CULLMAN – On April 1, CullmanSense officially acquired The Cullman Tribune, Alabama’s oldest continuously published weekly newspaper. CullmanSense publishers Noah Galilee and Dustin Isom purchased the Tribune from Delton Blalock, the Tribune’s owner and publisher for the last 26 years.
Today’s issue, April 4, 2016, is CullmanSense’s first under the banner of The Cullman Tribune.
Those of us who grew up in Alabama, especially in Cullman, know the Tribune. And if you’ve been here any time from 2011 until now, you know CullmanSense.
But what happens now and what does this mean for our readers? Here we speak with Galilee and Isom to find out.
First up, what does it mean to Galilee and Isom to be the new owners of a piece of history, the Tribune?
Galilee: To be honest, it's a lot of pressure. We built CullmanSense from the ground up, the two of us at the beginning, and then our small staff, working hard to make a difference in this community. Taking over the oldest weekly in the state, well, that's a bit more of a challenge. However, since we have already built a paper from scratch we are positive that this acquisition will only help to improve the type of news we cover. It will also help increase the amount of coverage we are able to supply to our readers.
Isom: It's an honor to be the owner of the state’s oldest paper. We will maintain the Tribune’s legacy by continuing the tradition of excellence and keeping the name alive.
How long has this been in the works?
Galilee: (laughs)…well, we were first approached a couple of years back, but due to some health issues with myself, CullmanSense had to back away for a bit. Mr. Blalock reached out to Dustin in January of this year. Shortly after, in mid-February, we signed papers giving us full rights to The Cullman Tribune, all its archives, photos and much more.
Speaking of those archives, how will they be handled? Will they be digitized to share with the public?
Isom: In time all issues will be digitized and available to the public online. Paper copies will be stored in a safe place.
How will The Tribune and CullmanSense operate going forward? What can readers expect?
Isom: The Cullman Tribune will feature the best of CullmanSense in print form and some exclusive content, while CullmanSense will remain online. Basically, the Tribune will be our print publication, and CullmanSense will be our online publication.
Galilee: Many readers of The Cullman Tribune will notice a dramatic difference in the look of the publication. We are getting rid of the broadsheet and switching over to the tabloid style design. This just means more pages, with at least four color pages per issue. We will be keeping Robin Winton on as our newsroom manager, Kevin Bishop as one of our sports reporters and several other contributors who have been with the Tribune. Readers will also be introduced to the CS staff of Wendy Sack, Sharon Kreps, Amy Leonard, Josh McBrayer, Johnny Thornton, Will Hogue and many other contributors.
Online readers of CS won’t notice much a change in the look or feel of our website or social media pages.
Any words for Mr. Blalock?
Isom: Thank you for the opportunity to carry on this historical publication and continue the legacy of excellence for another generation.
Galilee: When Mr. Blalock handed over the keys, I told him that we will make him proud and that his 26 years of service would not go to waste. I believe he was more than pleased to hear it.
Blalock will be listed as editor emeritus for the Tribune.
The acquisition of The Cullman Tribune means a lot to CullmanSense. Not only are we taking over a newspaper, but we are taking over the oldest continuously running weekly publication in the state- one that is three years older than Cullman itself! So we are humbled to be carrying on 142 years of history.
