For 68 years the Westender newspaper has had the privilege of coming into your homes and your hands, your commutes and your coffee shop visits. It has visited itself upon countless daily conversations.
Thus, it is with mixed emotions that we announce that the paper, Vancouver’s longest-running arts and entertainment weekly, will be publishing its final edition on Dec. 21, 2017.
°Õ³ó±ðÌýWestenderÌýmay be closing, but its staff, ideas andÌýÌýwill live on in other, growing divisions within its parent company. In fact, all seven staff members of the newspaper have been offered other roles within Glacier Media:
• Publisher Gail Nugent will continue to run the paper’s growing magazine division, which includes the award-winningÌýÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýÌýmagazines, the newÌýVitiscoming this spring, and community guide publications such as the PrideÌýand Jazz guides.
• Editor Kelsey Klassen will be joining the staff at theÌýÌýas digital editor.
• Assistant editor Jan Zeschky will be taking on the role of editor ofÌýThe AlchemistÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýVitisÌýmagazines.
• Editorial assistant Tessa Vikander will be joiningÌýÌýas a staff reporter.
• Graphic designer Tara Rafiq will continue in the magazine division.
• And multimedia sales representatives Matty Lambert and Aaron Buckley will be moving to theÌýÂ鶹´«Ã½Ó³»CourierÌý²¹²Ô»åÌýGrowler/Alchemist, respectively.
We’d like to thank both our readersÌýand clientsÌýfor sharing your stories, milestones, rants and raves with us over the decades. You have been an invaluable part of theÌýWestenderÌýcommunity, both in print and online.
If you have a favouriteÌýWestenderÌýstory, memory to share, or a moment the paper impacted your life, we will be running a send-off page in the Dec. 21 edition dedicated to a selection of letters to the editor. Please send your responses toÌý[email protected]Ìýbefore Monday, Dec. 18 for consideration.
You can reach all of theÌýWestenderÌýstaff at their current email addresses, after which we look forward to doing business with you in our new locations.
