PASS CHRISTIAN Jace Ponder, the new owner and publisher/editor of the biweekly Gazebo Gazette in Pass Christian, will return the community newspaper to a weekly schedule and pump up coverage of local news and sports. He also wants to add the city’s and school district’s legal notices to keep residents informed.
Ponder said weekly publication will resume in a month or two. “People are yearning for more news more often,” he said. “I have the support of the business community and the readers to keep it publishing weekly.”
Evelina Shmukler Burnett launched the Gazebo Gazette as a weekly newsletter in January 2006. She recently took a job with Mississippi Public Broadcasting. The paper never missed an edition during the transition.
Ponder said he hit the ground running to get his first edition out on May 31. At the time, he was handling ad sales at the Sea Coast Echo in Bay St. Louis during the day and working on the Gazebo Gazette at night.
Ponder didn’t reveal the sale price, saying only it was “a reasonable amount.”
For the time being, the Gazette is a one-man operation.
Ponder, 28, has experience in reporting and advertising. He grew up in the newspaper business and has a master’s in journalism from Ole Miss. His father is Randy Ponder, longtime employee and editor/publisher of the Sea Coast Echo.
Randy Ponder said, “I’m really happy but hate to see him leave us. Jace was a very valuable employee at the Echo. I think he’ll do a great job and wish him all the best. And who knows? One day I might be working for him.”
Jace Ponder said, “Evelina built a great newspaper that the residents have really grown to love and I hope to carry on what she’s started.”
The next edition is Friday, July 26.