Onward and Upward!

New West Publishing Closes Series A Financing

By Jonathan Weber, 3-23-06

As my family, friends and colleagues know all too well, I've spent a lot of time over the last few months putting together the second round of financing for New West. Raising money is never easy, and raising money for journalism-oriented projects can be particularly challenging, but today I'm delighted to report that we have closed the deal. We assembled a great group of investors for our seed round last year, and now we've built on that with a powerful and diverse group for our first equity round (known in the trade as a Series A round). Their support, together with yours, will enable us to take New West to the next level. Keep reading for the full press release, and as always let us know what you think. Thanks!


For Immediate Release
March 23, 2006

New West Publishing Closes Series A Financing
Maury Povich, John O'Donnell Join Company's Board

Missoula, Mont. – New West Publishing LLC, a next-generation media company focused on the Rocky Mountain West, announced today that it has closed its Series A financing. The investment was led by prominent television personality and Montana landowner Maury Povich. A number of other highly regarded individual investors, including Brad Feld, managing director at Mobius Venture Capital in Boulder, and John Connors, a Montana native, former CFO of Microsoft and now a partner at Ignition Partners in Seattle, also participated in the deal. Terms were not disclosed.

John O'Donnell, executive director of the TechRanch business incubator in Bozeman and president of the Bridger Private Capital Network, has joined Povich and New West founder Jonathan Weber on the company's board of managers. Bridger Private Capital, a group of private investors, also supported the New West financing.

"The strength and diversity of our group of investors and advisers is a major asset for New West," said Weber, the founder, president and editor in chief of New West. "We believe our new model for regional and community-based journalism can play a big role in serving both residents of the region and visitors, and in shaping the conversation about the future of the West."

New West's investor group also includes Brett DeBruycker, a Montana farmer and rancher; Gary Loveman, CEO of Harrah's Entertainment; Gary Rieschel, a founder of Qiming Venture Partners; Lance Trebesch, president of New Water LLC in Bozeman; Flywheel Ventures of Santa Fe; and several other individual investors.

New West's board of advisers includes John Battelle, author of an acclaimed book about Google and CEO of Federated Media; Dave Bayless, co-founder of Colorado-based Evergreen IP; Merrill Brown, media consultant and former editor in chief of MSNBC.com; and Tom McMakin, partner at Bayridge Partners and former COO of the Great Harvest Bread Company.

New West Publishing's first product, the New West Network, was launched a year ago at www.NewWest.net. It features original reportage, analysis and commentary on a wide range of topics that are central to life in the Rocky Mountain West, and enables anyone to contribute stories and photos and be a part of the conversation. In a rare honor for a brand-new publication, NewWest.Net was the 2005 winner of two of the Online News Association's prestigious annual awards, one for general excellence and the second for enterprise reporting. NewWest.Net now has more than 75,000 monthly visitors and is growing rapidly; some 20 advertisers, ranging from local retailers to national online marketers, are now a part of the site.

"As the media business changes, new forms of quality local content and journalism will be increasingly valuable - and increasingly important for the fast-changing communities of the Rocky Mountain West," said Feld. "New West is showing what a talented, focused team can accomplish is this arena."

New West's future plans include conferences and events, specialty publications both online and offline, custom publishing, and a regional print magazine. The company also has a fast-growing indoor advertising business called Boomtown Ads.

"I was impressed with the opportunity New West presented for investors, as well as the contribution the company can make to the Montana economy," Connors said. "New media and publishing represent industries that should be particularly well suited to the great state of Montana."

New West Publishing, based in Missoula, Mont., was formed in early 2005 by Jonathan Weber, who was the co-founder and editor in chief of the Industry Standard, and before that a writer and editor at the Los Angeles Times. Courtney Lowery, a Montana native and previously a reporter with the Associated Press and Lee Enterprises, is a co-founder and managing editor.

Contact: Jonathan Weber, 406-829-1725

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