The Press Democrat
Gus Morris is a seasoned sports journalist with extensive experience covering various levels of athletics. Currently serving as a Sports Reporter at The Press Democrat since September 2021, Gus previously held the same title at Marin Independent Journal, where work included covering the impact of COVID-19 on prep and college sports. Prior experience as Sports Editor/Reporter at Napa Valley Register involved overseeing weekly publications, while earlier roles included Sports Reporter positions at The Register-Guard and Oregonian/OregonLive.com, focusing on local prep sports and significant college events. Gus's career began at Oregon Daily Emerald, where responsibilities included covering major Division I athletic competitions and mentoring junior reporters. Gus holds a Bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Oregon.
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The Press Democrat
The very first newspaper in Santa Rosa, the parent of today's Press Democrat, was begun in 1857, just three years after Santa Rosa was chosen as the seat of Sonoma County and seven years after California became a part of the United States. Called the Sonoma Democrat this newspaper was a four-page weekly. Its name reflected the politicsof the Santa Rosa and Russian River valleys, which were settled in the 1840s and '50s by farmers from Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. The founding publisher was Alpheus Russell, a merchant with some newspaper experience who came to open a general store on Third Street. John Taylor, a prosperous rancher south of the new town, encouraged Russell to establish the paper, giving him a five-dollar gold piece for the first subscription. At the end of a year, Russell sold the paper to printer E.R. Budd, who sold it again in 1860. The new owner was Thomas Thompson, a young Virginian who had edited Petaluma's Sonoma County Journal five years earlier at the age of 17.