by Joey Young
From the Publisher
When we moved from Hutchinson to start a newspaper in Newton over a decade ago, I was 29 years old and about as cocky and bullheaded as I could be.
Despite putting our house at risk, selling a car, and doing all sorts of other stuff to make the financing work, there was no way I was going to fail—at least that is what I thought.
The truth is entrepreneurship is hard, no matter what it is, and it’s especially hard in a changing newspaper world that has been wildly disrupted in the last 25 years.
We nearly went out of business multiple times, and that cockiness and bullheadedness was dialed back significantly as I grew more humble with our circumstances.
Through grit, a great staff working together, and a lot of luck, our Newton start-up is thriving 11 years later, and as the time started to fade, I think I forgot a little bit how hard it was to start a newspaper from the ground up.
In walks a young, 16-year-old Hutchinson Trinity-Catholic student interested in newspapers and eager to learn. After two years of mentoring and watching Michael Glenn and his adult partner, Gina Long, grow the business, it was time for Michael to go to college, and he was looking for someone who would care for his budding project and grow it.
We set out to do just that, and despite plenty of trials and tribulations, we have made it to one year in print this week.
The Hutchinson Tribune has been a whole new set of challenges from the ones we faced in Newton a decade prior.
It’s amazing, but we did learn from our mistakes in Harvey County. We just made brand new ones in Hutchinson. Anyone who has run a business is shaking their heads with understanding right now.
I didn’t go into this project cocky and bullheaded. I knew we could fail. Nothing is certain with a start-up business, much less a newspaper in a competitive market.
The Hutchinson Tribune is unique. There aren’t many newspapers in markets like Hutchinson, competing with a giant hedge fund with name recognition, a radio station putting out all the easy hitters, and a locally owned radio station doing a damn fine job with sports and music (I clearly have a favorite). There are others who dip in and out of our space from time to time, as well.
I am proud of getting to this milestone. It hasn’t been easy, and it will continue to be difficult as we try to grow this newspaper into something even better.
We have made mistakes. We have had to take two steps backward to take one step forward a couple of times in this journey.
I can’t promise we won’t make more mistakes. We likely will. What I hope you will take away from this journey is that The Hutchinson Tribune is owned by people who care about Hutchinson, who grew up here and have roots in the community, and who choose to come back after leaving to make this newspaper happen.
We desperately want this thing to succeed and are going to do whatever it takes to make that happen. It might be bumpy sometimes, but if you stick with us and continue to support us, I promise to be accountable and attempt to improve with each week.
Thank you to Adam Stewart for sticking with us and believing in our mission. He kept our train on the tracks and deserves a load of credit for that. Thank you to our founding advertisers and subscribers who wanted a local newspaper and put their money where their mouth was. We can’t thank you enough for your support.
Thank you to the Swearer family and Brad Dillion for believing in this newspaper enough to invest in its mission. I told them all that if they wanted a great return on their investment, they should put their money in the S&P 500. If they wanted a great local newspaper, I would do my best to make that happen.
To their credit, they chose the latter.
I am not a perfect partner, and newspapers aren’t an easy business. One year in print is just one of the first milestones in our journey.
I look forward to celebrating many more birthdays for this newspaper in the future. Thank you, Hutchinson and Reno County, as it’s been a wild ride so far.
Joey Young is co-publisher of The Hutchinson Tribune, along with his wife, Lindsey. He is a 2003 Buhler High School graduate and proud Hutchinson Community College alum. He can be reached at joey@kspublishingventures.com or 316-712-2125.