Before we cofounded Seven Days, Pamela Polston and I were friends. We had also worked together, and apart, on parallel job tracks. As arts editor at the Vanguard Press, she had the final word on my dance reviews; a few years later, I had that same role at Vermont Times and Pamela was freelancing for me. We even had the same side gig — at different times — marketing a Burlington-based international publication called Toward Freedom. Our job, to increase the number of subscribers, proved Sisyphean. For every new reader who signed up, a longtime one would cancel.
That was the extent of our business experience in publishing before launching this weekly newspaper 30 years ago. But what we lacked in know-how the two of us made up for in nerve and vision. And, crucially, we had each other. Neither of us would have attempted to do this alone.
They say picking the right partner can make or break a business, and I wholeheartedly agree. While Pamela and I could not be more different — she is cool and reserved; I’m an open book and bossy — on the subject of Seven Days, we were on the same page. Specifically: We agreed on what constituted good writing and design and shared a comparable work ethic.
I’d spend nights and weekends working, routinely disappointing friends and family, knowing full well that Pamela was, too. No job was beneath us: proofreading legal notices, compiling calendar listings, collecting money from delinquent advertisers. At the end of every day, Pamela did the dishes that our employees left in the office sink. For years she also took home the dirty dish towels and washed them — without a word, like an elf.
Of course, we developed areas of expertise. Pamela does not like math, so I took charge of the finances and product development — and, later, the news section. She became the managing editor, making sure we had enough stories to fill the paper every week. This took charm and coercion. Before we had reliable staff writers, the job involved finding freelancers to say yes on a tight deadline; that’s one reason we had so many regular columnists. To spot and assign stories week after week, for decades, required stellar organizational skills and gut-busting endurance. A Nebraska native and daughter of a schoolteacher, Pamela managed the chaos with poise and good taste.
Somehow, she also found time to go out, meet people and engage in the community. She wrote regularly about visual art and interesting local personalities, organizing her own reporting around editing others who weren’t as skilled or disciplined.
For years we shared the burden of running the growing paper, and there were times for both of us when it felt too heavy. We fought — like sisters — while our employees saw us as “Mom” and “Dad.” They chose their preferred parent and collectively nicknamed us “the Ps.” Meanwhile, despite our different styles and roles, to many readers we were indistinguishable. Some saw our close business partnership and assumed we were lesbians. Others mixed up our names — and still do — so much that we stopped correcting them.
Just the other day, someone enthusiastically approached me at an art event saying, “Paula, you’re the reason I moved to Vermont 40 years ago!” I knew immediately that he had mistaken me for Pamela, who was the lead singer in a punk-rock band, the Decentz, before she got into journalism. Back then she was Vermont’s Debbie Harry. Years into our relationship I realized I had seen her perform at a local roadhouse called the Alibi when I was a student at Middlebury College. Pamela was such a compelling performer I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
I never would have believed that woman in the spotlight would become my business partner. Or that, after giving up the stage, she would prove to be equally dazzling as a writer and editor, winning all manner of awards, including Vermont’s Walter Cerf Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts.
Pamela has “sort of” retired from Seven Days, as she puts it in her author bio. In 2021, she shrunk her role to visual art editor — and it took three people to manage her old job: culture coeditors Dan Bolles and Carolyn Fox and food assignment editor Melissa Pasanen.
In April 2024, she handed the visual art gig — complete with gallery listings, spotlights and reviews — over to Alice Dodge, who still can’t figure out how Pamela did it “part time.” Alice’s predecessor continues to contribute regularly and fills in as a guest editor when people are on vacation.
I am in awe of the grace with which Pamela has stepped back to make way for our next generation of editorial leaders.
And, on occasion, usually on the weekend, I reach out to her with a question — usually to check my memory of an old story or a former employee or some experience we shared. Her speedy replies, which are always thoughtful, reassure me that, after all these years, I can still count on her.
The original print version of this article was headlined “On the Same Page | How the partnership between Pamela Polston and Paula Routly built Seven Days“
This article appears in 30th Birthday Issue.
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