Collegian Alumni Now Own Several Newspapers Throughout Kansas

By Lizzie Rush
Staff writer
IG: @liz.rush

Hutchinson Community College’s own Collegian student newspaper has had its very own love story.

Joey Young of Buhler and Lindsey Young of Haven first met while Lindsey was the Editor in Chief and recruited Joey to join the staff.

While Lindsey had entered HutchCC with the intention of going into journalism, Joey was not quite set on his career path. While writing for the college paper, Joey changed his mind.

“(I) quickly fell in love with it at Hutchinson without really any intention of doing so,” Joey said.

Journalism became a done deal for Joey  as he started freelancing for local papers and got a job at the Harvey County Independent soon after graduating from HutchCC.

While the print industry is starting to see a decline in the modern world, the Youngs are working hard to revive it. They are the owners of the Kansas Publishing Venture, which owns three local newspapers, Hillsboro Free Press, Harvey County Now, and The Clarion.

Their business venture began when Joey’s time at The Hutchinson News started to dull down and he was looking for something more. He decided to call his former employer at The Clarion and offer to buy the paper from him. From there their company started to grow and they now control several different print papers throughout Kansas.

“I would like it on record that he did not tell me about the phone call,” Lindsey said with a laugh.

Coming up this summer, the Youngs will be taking over The Hutchinson Tribune for Trinity Catholic High School Student, Michael Glenn.

“We will eventually add a print product and hire full time journalists,” Joey said.

Both Lindsey and Joey believe journalism is an essential part of our world. Without it, communities would be left in the dark. Joey shared that he believes journalism is important to small communities because they need to know what is going on around them.

You are the first reporter of history,” Lindsey said. “There is a responsibility to preserve where we are right now.”

When asked what advice they would give aspiring journalists, Joey suggests that freelancing and summer internships are the way to go. He also recommends you recommend what companies you are looking in and family owned papers are the way to go. Lindsey urges young journalists to “become a jack of all trades.” and diversify your skills.

The Youngs are reviving the print industry with one newspaper at a time. These two HutchCC alumni found their calling while studying at the college and are now living out their wildest dreams.

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