Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Changes and next steps.

Matt Acuña Buxton

Feb 01, 2023

Good morning, Alaska!

In this edition: The Midnight Sun is joining The Alaska Current, and this is becoming The Alaska Memo.

Current mood: 😃

Changes and next steps

Somewhere in Canada on the road to session in 2014. (Photo by Matt Buxton)

The start of every legislative session always seems to mark a period of change: New hopes, new fears, new faces and new possibilities. For the years I worked at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, it meant stowing most of my things in a storage unit, packing up the essentials and hitting the road (and ferry) down to Juneau. I’ve been fortunate enough to cover session from a safe distance with The Midnight Sun, but this time of year always has marked a time to reflect on what’s working and what’s not.

This year’s session marks the latest change for me: The Midnight Sun political blog, as it has been for the last seven and a half years, is coming to an end.

Luckily, though, this is only the end of one chapter and the start of another.

I’m fortunate enough to connect with upstart publication The Alaska Current—a collection of scrappy writers who do stuff like stake out the Anchorage municipality’s fuel depot to catch a company cozy with Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson fueling up on the city’s dime—and we’ve reached an agreement for me to be a contributing writer covering Alaska politics and the Alaska Legislature.

I’m excited for the opportunity to be writing in a collaborative environment with The Alaska Current and its writers. I’ll still have editorial control and the freedom to cover politics in my style, which is a key component for me in any agreement. My work there will be sponsored by the 907 Initiative, a nonprofit government transparency watchdog group.

I also want to say thanks for the opportunity that Jim Lottsfeldt, who published The Midnight Sun, has afforded me for the last six years.

But most importantly through all this change, the newsletter that I started as a personal offshoot project of my work at The Midnight Sun will truly be my main focus moving forward (not to mention my main source of income). It will remain wholly my own and is unaffiliated with The Alaska Current. I’m truly appreciative of all your support, whether it’s a paid subscription or a recommendation to a friend. It means a lot to know that people enjoy reading the ramblings of a soft pants-clad blogger working out of his basement.

As always, you can get a hold of me to chat politics, drop a news tip or talk about new opportunities at my new email: matt@akmemo.com.

Oh! And the name of the newsletter is changing to The Alaska Memo.

Stay tuned!