candidate.
Twenty-ten is a very big year for us. It’s the Journal’s 20th anniversary.
How humble are our beginnings? Two SE 30 Macs in one room in Old Town, Eureka. There were three of us then: I was in charge of editorial, Carolyn Fernandez and Rose Welsh were the production team. We didn’t have a copier. We had to run down three flights of stairs and across the street to enlarge some artwork for an ad. We had to get in the car and drive to Photoworld to get a batch of screened prints to paste up. If the prints didn’t fit, we had to resize and reorder — two more trips. Good thing we were a monthly news magazine of politics, people and art. It took us an entire month to give birth.
That was 1990. A year later we split the company. Rose retained the clients from Adworks, an ad agency she had founded. Carolyn and I, printer’s ink in our blood, continued on.
In 1998 we finally figured out the monthly Journal would likely never be a financial success — meaning, a newspaper that provided adequate wages and health insurance for our handful of employees. Somehow, about the same time, we discovered a network of newsweeklies across the country that were making it — and making a huge, positive impact on their communities by providing some competition to their local dailies. A lightbulb went off. We copied them. And here we are today, averaging 48 pages per week, out-circulating the daily (at least every Thursday), 18 employees strong, looking forward to 2010.
And our big news?
About five years ago, Carolyn and I began to craft a succession plan for the newspaper. What would the ownership look like when we are no longer actively working? Who will be at the helm for the next 20 years?
I won’t go into all the plans that were rejected, but we have settled on a course of action. This is a first step that we believe will result in a continuation of ownership by local community members who share our passion for good journalism.
We didn’t have to look far for partners. They were sitting in the nearby cubicles.
On Jan. 1, Editor Hank Sims, Sales Manager Mike Herring and A&E Editor Bob Doran became co-owners of the Journal. They are now minority stockholders while Carolyn and I retain majority control, at least for the near future.
We couldn’t be happier.
And about that big 20th birthday party? We picked the month of July since that was when our first edition hit the streets. Mark your calendar.
This article appears in Prodigal Arkley.
Congratulations to Sims, Herring, and Doran for becoming part owners of the NCJ. And congratulations to Hodgson for finding solid folks for her succession plan. Good news for all of us who value reading the NCJ each week.
Cheers, Steve!
Congratulations to all of you! It’s not often we hear of people actually "planning ahead" for the future of their endeavor and not just themselves. That shows your dedication to the NCJ and to the community. We appreciate it! I’ve loved the Journal for the entire 7-1/2 years I’ve lived here – even BEFORE I knew Carolyn (who’s daughter is my "other daughter") worked there, much less that she was an owner! Keep up the good work!
Congratulations, Bob, Hank and Mike! The ass pubs in Vermont wish you well.
Hey, thanks, Cathys!
Congratulations Hank, Bob and Mike! Glad to know that you will be hanging in there. That is fantastic news.
Best of luck with it. Thanks to Judy and Carolyn for your vision and dedication.
How will ownership effect your critical indy eye on such stories that could effect your advertisers?
Might be good to define that policy!
This is the best news for local journalism and readers in years. Congratulations.
I’m proud of Ms. Hodgson for turning down the entreaties of Rupert Murdoch, but the important question is, what will happen to the NCJ’s stable of cartoonists?
Joel, did you get your NCJ company Hummer yet?
Mine’s yellow.