Fort Peck Journal - A New Start

A New Start

Within a week of being fired, Red Elk had started the Fort Peck Journal, which proclaims on their flag as being "a new independent voice on the Fort Peck Reservation."

The first issue was a sell out, every copy sold by the following day. They soon switched to a tabloid sized paper, which is part of its uniqueness today as the other area newspapers are broadsheet.

The first edition of the paper was published out of a tiny print shop in Nashua, an hour away from Poplar. Word of mouth got about fast, and Red Elk and the advertising representative Marian Montclair were greeted by eager people who wanted to see the new paper.

The first issue was sold for 50 cents. The next week the price was bumped up to $1.00 to meet the overwhelming demand for the paper, and people still bought it.

The week after that, the Journal printed its first tabloid sized sheet. The employees at the beginning had no office so the paper was put together on Red Elks kitchen table. Reporters worked for free in the beginning, until enough money could be built up to pay regular employees.

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