By Delainey Muscato
St. Bonaventure University
After 197 years of service, the Post-Journal in Jamestown won the Legacy Award from the Chautauqua Chamber of Commerce. I spoke with publisher, Michael Bird, about the award, his involvement with the paper, and how the Post-Journal has changed over the years. The award is given to a deserving, long-standing business in the area.
The Post-Journal was established in 1826. Bird told me, “Two papers in Jamestown merged in 1941 to become the Post-Journal we have today. Ogden Newspapers purchased The Post-Journal in 1963.” Bird has been with The Post-Journal for 17 years and parent company, Ogden, for 30. Before joining the Post-Journal staff, Bird worked with a few other papers. “Previously, I was publisher of the Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton, Michigan. Before that I was publisher of the Salem News in Salem, Ohio.” In addition to The Post-Journal, Bird works at a few other newspapers. “Currently I’m the publisher of the Post-Journal, the Dunkirk Observer, and the Warren Times Observer.”
With all the positions and responsibilities he’s juggling, Bird has his hands full on a day to day basis. “I don’t know if one day I’ll be dealing with an editorial issue or if I’ll be dealing with HR. It’s a wide variety.” Bird said that each day is a new day for him, but he isn’t new to how a newspaper runs. “I started out selling commercial printing and from there I’ve held almost every position you can have at our paper except for editor – things like commercial printing, circulation director, advertising. So, I’ve learned the entire operation from that standpoint,” Bird explained. Of all the positions he’s held, he told me publishing is his favorite.
The pandemic impacted everything in 2020. However, newspapers had to accommodate that shift much sooner than everything else. The Post-Journal was no exception and they did so creatively and successfully. Here is what Bird had to say about the paper changing over the years: “Newspapers have changed drastically over the years. We used to just deliver papers to your door. We still do that, but now we deliver the paper to readers via Facebook, our online edition, Twitter, etc. Readership is really strong with our print and online options. So, it’s changed from print only, to electronic also. And that’s what newspapers do; we evolve with our readers”. The Post-Journal continues to create quality content online and in print for all readers to enjoy. The newspaper outlet is thankful for the award. “It’s nice to be recognized as a respected entity within the community. But we don’t expect it, we just do what we do. We surely thank the Chamber of Commerce for recognizing us,” Bird said.
I also had a chance to speak with the President and CEO at Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, Dan Heitzenrater, about the Legacy Award. “The Hometown Legacy Award is part of our Jamestown Salute to the Finest Event,” Heitzenrater said. The Legacy Award was first given in 2020 to Geer-Dunn Company. The next winner was the Lind Funeral Home in 2022. “Our Legacy Award is given to a business that has a lasting legacy in the Jamestown area and had an impact on the community. Looking at the history and longevity of The Post-Journal as one of our local sources of news in the 197 years of circulation was part of the decision,” Heitzenrater explained about the award. He also told me about the process of choosing who wins. “All of the awards are chosen by our Jamestown community chamber committee. So that’s a group of chamber members or people associated with a chamber member that gets together and looks at the past awards we’ve given. The group comes up with some nominations and we have discussion about those before making selections.” Deciding on The Post-Journal was a relatively simple decision for the committee. “When the suggestion of The Post-Journal was put up for consideration, I think it was a pretty easy selection. There’s not a lot of businesses that have been in operation for 100 years, let alone almost 200,” Heitzenrater told me. The Post-Journal has been impacting the Jamestown community and keeping them informed for a very long time. They are incredibly deserving of this award for all their hard work.