From the Gazette Staff

As we celebrate 20 years of the Portage County Gazette, we look back to the genesis of the publication in 1878, the rebirth in 1999, what is now, and what will come.

The framework which has been laid before has allowed us to continue in a role of responsible local journalism, which is important now more than ever. As dig deeper into the digital age, we remain committed to our print readers, offering unique stories in addition to the news of the week.

In the upcoming editions, we will weave the past with the present as we pay homage to those who have created the foundation on which our medium now stands. Through tragedy and triumph, our publication remains dedicated to you. As we marked two decades, we wish to thank you for your continued trust and support.

Within the pages of editions from the past years, lay our community’s history. As we continue to build on that history, we reflect on how we got here through the words of former managing editor, Gene Kemmeter:

Readers, advertisers help Gazette reach 20 years

Twenty years ago, on July 2, 1999, the first edition of the revived Portage County Gazette was printed. That’s a milestone among small businesses, and one the Gazette is proud of. That’s a short time compared to some other local businesses that have passed the century-mark in recent years, like Stevens Point Brewing, Sentry Insurance, Okray Produce, International Bank of Amherst, Community First Bank and the Anderson law firm. But those businesses started small also, and many small businesses don’t even reach their five-year anniversary.

The Gazette itself has its roots for more than a century. A weekly paper called the Portage County Gazette was founded here July 17, 1878, by Edward D. Glennon, a Stevens Point native and the son of Irish immigrants. He became a printer’s apprentice at the Stevens Point Journal when he was 13 years old and set out on his own when he was 20 and founded the Gazette.

Glennon was the publisher and editor until his death in 1915. Then family members operated the paper until it merged with the Journal in 1919, and they because 50 percent owners of the Journal. The Gazette continued to be published by the merged company until a final issue was printed on March 21, 1923.

The families continued to operate the Journal until 1998 when a narrow split among family members led to the majority selling the newspaper to the Thomson Corporation, a Canadian corporation that also owned the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune and the Marshfield News-Herald. The Journal was subsequently sold to Gannett Co.

A New Beginning

A group of former Journal owners and employees, and others with a total of more than 100 years of journalistic and business experience resurrected the Portage County Gazette on July 2, 1999, with a simple mission: provide local news to Portage County residents and a lower cost advertising option for local businesses.

Continuing that mission in an electronic world is challenging because the Gazette can’t cover everything in Portage County with its small staff and limited pages supported by advertising, but the staff tries to provide as much information about as many things as possible. Readers need to be informed about what’s going on and to learn what those events mean for the citizens of Portage County.

The emphasis is on local, about the people and events in Portage County. The readers live here, love being here and want to know what’s happening in Portage County. They feel it’s a wonderful place to live. Their subscriptions show advertisers that the Gazette has grown to be the largest newspaper with a paid circulation in Portage County.

Advertisers are the financial backbone of any newspaper. They’re the ones who help support the costs of producing the newspaper. Readers are encouraged to continue to patronize and support their businesses. Those advertisers, most of them small businesses themselves, help bring this newspaper to readers each week.

The present owners, Multi Media Channels, plan to continue improving the product to make it a welcome visitor in your homes each week.

The Gazette will continue to keep readers informed about local items that make Portage County so special. After all, journalism is essential if a free society is to work.