Dear Heron faithful,
We have a final special announcement:
It is with heartfelt sadness that we announce that the Heron has ceased operations. The board—Crystal Darby, Mario Ochoa, Glenda Wolin, Kent Oliver, and Lynn Knapik—voted unanimously last month to disband the nonprofit news site, founded in 2018, following the resignation of co-founder Ben Olivo in early January.
The main reason for the closure of our news nonprofit was the lack of a sustainable business model.
While there were positives to build on, the Heron, from a business standpoint, was still underdeveloped with little predictable revenue coming in. Ultimately, the board felt that the Heron needed a full-time editor and development director to continue publishing, and could not identify funding sources for those positions.
On Dec. 19, Olivo announced he was leaving the Heron to take an assistant metro editor position at The Seattle Times. He officially resigned on Jan. 9.
We remain convinced that the Heron filled a gap in coverage of downtown and affordable housing issues for San Antonio.
Thank you for your support over the past 4½ years.
If you have questions, we’ll keep this email open for a few weeks: hello@saheron.com.
— The Heron board: Crystal Darby, Mario Ochoa, Glenda Wolin, Kent Oliver, Lynn Knapik, and Ben Olivo (emeritus)
As a native of San Antonio, and living in another Texas local, it will
be missed. Good luck to everyone who kept me abreast of my
hometown.