Episode 113 // Todd Weber of the Earlham Echo
On today’s episode we’re with Todd Weber of The Earlham Echo, a weekly newspaper in Earlham, Iowa (pop. 1,450). This publication started out as a group effort involving several community members, and now Todd and his wife Jennifer have taken over ownership. Todd is sharing how the town originally brought in this new newspaper and took a group approach to the editorial process, and even turned a profit in its first year. We talk about what it means to have a printed newspaper in today’s digital age and why this is important to our small towns, and we also touch on the revival currently happening in Earlham.
I didn’t see myself as a newspaper owner when we started this thing, and here I am owning the paper now. So it’s been an interesting road, but it’s been a lot of fun.
— Todd Weber
You’ll love hearing about the success that Todd and Jennifer are having with the Earlham Echo, and it’s so exciting to see a printed newspaper thrive in our digital world, plus the positive approach they’re taking with the news and how that’s resonated so well with the community. Let’s all go show the Earlham Echo some love and give them a like on their Facebook page!
I think our positive spin has been what has helped us.
— Todd Weber
What I’ve always enjoyed about Iowa in general is it’s a small town state and people want to live here. And I think that’s what separates Earlham.
— Todd Weber
We ask, how do we improve the lives of people here? And there’s just a lot of people here that want to do that.
— Todd Weber
PODCAST SHOW NOTES AND LINKS:
Earlham, Iowa
Mexico, Missouri
INA - Iowa Newspaper Association
Earlham Echo