From the Publisher | Navajo Times needs your help with gathering news

The Navajo Times is proud to be a Navajo-owned and -operated business and newspaper. The majority of employees who work for our company are of Navajo heritage, and our 10 newspaper route carriers are all Navajo, too. We also have part-time workers, freelancers, and consultants from other Native American tribes, and a few hail from non-Native cultures.

Our overall workforce is an even mixture of female and male employees and carriers. So, we have a strong, diverse staff at the Navajo Times and that’s a quality that we take great pride in.

Our company is considered a small business according to industry standards. When everyone is here at our office in Window Rock, we have 25 full-time and part-time employees and 10 carriers. Because of COVID-19 and our in-house safety procedures and protocols, it’s rare anymore that we all show up for work here on the same day.

But that is done for all the right reasons. We have staff that work remotely, and we have a flex schedule so that our employees are present when needed. This is done to ensure the safety and health of our employees, carriers, customers, and visitors.

Navajo Times Publishing Company Inc. is the only Native American-owned newspaper publishing company in North America, and perhaps the world, but I am not certain of that. We do everything here to publish the Navajo Times and other outside publications and print jobs.

These duties include reporting, writing, photography, editing, display advertising, legal and classified advertising, graphic design, layout and design, pre-press production, printing, distribution, circulation, and marketing.

Navajo Times also has its own finance and human resource departments.

We own and operate two full-color printing presses, and I believe that our Navajo press crew is the best in the Southwest, and the printing they produce regularly is outstanding. Compare the print quality of the Navajo Times to other regional publications, including those in reservation border towns, Albuquerque, and Phoenix, and I think you will agree with me.

Right now, we need one more experienced printing press operator. Please see our vacancy announcement in this week’s issue and send us your application and resume if you are interested.

Our area of news and sports coverage, from a physical standpoint, is enormous. To the best of our abilities, we cover the entire Navajo Nation, its border towns, and some nearby metros like Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Phoenix and Tucson.

We cover these areas through in-person visits and interviews by our staff, freelance writers, correspondents, and social media. We also utilize office telephones, cell phones, emails, text messages, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

In other words, we try our best to get the story any way we can. This is where we need your help.

Our editorial staff is currently made up of an editor, assistant editor/reporter, two full-time reporters, a photojournalist, a photographer, a sports editor, and a sportswriter. Plus, we have several freelance writers, and of course, we have Jack Ahasteen, our famous cartoonist/illustrator.

We are currently advertising for a full-time reporter. So far, we have had a difficult time locating and hiring someone who is educated, experienced, and can meet our professional journalistic standards. If you feel you can be a Navajo Times news reporter, please see our vacancy announcement in today’s issue, and then submit your resume, application, cover letter, and samples of your published work.

It is physically impossible to be everywhere, all the time when it comes to covering meetings and gatherings, news conferences, sporting events, school presentations, and community activities every day across Navajoland and in nearby towns and cities. With our small editorial staff, it just can’t be done.

The result is that while we can attend many of these events, we miss many other happenings, and believe me, we are quite aware of that.

So, if your chapter, school, or community is doing something special, please consider writing about it and/or taking some nice photographs, and then submit your material to the Navajo Times. We will gladly give you credit for your submission.

We may need to ask you some questions for clarification or additional information, but we will do our best to have it published in a timely manner. This is a way that we can use your help and talents to give public attention to something that you feel is important enough to share with our thousands of readers worldwide.

Now, in the past, this kind of partnership has not always worked out to the complete satisfaction of the person or people who have submitted material for publication. Most of the time that is because we need additional information, names, dates, locations, and other important factors.

Plus, we need to know exactly who is responsible for submitting the material and photos for publication. You must acknowledge and take responsibility for the information you submit to the Navajo Times.

However, the Navajo Times does need your help in gathering and presenting important information, publicity, photographs, and accomplishments in your respective community, chapter, school, office, health facility, gymnasium, rodeo arena, or sheep corral. These places and events are equally crucial to our Navajo Times readers and us.

So, I am respectfully asking for your assistance, consideration, and understanding. Please help us, help you.

For more information, contact our editor Duane Beyal, assistant editor Krista Allen, or me, at the Navajo Times office in Window Rock, at (928) 871-1130. If we miss your call, please leave us a detailed message with a working telephone number, and we will call you back as soon as possible.

You can email us your written information, submissions, and photographs at: editor@navajotimes.com.

Finally, in this week’s Navajo Times, you will see a job vacancy announcement on Page B-6 of our sports section for a CEO/Publisher. Please read the ad carefully, and if you feel that you meet the qualifications, please submit your resume, cover letter, and application.

I have decided to retire from the Navajo Times after 37 years. I just feel now is the right time for me to step away from my post as the Navajo Times company and newspaper leader. I am not retiring from work, and I intend to do something else after taking some much-needed time away from my daily routine.

In many ways in my life, the Almighty Creator has blessed me and working for the Navajo Times and my Navajo People in these last four decades has truly been a special Blessing.

My last day officially on the job is March 31, 2022. I plan to write a final column before I leave, giving thanks and a parting message to all of you.

Until then, though, I again seek your help in sending us news and information to share in the Navajo Times newspaper.

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