Citizen publisher Colleen Sparrow is leaving The Citizen in April after a 29-year-career at the newspaper.
She made the announcement to Citizen staff Monday afternoon that her last day will be April 17.
"I've had a great career here but it's time for me to see what else is out there and what I can do," she explained. "I'm just going to take a bit of time away to catch my breath and then see where the next adventure takes me."
Sparrow became the first female publisher in The Citizen's 104-year history in February 2012. Before that she had served as the newspaper's circulation director for 10 years. She started her Citizen career in 1991 in the business office.
During her time as publisher, she oversaw numerous changes at The Citizen as the newspaper faced the difficult challenges of evolving in a fast-changing online marketplace. Most recently, The Citizen ceased publication as a paid daily newspaper last September and transitioned to a free weekly.
"With that big change last year, I know I'm leaving the paper in good hands and it's time for a change of my own," she said.
Glacier Media, the publicly-traded company that owns The Citizen, has announced it will leave the publisher and general manager position vacant for the time being, with Peter Kvarnstrom, the president of community media for Glacier, overseeing operations.
"It's hard to go and I'm really going to miss my Citizen family," Sparrow said. "They're going to be just fine without me."
