Old enough to drive, not old enough to vote
Sixteen years ago this week, a small group of people with a dream introduced a new publication to Chattanooga. A weekly alternative newspaper that promised to keep its finger on the “pulse” of Chattanooga.
And so, The Pulse was born.
Under the leadership of co-founders Zach Cooper and Michael Kull, and the editorial direction of Bill Colrus, The Pulse quickly found a place in our fast-changing city.
With an often irreverent attitude and style, those early trailblazers gathered together an eclectic group of contributors to take a fresh look at Chattanooga. Our people, our music, our art, and our culture.
And from the very first issue, which (correctly) forecast the rebirth of the Southside from urban blight to today’s vibrant community, The Pulsehas never shied away from telling intriguing stories.
Nor has it shied away from telling stories that others might not want told or were unable (for any number of reasons) to tell themselves.
Through five years (and four office changes), the original gang held things together with hope and optimism, only to come to what they feared would be the end of the road.
Enter Jim Brewer II.
I remember clearly having lunch with him back in 2008 when he mentioned he was thinking of purchasing The Pulse. As one of those early contributors myself, I was all in favor of the move. Not only would it keep the paper alive (which I felt was very important), it would also bring it into the Brewer Media Group family.
As a family-owned business with deep roots in the community, I was not afraid The Pulse would be castrated by some faceless corporation. And so eleven years ago, we made one more move into our current home on Carter Street and entered into a new chapter.
The past decade has seen a number of new challenges. The growth of the internet, the explosion of social media, the decline of magazines and newspapers, the way people changed how they consume media—all contributed to keeping us on our toes and never being able to afford to be complacent.
Even so, what has kept The Pulse viable has been our vision: telling great stories about Chattanooga. Our people, our music, our art, our culture. And we do that every week with some of the best writers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.
I also would be remiss if I didn't send out a very appreciative thanks to the amazing assistant editors we've had over the past eleven years: Janis Hashe, Brooke Brown, Jenn Webster, and our current assistant editor Jessie Gantt-Temple. Their tireless dedication to making sure every issue is as accruate and strong as possible is something I am very thankful for.
As for the city we call home and have been writing about, well...Chattanooga has changed a lot in the past sixteen years, and it shows no sign of slowing that rate of change. In fact, from everything we can see, the changes are coming ever faster.
The city is all but exploding with new homes, new apartments, new restaurants, new clubs, new galleries, new business, new development—all a testament to what makes Chattanooga one of the most compelling cities in the Southeast, if not the country.
All one has to do is head down to the Southside this week to MainX24 to see just how much the city has changed since we published out first issue.
Or simply stroll around the West Village, the rejuvenated MLK district, the ever-expanding downtown, or the eternally cool Northshore.
Sure, we have our challenges. There are many issues that any city faces: problems with crime, education, infrastructure, and so forth. But I see a city that is facing those challenges, searching for solutions, and trying every day to make this a better, stronger, more welcoming community.
Just trying to keep up with everything that is changing is a challenge in and of itself. There are so many great stories happening in this city, and I look forward to sharing them every week with you as we move into our seventeenth year.
Thanks for being there with us.