Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel is the largest daily newspaper in western Colorado, with distribution in six counties. 2013 marked 120 years of publication since the newspaper's founding in 1893.
The Sentinel's companion website, GJSentinel.com, was founded in 1996. Together, the news organization provides daily community, state, national and international news coverage.
The Daily Sentinel's offices and press are located at 734 S. Seventh Street, Grand Junction, Colorado.
History
Pennsylvania-born traveling salesman I.N. Bunting founded the newspaper in 1893 with partner Howard T. Lee.[1] Walter Walker bought The Daily Sentinel in 1911 and ran it until his death in 1956. He left the newspaper to his son, Preston Walker, who served as publisher until his death in 1970. He left the newspaper to one of his employees, Ken Johnson, who sold the company to Cox Newspapers in 1979.[2]
James Kennedy served as publisher until 1985 when he went on to become chairman and chief executive of parent company Cox Enterprises, naming George Orbanek publisher.
Orbanek served until his retirement in 2007, when Alex Taylor became publisher.
In July, 2009, the newspaper was sold to Kansas-based Seaton Publishing Co., and a new Grand Junction Media Co. was formed.
Jay Seaton became publisher of The Daily Sentinel and executive vice president of Grand Junction Media. His brother, Ned Seaton, is president. Their father, Ed Seaton, is chairman.
The Seaton family can trace its roots in journalism back two centuries to the National Intelligencer in Washington, D.C., in 1812.
Seaton Publishing is a family business based in Manhattan, Kansas, that publishes the daily newspaper in that city. It's associated with family-owned newspaper companies in Arkansas City and Winfield, Kansas; Alliance and Hastings, Nebraska; Spearfish, South Dakota; and Sheridan, Wyoming, in addition to radio stations in Manhattan, Kansas.
Slogans
Through the years The Daily Sentinel has included a number of slogans or statements on its front page or editorial page. A few that were published: • 1894: "The official newspaper of the city of Grand Junction." • 1923: "Official newspaper of the county of Mesa" and "Official newspaper of the city of Grand Junction." • 1933: Instead of a slogan, the Sentinel ran above its banner, "Yesterday's press run" which was about 6,200 at mid-year. • 1943: "Today's news today." • 1963: "Read every day by more than 60,000 people in Western Colorado and Eastern Utah" • 2003: "Western Colorado's Chronicle of Record since 1893" • 2013: "Your community news source since 1893"
In 1909 the Sentinel's slogans included:
• "1893 - The Leading Newspaper of Western Colorado - 1909" • "News of the Day, the Day it Occurs, that is Real News" • "Beats all other papers. Just 12 Big Hours, That's the Sentinel" • "Exclusive Afternoons Associated Press Report for City of Grand Junction"
The same year, Daily Sentinel invoices included these statements under the paper's name:
• "A Paper With A Bonafide Circulation" • "A Paper That Stands Upon Its Merits"
Other Publications
In recent years, The Daily Sentinel has authored and published several books pertaining to Western Colorado. Books are available for purchase at The Daily Sentinel and local bookstores.
Sandstone to Summit: Colorado and Utah Landscapes through the Lens of Christopher Tomlinson features more than a hundred images. Tomlinson's friend and trail partner, Dave Haynes, tells the stories behind the photos, with insight into flora, fauna and natural phenomena. Once someone leaves the pavement for the trail they may see a three-toed theropod track left in the Jurassic Era to a surprise showing of the Northern Lights.
Drink It In: Wine Guide of Western Colorado, a book published by the Sentinel and written by Sentinel wine columnist Dave Buchanan, was a 2013 Colorado Book Award Finalist for nonfiction. Doug Frost, one of only four people in the world to have achieved both Master Sommelier and Master of Wine, wrote the foreword. The book was designed by graphics editor Robert Garcia and edited by Laurena Mayne Davis. The book profiles all wineries in Western Colorado and includes maps of the four distinct wine regions and a detailed map of the Palisade Fruit and Wine Byway.
Monumental Majesty: 100 Years of Colorado National Monument, a book to commemorate the nearby park's 100th anniversary, won the 2011 Colorado Book Award for anthology. This coffee table book's foreword was written by documentarian Ken Burns, was designed by Graphics Editor Robert Garcia and edited by Laurena Mayne Davis. More than 50 Sentinel staffers and others in the community contributed to this book.
Awards
The Daily Sentinel in 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011 received the General Excellence Award from the Colorado Press Association, recognizing it as the top daily newspaper in the state with circulation between 15,001 and 75,000.
In 2014, The Daily Sentinel won 51 awards from the CPA, 11 of which were first place winners.
GJSentinel.com won eight awards and finished fifth overall in the 2014 Local Media Association's Best of Digital Media Contest. First place awards included Best Local Community Initiative, Best Use of Multimedia-Editorial Content, and Best Blog Initiative.
Editorial Page Editor Bob Silbernagel in 2013 was honored with the Newspaper Person of the Year Award from the Colorado Press Association, following a 40-year career in newspapers. It is the highest honor granted to a newspaper professional by the trade organization. Publisher Jay Seaton said in his nomination, “For 33 years, Silbernagel has lent his voice to the pages of the Sentinel, and for 18, his has been the voice of the Sentinel.”
Drink It In: Wine Guide of Western Colorado, a book published by the Sentinel and written by Sentinel wine columnist and writer Dave Buchanan, was a 2013 Colorado Book Award Finalist for nonfiction.
Monumental Majesty: 100 Years of Colorado National Monument, a book published by the Sentinel to commemorate the nearby park's 100th anniversary, won the 2011 Colorado Book Award for anthology.
Copy Editor Carrie Marfitano in 2011 was honored with the Rising Star Award from the Colorado Press Association, an honor granted to a journalist with five or fewer years in the industry who exhibits exceptional talent and leadership potential.
In 2007 The Daily Sentinel was named Large Business of the Year by the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce for "the paper's lengthy history of community involvement."