CJ Baker

I don’t like it when a writer buries the lede, so I’ll just put it out there: After 14 years at the Powell Tribune, I’m leaving to try something new.

Us media types tend to navel gaze a bit too much and I wondered if it was selfish to take up column inches with a farewell. However, after this many years, conversations, meetings, events and printed words, it just seemed a little rude to leave without saying goodbye.

There’s also a whole bunch of people I haven’t gotten the chance to tell about my departure and this seems like  the most effective way to let them know. While news can travel alarmingly fast in a small town — just ask how many neighbors knew my wife Tessa and I were having a baby before we’d even told all of our family members — there’s nothing quite like a community newspaper for getting the word out. The Tribune reaches the Powell community at a width and depth that no grapevine or social media page can really match.

Whether for the better or, unfortunately, sometimes for the worse, the paper’s impact is one that you can always see and feel — and it’s what has made working at the paper both a challenge and a privilege. In Powell, you’re never more than a couple people removed from a headline, whether that’s the pain caused by an inaccurate sentence or the joy of a good story well-told.

Just like the news, there have been many ups and downs, but overall, I am thankful. I’m grateful for the scores of people who’ve taken the time to share their stories with me or simply read what I’ve written — which, as my colleagues often remind me, can sometimes mean slogging through a whole lot of words.

I’m also thankful for the Tribune, which has been a great place to work. My late father Terry’s job at this newspaper is one of the things that brought our family to Powell decades ago and while it’s been difficult to follow in his footsteps, both this community and this paper have been a blessing for us.

I hope Powell folks realize how fortunate we are to have had the leadership of Dave Bonner and his family for 58 years and counting. 

I could give plenty of examples, but consider that, as most other papers slashed their budgets and hunkered down amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tribune stayed the course and actually slightly expanded its news staff. That’s commitment to community journalism.

Beyond the Bonners, the Tribune has a talented crew that helps businesses get their messages online and in print; designs pages, ads and logos; makes sure thousands of subscribers get a freshly printed newspaper; photographs events; writes the news and proofreads to catch errors and save the butts of writers like myself. They’re great coworkers.

Of course at this point, you might be wondering, didn’t this guy just say he’s leaving, and now he’s suggesting he’s got the best job in the world?

The short of it is that, especially after welcoming our second child, now feels like the right time to take a break. It was more than five years ago that I moved into the role of editor and it just hasn’t been the best fit. My skill set isn’t a perfect match for the position and, selfishly, I’ve always resented the fact that the administrative duties of the job take up time I’d much rather spend reporting.

Beyond that, I’ve also always wanted to work an election, so when I saw there was an opportunity to join the elections department at the Park County Clerk’s Office through the end of the year, I jumped at the chance. I’ve got a lot to learn, but I’ll be helping people register to vote, file for office and just generally help ensure the election runs as smoothly as ever. While it certainly differs from journalism, it’s similar in that I’ll still have the opportunity to inform and serve the public — and I’m excited to try something new.

That said, while I won’t be covering any election results this year, I hope to do some reporting on the side, as I still have stories I’d like to tell.

Certainly, this could wind up as more of a “see you later” than a farewell. Journalism is a demanding profession with stress and late nights, and I’ve had plenty of talented colleagues who’ve left the field for 8-to-5s and never looked back. But then there’s my friend Nathan Oster at the Greybull Standard, who left the paper for an office job and then returned. Journalism, he explained to me once, is something of a calling.

His comment reflected the importance of this work, from holding people accountable to informing the public. It’s a job that goes way beyond any one person, which is why, although I’ll miss them, I’m thankful to be leaving behind a dedicated team at the Tribune.