One Year of The Washington County Times: A Personal Reflection

Today, March 13, marks one year since the launch of The Washington County Times. As I sit down to write this, it's a little surreal to think about how this whole thing started.

In December of 2024, I was finishing up a large construction project and trying to figure out what I wanted to do next in life. Several years before construction, I had developed skills in website design, writing, and graphic design through my work with Amor Domini Productions, an independent faith-based film company. I wanted to put those skills to work in my career somehow. I just didn't know how yet.

After the first of the year, I reached out to the Salem Leader about a possible job opportunity. They had recently discontinued their printed newspaper and transitioned fully to online journalism. I saw a lot of potential for growth if we could implement some new ideas.

During those conversations, I discovered something I never expected to hear. They were planning to shut down the Leader’s website and begin the process of closing the business.

After 140 years of publication, Washington County was about to lose its primary source of local news.

I had grown up reading the Leader. Like a lot of people in this county, it had always been there. Hearing that it was about to disappear was genuinely disheartening.

The more I thought about it, the more my nostalgic disappointment turned into something else... anxiety.

Without a dedicated local news source, how would my friends, neighbors, and I stay up to date on what was happening in the county? Not just community events, but government activity and important local decisions. I firmly believe that an uninformed people is a weak people.

So I decided to go out on a limb and try something a little crazy. But I knew I couldn't do it alone.

When I was in high school, I became aware of a kid a little younger than me named Nathan Smith. He seemed like a cool guy and was incredibly talented at piano, but aside from that I never really got to know him. Fast forward about ten years, and he was working as the editor at the Salem Leader.

I reached out to him and we met for supper one evening at Thai Lotus.

I told Nathan what I was thinking: a brand new online publication dedicated solely to Washington County news. I called it The Washington County Chronicle, and I wanted it to be high quality, well written, unbiased journalism.

Then I asked him the big question. Would he come aboard as editor in chief with a glamorous starting salary of... absolutely nothing?

“Heck yeah, let’s do it,” was basically the response. “But one question. Are you attached to the name?”

“Not really,” I replied. “I want it to be ‘The Washington County’ something, to distinguish it from The Salem Leader. But I guess ‘Chronicle’ is a bit of a mouthful. We could do Tribune, Sentinel, Post, Times…”

“Oh, I like Times.”

And with that, The Washington County Times was born.

Less than a month later (one year ago today), we announced our crazy new endeavor. Coincidentally, it was the exact same day that the Salem Leader’s website went down.

It was... not the smoothest launch.

Within the first 24 hours, Facebook flagged and temporarily deactivated my personal profile because it thought we were spamming people by inviting them to follow the new page. That was only one of several problems. In retrospect, none of them were life or death, but the number of gray hairs on my head probably tripled during those first 48 hours.

The community reception, however, was incredible. The support and encouragement we received meant a lot.

For the first two months, we operated with a $2.99 subscription. Many readers signed up, but it simply was not enough to pay the bills. The subscription system was buggy too. Readers had to sign in almost every single time they wanted to read an article.

My goal was high quality. This was not it. So, a big decision had to be made.

Nathan and I talked it over and decided to take a gamble. We removed the paywall completely. The site would be free for everyone to read, whether they contributed financially or not. Instead, we added an option for readers to donate and began reaching out to local businesses about advertising.

The response was immediate and overwhelming.

Our reader count exploded. We quickly discovered that people would much rather willingly give to something they find valuable than be forced to pay upfront.

Then came the sponsors. Corey Churchman at Marshall Monuments. Local State Farm agent Jason Wade. The team at Eddie Gilstrap Motors. The Washington County Community Foundation. Fisher’s Hardware. Knapp, Miller, and Brown Insurance. Our first Platinum Sponsor, Mosier Family Chiropractic! One by one, some incredible local businesses and organizations looked past the baby analytics, saw the potential, and decided to invest.

Suddenly, Nathan and I both knew we weren't going anywhere anytime soon. The Washington County Times was here to stay.

Since then, many other businesses have come aboard to advertise with us. Some still do, some were temporary, and some are seasonal. But we owe a debt of gratitude to Cornucopia Farms, Skyline Suites, The Day Company, Coloring Our Town, Billy Martin’s Store, Weather’s Funeral Home, Dawalt Funeral Home, the YMCA, Realities Unlimited, and Angie Wilson, “Queen of Taxes,” for investing in keeping Washington County informed.

The ups have not been without their downs, but the downs pale in comparison. Looking back, it has been a fantastic first year. With a two man team, we have achieved:

• 60,000 readers

• 7,800+ Facebook followers

• 11.5 million+ organic content views

• A 96% Facebook rating

• 675+ articles published

• 250+ original articles authored

• 50+ videos posted

• 30+ government meetings covered

Not bad for two twenty-something year olds who started with nothing but a vision and the support of their community.

So what's next?

Well, more writers. That's for darn sure.

Washington County is geographically one of the largest counties in Indiana, with one city and several towns. That's a lot of area for two journalists to cover. Our immediate goal is to bring on at least two additional writers so we can expand coverage of schools, sports, and government meetings.

With your help, we can make that happen! If you are a business owner, please consider advertising with us. If you know someone who owns a business, please share our advertising options with them. As soon as we are able to expand our writing staff, we will.

And to everyone who has supported us, encouraged us, and helped make this first year possible:

Thank you.

Here's to Year Two!

– Jacob Dufour, Publisher

The Washington County Times