Answering your questions about The Longmont Leader
On April 21, 2020 we announced that The Compass Experiment is launching The Longmont Leader, a new local news website to serve the city of Longmont, Colorado. If you live in Longmont, or just happen to care about local news, it stands to reason that you might have some questions about what we are building and what is coming next.
If you have additional inquiries or want to add questions to this list, contact us at info@longmontleader.com.
Who owns The Longmont Leader? Who runs it?
The Longmont Leader is owned and operated by the McClatchy Company, which owns 30 newspapers across 14 U.S states including the Miami Herald and the Sacramento Bee. The Leader is part of The Compass Experiment, a local news initiative run by McClatchy newspapers and initially funded by Google’s Local Experiments Project.
The Leader will be managed by a local editor, with the support of The Compass Experiment team.
How can I stay informed about this?
Sign up for the email list for The Longmont Leader and you’ll be in the loop on our staffing, launch date, stories and upcoming (virtual) events.
What happens to the Longmont Observer?
The Observer will be going away. When The Longmont Leader launches, the website of the Observer will redirect to longmontleader.com. The social media accounts for the Longmont Observer will be renamed to that of The Longmont Leader.
What about the Longmont Observer archives?
All of the past stories from the Observer will be accessible and searchable on the website of The Longmont Leader.
When will this change happen?
We don’t yet know the exact launch date for The Leader but we expect to launch in May.
I am a Longmont Observer donor, what happens to my donations?
Any remaining donation funding from the Longmont Observer will stay with the non-profit Longmont Public Media. If you are interested in continuing to support local media, please consider donating to Longmont Public Media and The Longmont Leader.
Is The Longmont Leader affiliated with the Times-Call?
No, it is not.
Who will work for The Longmont Leader? Can I apply there?
The Longmont Leader is currently hiring full-time reporters (including at least one reporter who is bilingual in Spanish and English), an assistant editor and a business development and partnerships leader. You can learn more about those positions here. If you’re interested in a freelance position or contributing a story or column to The Longmont Leader, please email info@longmontleader.com.
Is The Longmont Leader a non-profit?
The Longmont Leader is not a non-profit like the Longmont Observer or Longmont Public Media. Due to its ownership structure, it will be a for-profit media company, but it does not mean it will not be dedicated to its mission of serving fair, non-partisan news to the people of Longmont.
What will The Longmont Leader write about?
The Longmont Leader is dedicated to becoming a local hub for all things Longmont. That will include coverage of local government, police, schools and businesses as well as stories about the people, culture and events that make Longmont a special place to live.
How often will this website publish?
Once launched, the Longmont Leader will publish daily. It may take us a little while to get ramped up in terms of volume and timing of new stories, but the intention is to publish new stories seven days a week.
Will you have a printed paper or digital only? Will you deliver it to my door?
The Longmont Leader will be a digital-only news provider. Our stories will be easily accessible on mobile phones and tablets, as well as a free daily email newsletter.
Will I have to subscribe to get The Longmont Leader? How much does that cost?
The Longmont Leader will be free to access. We will have a paid membership option for those who can support our local journalism and keep it freely accessible to the rest of the community. We may have some special features and offers exclusively for email subscribers or paid members in the future.
Will The Longmont Leader support advertising?
In addition to accepting member contributions, The Longmont Leader will also offer a full range of digital advertising and sponsorship packages to area businesses that want to share their message or sponsor content for the community. We also plan to launch Look Local, a free program to help small businesses increase their digital presence with a business directory page and $200 in classified advertising credits. Reach out to info@longmontleader.com with any questions.
I usually send press releases and announcements to publish on the Observer website, where should I send them now?
Please send any press releases and communications to info@longmontleader.com.
I contributed stories and opinion pieces to the Observer, can I continue to do that with The Leader?
The Longmont Leader is dedicated to being a gathering place for local ideas and conversations. If you’re interested in contributing a story, letter or column to The Longmont Leader, please email info@longmontleader.com. All submissions are subject to approval by the editor to ensure they align with our publishing standards and ethics (more will be shared soon on this).
Do you have other questions about this change, or about The Longmont Leader? Email us at info@longmontleader.com and we will be happy to answer you directly and update this post with more information.
The Longmont Leader is part of The Compass Experiment, a local news laboratory founded by McClatchy and Google News Initiative’s Local Experiments Project. This Medium site is set up to share news and learnings from The Compass Experiment’s local news websites.
