The Hardwick Gazette began the year with some big news of its own: The 135-year-old community newspaper announced that it is becoming a nonprofit.
Ray and Kim Small, who bought the paper in early 2017 following a widely publicized essay contest, have donated the Gazette to Northeast Kingdom Public Journalism. The new entity is overseen by board members recruited by the Smalls to manage and rebuild the paper’s finances and reach.
The move follows a difficult stretch for the newspaper. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it lost 90% of its ad revenue, all of its correspondents and had to suspend its print edition, Ray Small explained in a piece published by the Gazette last month.
“Despite the ups and downs, I always enjoyed putting out the Gazette and am extremely proud of what our writers and staff accomplished under very difficult circumstances,” he said. “The Gazette continued its mission of providing local news to the towns in its readership area and — against the odds — survived the pandemic. I’m optimistic about the paper’s future as a community-owned nonprofit and will do what I can to help out during its transition.”
The paper joins a growing number of nonprofit or volunteer news organizations in Vermont, including local efforts, such as the Waterbury Roundabout, Charlotte News, Montpelier’s The Bridge and Windham County’s The Commons, as well as statewide ones, such as Vermont Public and VTDigger.
The Gazette, which covers 11 towns in the Hardwick area, is now being helmed by interim editor Paul Fixx, who also serves on the new nonprofit’s board. Fixx has lived in Hardwick since the late 1990s, is semi-retired and has a variety of work experience — including a stint selling ads for the Gazette a little over 10 years ago and, more recently, some technology work for the paper under Ray Small.
“The Gazette got a little sleepy during the pandemic and never really recovered,” Fixx said in an interview on Monday. “What we're trying to do is bring back to the towns what they had expected from the Gazette since 1889. … Compared to some of our neighboring papers, we're pretty tiny. But we're mighty.”
For now, the Hardwick Gazette plans to continue publishing online, with no charge to readers. Fixx is working with longtime production contractors-turned-employees Dawn Gustafson and Sandy Atkins to put out the paper. Sports reporter Ken Brown, longtime photographer Vanessa Fournier, columnists and a cartoonist, as well as Ray Small, all contribute, and the paper has several content-sharing partnerships with other news organizations, including VTDigger.
Since Fixx started in his new position, everyone — including potential advertisers — want to know one thing: When will the Gazette return to print?
Fixx said that it will likely take six months to a year and depends on the organization’s ability to line up donations, advertisers and grants or other sources of income. As a first step, however, there are now printed copies of the 20-ish-page paper available to read at the libraries in Hardwick and Greensboro.
Fixx also hopes the Gazette can find a way to pay for an editor and an on-the-ground reporter.
When the Smalls donated the paper to the nonprofit, they also provided a cash donation. According to Fixx, those funds will allow the Gazette to survive for six months without additional income.
Soon after the Smalls’ gift, an anonymous donor offered to match the first $12,000 raised by the nonprofit. That match is still ongoing, Fixx said Monday.
“In the first two weeks we were online (as a nonprofit), we had a big influx of donations — including several in the $500 to $1,000 range,” Fixx said. “I see that as a big confirmation that the Gazette is important to people.”
The Smalls also donated the former Hardwick Gazette building to the Civic Standard, a community-centered nonprofit that began leasing the space in late 2022. The Gazette had moved its operations out of the building in early 2020 to reduce operating costs.
For now, the Hardwick Gazette is renting space in the Greensboro Town Hall, though Fixx said the paper will likely move back to Hardwick if the opportunity arises.
In addition to the myriad things Fixx and the rest of the Gazette team are working on, they are hoping to fully cover Town Meeting Day in all 11 towns they cover, publishing results in the paper the next day.
“We're fully committed to the idea that a nonprofit, community-supported, public local news organization can function here in this area,” Fixx said.
Production employees Gustafson and Atkins, who have a combined six decades of experience with the Hardwick Gazette, agree. When asked on Monday what they want the state to know about what they’re up to, the pair made clear that the Gazette has been here for 135 years — and isn’t going away.
