By Kansan Staff
In 2020 Jeremy Gulban, owner of CherryRoad Media and The Newton Kansan, came to a realization that led him to start investing in local newspapers, a story he recently chose to share with Newton Kansan partner HCTalk during a special interview with the podcast produced in Harvey County.
“[CherryRoad’s] background as a technology provider, we found that it was becoming harder and harder to get customers to talk about what we could do to help them because their answer was ‘we are just getting for free from Google’ or ‘we are just going to put our information on Facebook,’” Gulban said. “I realized that these big tech companies were getting bigger and bigger and bigger. That was concerning to me because I don’t believe that a handful of companies should control all of the flow of information in the country as well as the commerce in the country.”
He looked at local newspapers as the solution to that – seeing them as a decentralized network.
“I thought we could get involved in that, bring our technical know how with some new ideas and some new technology and create a network of local networks that could essentially compete with big tech,” Gulban said. “That was the premise.”
CherryRoad started with three newspapers in Minnesota, then made a purchase of about 14 more in Kansas and Arkansas. That included purchase of the Newton Kansan, which at the time was poised for its 150th birthday. The nextwork has grown, now including more than 90 publications in smaller markets in multiple states.
This year he has hosted town halls with content creators across the country to talk about his belief in the future of the industry, and some of the challenges that the industry is facing.
“It has been an interesting ride,” Gulban said. “Big tech is more powerful than ever and I’m not sure I saw that coming. Our challenges are much greater than ever as we come into 2025. I think there is something here in terms of this decentralized nature and I think a lot of people agree with the concern of a handful of companies and individuals controlling everything. I saw local newspapers as really the only institution that was decentralized enough and had grass roots appeal enough across the country that could counteract that.”
There are challenges to the industry which he has seen in every market CherryRoad has come in to. While each publication sees themselves as unique in some way, there are challenges that are universal.
Industry wide, both in and outside of the CherryRoad network, subscription numbers are in decline – and with it subscription revenue.
“Our biggest challenge is getting people to pay for the quality information that we provide,” Gulban said. “Facebook is free. Well, it is free from a cash perspective but you are giving up all your data. People have become accustomed to that throughout the last 25 years that information should be easily attainable and free.”
Gulban also spoke about a public perceptions – namely that newspapers are not viewed as relevant anymore. And many local publications are lumped into national perceptions – the perceptions of bias brought on by news analysis and opinion publications and broadcast programming.
“It should not be the same thing, we do not cover cover national stories, really. We have eliminated the Associated Press and do not have the means to cover national stories. We are still getting lumped into the same ‘big liberal media’ filter,” Gulban said.
Gulban still believes in the publications and is committed to finding a new way to fund local journalism which historically has depended on subscriptions and print advertising. That commitment is one of ideals and a belief that local journalists provide communities with something they need.
“A trained, professional journalist operates with a code of ethics with a methodology and training for the sourcing of information,” Gulban said. “[They] hold the government accountable, absolutely, but [they] also validate what the government says,” Gulban said. “Which is another thing I hear when I go to a lot of our communities. They hear what the government says, but they do not believe [the government]. The fact that it appeared in the newspaper gives it more credibility.”
Gulban said the path for local media is to expand online subscriptions, which cost much less than a print subscription.
“The great thing about this problem, if there is one, is the answer is entirely in the control of Harvey County. Subscribe and we will have a vibrant newspaper going forward,” Gulban.
For the full 45 minute interview, visit Youtube at https://tinyurl.com/52n66z4c
Original story here: https://www.thekansan.com/owner-of-kansan-90-publications-talks-journalism-future-with-local-podcast/
