After nearly 18 years of providing 24/7 coverage of Westport-related news, WestportNow will cease publication at the end of November.
WestportNow was founded by Gordon Joseloff in March 2003 as one of the nation’s first professionally written and edited community news sites. Joseloff, who was the sole publisher of WestportNow since its inception, died Nov. 9, 2020. (See WestportNow November 9, 2020)
“WestportNow was more than a job to our father,” said Joseloff’s children, Westporters Anna-Liisa Nixon and Ben Joseloff, in a statement. “It was the natural culmination of two of his life-long passions: journalism and Westport.”
“Like many small business owners, he devoted nearly every waking hour to its success. WestportNow would never have had such a remarkable run without the contributions of many talented individuals, but Gordon Joseloff was the heart and soul of the newsroom’s 24/7 operations,” said Joseloff’s children.
“Continuing to provide the level of coverage WestportNow readers expect and deserve without his leadership would be challenging,” they added.
WestportNow, which has won dozens of awards for excellence in journalism, has been published continuously for 6,467 days. It has frequently attracted more readers on a weekly basis than any other print or online Westport-based publication.
“We are deeply indebted to all WestportNow readers, contributors, and advertisers for making the site a trusted source of fact-based information for so many years,” Joseloff’s children said.
“Westport is an incredible community. Thank you for allowing WestportNow to tell its stories.”
Here is the full text of the Nov. 16, 2020 statement:
On March 3, 2003, our father, Gordon Joseloff, posted six short paragraphs on a new website called WestportNow. “I’m not sure how many blogs there are related to Westport, Conn.” he wrote, “but thought I’d give one a try.”
“Let’s see how it goes.”
Nearly 18 years later, WestportNow has become a “go to” source of news and information for Westporters. Some friends tell us it is the first website they check in the morning. Others tell us WestportNow is the last thing they read before bed. For some, it’s both.
WestportNow was more than a job to our father. It was the natural culmination of two of his life-long passions: journalism and Westport.
Like many small business owners, he devoted nearly every waking hour to its success. WestportNow would never have had such a remarkable run without the contributions of many talented individuals, but Gordon Joseloff was the heart and soul of the newsroom’s 24/7 operations.
Our father passed away last week following a three-year battle with a rare blood cancer. Continuing to provide the level of coverage WestportNow readers expect and deserve without his leadership would be challenging. For this reason, WestportNow will cease publication at the end of the month.
In a 2012 interview for the Westport Public Library’s WestportSTORIES series, our father discussed his hope that WestportNow could help preserve the digital history of Westport.
In keeping with his wishes, all WestportNow content will remain available on the website as a historical record of Westport from 2003 to 2020. Comments, questions, and inquiries can continue to be addressed to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
We are deeply indebted to all WestportNow readers, contributors, and advertisers for making the site a trusted source of fact-based information for so many years. None of this would have been possible without you.
Westport is an incredible community. Thank you for allowing WestportNow to tell its stories.
