The Big Bend Sentinel, West Texas’s oldest continuously published newspaper, is beginning a new chapter this week as it transitions to nonprofit ownership.
The newspaper has been purchased by Roger Black, a world-renowned art director for news publications, who has launched the Sentinel News Project to guide its future. Black acquired the paper from former publishers Max Kabat and Maisie Crow, who will continue to own and operate The Sentinel restaurant located in the same Marfa building.
“The change to a nonprofit gives us great potential for growth,” Black said. “The new organization and its board members will focus on gathering resources, covering the news and culture of the Big Bend. We’re starting by engaging with the readers and the whole community to hear what people find valuable in both news — and what they want.”
The Sentinel will continue publishing on its current schedule, with a weekly print edition each Thursday and daily coverage online.
Black brings a deep background in media design, having shaped the look of major outlets including Rolling Stone, the Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. He was also an early innovator in digital media, leading the design of the first MSNBC.com and several other pioneering news sites.
A Midland native, Black has owned a ranch in Brewster County for 25 years, which he calls Camp Cinco. He has won numerous architectural awards and maintains deep family roots in the region. His mother, Eleanor Fox Black, founded the Mitre Peak Girl Scout Camp in 1947, where the Black family recently held a reunion.
“One thing won’t change,” Black emphasized. “Our commitment to the traditions of a community newspaper that is entering its 100th year.”
