By Joey Young
On Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, Hutchinson lost its newspaper. Many in the community didn’t know it yet, but I take no victory lap in saying, “I told you so.”
On Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016, I wrote a column entitled “RIP Hutchinson News—It was a good run,” in which I detailed exactly what would happen to my beloved hometown newspaper, now that it was led by private equity Gatehouse.
The thing I got wrong was I predicted that it would happen slowly over the course of about a decade. The poison leached into the veins of the Hutchinson News far faster than I ever expected when I wrote that column in 2016.
Today, the Hutchinson News isn’t really a newspaper anymore. There hasn’t been a local reporter in that newsroom for over a year.
In fact, the best journalism in Reno County has been led by a spunky kid and his librarian partner, who saw just how bad things had gotten and did something about it. Today, if you are reading this, you are probably familiar with the Hutchinson Tribune and what Michael and Gina have done over the last two years, something that is truly fabulous.
While what Michael and Gina have done has been nothing short of spectacular, they haven’t been able to do everything that they could have, given the market here in Hutchinson. Michael just now graduated from Trinity Catholic High School, and Gina is a full-time librarian with a newspaper habit.
Neither were able to dedicate any kind of full-time effort into this news website they started, and as Michael drew closer and closer to graduation and eventually his freshman year at the University of Kansas, we all realized something would need to change for the Tribune to take the next step.
I kept that old newspaper from the Hutchinson News with the banner lead that Gatehouse would be its new owner. Somewhere deep inside, I think I always knew my path would eventually lead me back home to help fix the mess Gatehouse has left in this community.
By selling the Hutchinson Tribune to Lindsey, Jackson Swearer, and me as the majority partners, what Michael and Gina have done is ensure the Tribune gets local representation, resources, and eventually, a printed newspaper to compete with the paper I grew up loving.
If you have gotten to this point in my column, I probably should introduce myself to those who don’t already know me. My name is Joey Young. I am a 2003 Buhler High School graduate, and my wife, Lindsey (Miller) Young, is a 2002 Haven High School graduate. We are somewhat known for starting a newspaper and competing against private equity.
When we started Newton Now (now Harvey County Now) 10 years ago, there were 40 or so people in the Hutchinson News newsroom. Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed there would ever be a reason for us to start a newspaper in Hutchinson when we left to start one in Newton.
In doing the research and going through the startup pains 10 years ago in Newton, I learned more about Gatehouse and private equity newsrooms than I ever imagined. There was a reason I was able to predict exactly what would happen to the newspaper here the day it sold.
We watched it happen all over the country and, to some degree, in Newton, even if the staff there wasn’t cut as deeply as it was in Hutchinson. I am proud to say our newsroom of five full-time journalists in Newton is not only sustainable but comparable to the size of the newsroom at the Wichita Eagle.
Our plan in Hutchinson is going to be very similar, so my plea to anyone willing to listen is please support us. At the end of that column I wrote in 2016, I wrote these closing remarks:
“The poison of journalism is the lack of quality, local ownership. If anything kills journalism, it will be that. The only way to stave off this death is local ownership refusing to sell to these corporate guys or more small companies willing to compete.
“If you are reading this and you are the latter, call me or e-mail me. I will be happy to help with your game plan. We have to stick together in this fight. I know the power of the press is real and worth fighting for. I hope more people feel that way, too.”
Then, I had more on my plate with our startup in Newton than I knew how to deal with, and I just hoped, eventually, someone would take the plunge in Hutchinson that we had in Newton and compete with the Hutchinson News.
Today, I am happy to have had the opportunity to mentor and work with Michael throughout his journey starting the Tribune, and I am even happier to know he trusts us to take it on going forward. We won’t let Hutchinson down. We are going to bring a real, quality newsroom back to Hutchinson and one that the community can be proud of.
If you are interested in supporting our cause, there are two ways to do so.
First, we would encourage everyone to consider becoming a Hutchinson Tribune Founder. The link will be on the website very soon, so watch for it.
Secondly, if you own a business and are interested in having a conversation with our marketing team, we would love to chat. The best thing about working with us with some of your marketing dollars is you can feel good writing the check each month, knowing that it goes to funding full-time working journalists in your community.
If you are curious, want to meet us, or want more information, we would encourage you to join us for our first “Meet the Press” event at Sandhills Brewing on Thursday, June 12, from 4 to 7 p.m. Until then, thank you for your support in funding a well-staffed, quality local newsroom in Reno County.