Journal of the San Juan Islands

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Journal of the San Juan Islands
Journal of the San Juan Islands July 10, 2013.jpg
Front page of the Journal for July 10, 2013
Type Weekly newspaper
Owner(s) Sound Publishing
Founder(s)Oscar G. Wall
Gus A. Ludwig
PublisherColleen Smith
Staff writersDiane Craig
Founded1906
LanguageEnglish
Circulation 2,063(as of 2023) [1]
Sister newspapers Islands' Sounder
ISSN 0734-3809
OCLC number 8582787
Website sanjuanjournal.com

The Journal of the San Juan Islands is a newspaper based in Friday Harbor, Washington. The Journal publishes on Wednesdays. It also publishes SanJuanJournal.com; Springtide, an annual magazine for visitors; The Book of the San Juan Islands, an annual almanac; and special sections related to aspects of island life.

Contents

As of 2013, the economy of the San Juans is almost entirely driven by tourism, which has been described as a "thin base for newspaper endeavors." [2]

History

The first edition of the Friday Harbor Journal was published on Sept. 13, 1906. The paper's first editorial read: "Not unmindful of the cares and responsibilities of newspaper life, the JOURNAL makes its bow to the public today, inspired with hope that it may be useful in the development of this beautiful island county." [3]

The paper was co-founded by Oscar Garrett Wall, a American Civil War veteran who had served in the 5th Minnesota Infantry Regiment. He fought in the Battle of Fort Ridgely and wrote a book titled "History of the Sioux Massacre." [4] The paper's other co-founder was Gus A. Ludwig, [5] a journeyman printer from Minneapolis. [6] Its motto in the early day's was "A Square Deal for Everybody." [7]

Wall, age 62, came to the San Juan Islands because his health was failing. After eight months, he sold his interest to 24-year-old Virgil Frits on June 3, 1907. [6] Frits was a Republican and notorious cigar smoker who got his start in the news business at TheReveille in Bellingham. [5] He formed a partnership with Ludwig and they operated the Journal together. [5]

In 1914, a competing newspaper, the San Juan Islander, ceased operations. [8] In 1915, the Journal got its first typesetting machine. [5] In 1919, Frits was sued for libel for an editorial he penned calling for all members of the Industrial Workers of the World to be arrested for the Centralia Tragedy. A jury acquitted Frits. [9]

Ludwig operated the paper for nearly 20 years until his death in 1932. [10] Frits ran the paper for a total of 51 years with his wife Maude. The couple sold the Journal in 1958 to Robert Hartzog and his wife Mildred. Hartzog was a former radio control room operator at KOIN. Under him, the Journal obtained a more modern press for commercial printing and equipment to reproduce photos in the paper. [11] Hartzog owned the paper until his death 11 years later. The paper was then purchased by Lyman "Tommy" and Jean Thomas, along with Sam Buck. [11]

The Thomases managed the day-to-day business and under them the Journal transitioned from a county to a Community newspaper. In summer 1975, the couple sold their stake to Art Taylor. [11] The owners then hired Jim Lehde to operate the Journal, who converted the paper from broadsheet to tabloid. Over a year later he was succeeded by Jerry Worthen. [11] In April 1978, Larry and Rosalind Duthie acquired the paper and expanded circulation from 2,800 to 4,500. [11] The paper's name was changed to the Journal of the San Juan Islands in 1981. [2] The Journal was bought by Frank Leeming in 1983, Philip Ballard and John McKenna in 1992, and Hollinger Inc. in 1997. [12]

On Oct. 2, 1998, "The Journal launched its online news site, SanJuanJournal.com. [13] Effective March 31, 2000, the paper was owned by Horizon Publications. [12] A competitor, the San Juan Islander, launched as a news website in 2000 and adopted the name of the former newspaper that published from 1891 to 1914. The online news site was founded by two former Journal employees, Sharon Kivisto and Matt Pranger. [2]

In 2000, The Journal — which was locally published and locally managed — was a pawn in a fraud involving its owner. At that time, The Journal was part of Lower Mainland Publishing Co., a subsidiary of Hollinger International, which Conrad Black and his associate David Radler controlled. Black and Radler arranged for Hollinger to sell The Journal and the Skagit Valley Argus, on May 1, 2000, to Horizon Publications, a company which they secretly owned, for the sum of $1. [14] Horizon sold The Journal the following year to Black Press (an unrelated firm) for $280,000. [15] The directors of Hollinger were not informed of a previous third-party offer of $750,000 for The Journal alone. [16] Ever since the sale, The Journal has been operated by Sound Publishing, Inc., a division of Black Press. [13] The company was acquired by Carpenter Media Group in 2024. [17]

Notable columnists

Extra editions

During the 2000s, The Journal — which is normally printed on the mainland — produced several extra editions that were printed as its office and distributed for free. Several election-night extras were produced, along with extras for major events such as a downtown Friday Harbor fire on May 9, 2002. The Journal also produced The Daily Fair, a free, four-page newspaper, during the San Juan County Fair; The Journal's booth at the fairgrounds served as a news bureau during the countywide fair.[ citation needed ]

Books by former Journal employees

References

  1. "Sound Publishing Media Kit 2023" (PDF). soundpublishing.com. April 1, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Bagwell, Steve; Stapilus, Randy (2013). New Editions: The Northwest's newspapers as they were, are, and will be. Carlton, Oregon: Ridenbaugh Press. p. 216. ISBN   978-0-945648-10-9. OCLC   861618089.
  3. "Announcement". Journal of the San Juan Islands. September 13, 1906. p. 4 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Has Answered Last Roll Call | Oscar G. Wall Succumbs to the Inevitable". Journal of the San Juan Islands. August 17, 1911. p. 1.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Dorr, Bill (November 1, 1958). "Chicago Newspaper Features Virgil Of San Juan". The Orcas Islander. p. 2.
  6. 1 2 Duthie, Larry (September 23, 1981). "Virgil Frits: the man who molded the Journal". Journal of the San Juan Islands. p. 32.
  7. "Vol. 1, No. 1". Journal of the San Juan Islands. September 13, 1906. p. 1 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "The San Juan Islander Newspaper (1860-1922) is now Online!". Town of Friday Harbor. 2015. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  9. Duthie, Larry (September 23, 1981). "Our one and only libel suit". Journal of the San Juan Islands. p. 32.
  10. "H. W. Ludwig Gets News of Brother's Death and Burial". Great Falls Tribune. Great Falls, Montana. August 25, 1932. p. 7.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Duthie, Larry (September 23, 1981). "The Journal after Frits". Journal of the San Juan Islands. p. 36.
  12. 1 2 "Journal has new owner | U.S.-based Horizon Publications owns 49 community papers". Journal of the San Juan Islands. April 5, 2000. p. 1.
  13. 1 2 "About Us". The Journal of the San Juan Islands. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  14. Phan, Phillip Hin Choi (2007). Taking Back the Boardroom. Imperial College Press. p. 123. ISBN   9781860948565 . Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  15. Paris, Gordon (August 30, 2004). "Report of Investigation by the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Hollinger International Inc". Securities and Exchange Commission. p. 294. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  16. "Black Days Indeed". The Economist . May 13, 2004. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  17. "Carpenter Media Group completes acquisition of Black Press Media". Editor & Publisher. March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 26, 2024.