For Immediate Release
Monday, May 14, 2012

For More Information:

• Fran Zankowski, CEO

fran@csindy.com

(719) 577-4545

• Ralph Routon, Executive Editor
routon@csindy.com
(719) 577-4545

Colorado Springs Business Journal Returns to Local Ownership June 1

The owners of the Colorado Springs Independent, the Pikes Peak region’s
largest locally owned media company, will acquire the Colorado Springs
Business Journal on June 1, 2012 from The Dolan Company, a national
media conglomerate that owns more than 50 publications across the U.S.

The new owners also will apply to service Dolan’s contract publishing of
three local military newspapers: the Fort Carson Mountaineer, Peterson (Air
Force Base) Space Observer and Schriever (AFB) Sentinel. More than
68,000 local adults read these publications in print, and thousands more via
their popular web portals. (see below)

“Local decision-makers with long-term commitments to — and
understanding of — our vibrant community are the key to success,” says
John Weiss, publisher of the Independent and majority owner of the
purchasing group.

“During the next three to six months, to ensure a smooth transition from
national to local control, the Independent’s Executive Editor Ralph Routon
and CEO Fran Zankowski will divide their time between both
organizations. For the time being, former City Councilor John Hazlehurst will
also report and opine for both the CSBJ and the Indy.”

“We’re looking forward to making the Business Journal a stronger, more
essential presence,” says Routon, whose local newspaper roots date to
1977. “Business is the most powerful force shaping the Pikes Peak region.
My mission is to ensure the Business Journal continues to provide timely,
accurate and insightful reporting of critical interest to local decision-makers.”

“The current staff at CSBJ and the military papers is rock-solid,” said
Zankowski, a longtime newspaper executive who has been at the
Independent since 2005. “In the coming months and years we anticipate
growing the current 20-person staff to publish even stronger print and online
offerings.”

We are psyched,” added Weiss, who co-founded the Independent 19 years
ago. The 1978 Colorado College graduate continued, “Six months from now
the CSBJ will be even more of a must-read for everyone interested in
understanding the entrepreneurial, civic and demographic forces impacting
local business decisions.”