OPERATING A
NEWSPAPER
Jack Chaney from the Botna Valley Reporter was the
guest speaker. He is also a Lion’s Club
member. He was instrumental in starting
a can kennel for the Lion’s Club in Carsen, based on
the Treynor Can Kennel. The Lion’s Club
helps pay for hearing aids and glasses for those in need, along with some
college scholarships.
The Botna Valley Reporter is a local newspaper. Jack and his wife Ruth started the paper on
February 1, 1994. They rented a house in
Carsen to start the paper because there were no building available.
It took the paper five years to make any money. Jack has built fence for 30 years to support
his family.
The weekly newspaper accepts press releases from
around the country that are of local interest.
They include college and military information about local people. They do not cover general national news. The newspaper does not receive much school
sports information, so that is not a focus of the paper. It is often sent
free to military members from the local area.
Jack and his wife have one employee. They compose the paper on a PC, although most
newspapers are created on a MAC computer. They send it directly to a printer in Harlan
on Monday so it can be mailed on Tuesday. They sort it into seven sacks for the Post
Office to deliver.
Jack’s main focus in the
newspaper is to ensure that the paid ads are correct. County and city reports are important in
paying for the newspaper and in keeping the public informed of where their tax
money is being spent.
The address for the paper is 130 Broadway,