face a different kind of challenge. Local news continues to suffer serious headwinds, and the economics of journalism are more fragile than ever. To preserve our mission, we’ve made the decision to leave our physical office and transition to a fully remote newsroom.
Going remote allows us to invest our time, energy, and limited resources in our reporting and in our communities, rather than in overhead. It allows us to keep showing up where it matters most, and we’re not going anywhere.
This change is part of a larger effort to ensure the future of our work. New products are in development. New partnerships are taking shape. We’ll have more to share later this summer, but the decisions we’re making now are laying the foundation for a strong and sustainable future.
We do this work for you: our readers, our neighbors, our supporters. Thank you for standing with us, for celebrating this 45-year milestone, and for believing in what local journalism can do.
With gratitude,
Max Reinsdorf
Interim Executive Director
Growing Community Media
