In the autumn of 2000, three long-time Bow Valley residents - Larry Marshall, Bob Schott and Carol Picard - began serious planning for a new publication in the Canmore-Banff corridor, one that would cover all communities from Lake Louise to Kananaskis.
Theirs was a novel idea for the day - a free distribution weekly that would put into the hands of residents and the area's millions of tourists the news, entertainment and sports from the communities in which they lived and vacationed, and offer the area's advertisers an effective vehicle to reach those visitors.
Going head-to-head on two fronts with the area's two existing weeklies - the Canmore Leader and The Banff Crag & Canyon - meant few gave the Rocky Mountain Outlook much chance of survival. Not only did they not charge for individual copies, they debuted a mere nine days after Sept. 11, 2001, when the world's tourism market had completely evaporated.
Since those days the Outlook has grown and evolved much like the communities they serve. The challenges and pressures of the mountain parks area of Alberta play out weekly in both the print and online editions of the Rocky Mountain Outlook. A dedication to community journalism has helped maintain our relevance in an engaged community. Currently the Outlook is producing close to half a million print copies annually with close to 99% of those being picked up by our readers at over 200 locations. Visits to rmoutlook.com have more than doubled in the last few years with over 40,000 readers per month now accessing content online. Recognized both provincially and nationally for excellence in community journalism the Rocky Mountain Outlook continues to focus on being the trusted local source of news, sports and entertainment.
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