Publisher's Point Of View
Robert Allan Hooftallen

It's been just over a year since we made our first efforts to expand our newspaper coverage into Potter County.

The idea had been tossed around, both playfully and seriously, on hundreds of occasions in the years previous, but it wasn't until last year that my wife and I agreed that expanding the reach of the paper was what we really wanted to do- what was best for the growth of the company; what was best for our own growth; and what we believed was best for the area.

We labeled it a "soft launch," the clever way of saying we were testing the waters. We were clearly in a fortunate position in that we had the energy, the people and the resources to take a very deliberate approach in expanding our coverage area. Frankly, the slow approach gave us the opportunity to gracefully back out if things did not go well.

Twelve months ago, our arrival on the scene in Coudersport created a buzz among the group of people who watch these kinds of developments closely. It was a novelty of sorts, something the "other" paper-haters needed; something a lot of people wanted; and something some people couldn't care less about.

What happened was nothing extraordinary and that was exactly what we hoped would happen. We had a respectablesized group of "fans," to be sure, and we were, and still are, most grateful for the warm welcome. But we didn't measure ourselves against that, knowing that for every supporter, there were a dozen people who had no idea we existed. But even with the positive early signs, we moved no more quickly than we would have under circumstances even more desirable.

Instead, we focused on getting better at our jobs; covering more; working harder. Our team met weekly, and peered at the work with critical eyes.

While that process continues, we are now finding that we are meeting many of our own expectations.

We feel like we have the ability to grow now, not just the desire.

But it's not all roses. The timing certainly could have been better. We'd like to have been set up and rolling in Coudersport six months ago. That would have given us time to work a new reporter into the mix to fill the enormous shoes of Paul Heimel, who we very well could lose to the people of Potter County in Tuesday's election. Even with that potentially crushing blow facing us, we are optimistic and sure of our course.

It has been my wife's and my ambition for several years to build a newspaper with two sections- one focused on Potter County and one focused on Cameron County. Ideally, the front section will be specific to the reader and/or geographical location of distribution. There would be two front pages- one for each county.

We've been told by many people, even those among us, that that plan can't work; that Potter and Cameron counties are too different and despite sharing a geographical border, they have little else in common. We haven't exactly bought into that way of thinking.

We have also been warned, even by people who care for us the most, that we are setting ourselves up for failure, that the Leader-Enterprise, with its deep corporate pockets, overinflated staff and long history, will crush us quickly.

We don't exactly buy into that either.

We believe that the niche in Potter County is for a newspaper that is owned by people who are available and responsive to its readers and advertisers.

To demonstrate that as genuine, several months ago we sat down with a representative of that paper and offered the staff to come on board the Endeavor as employee-owners.

We made the offer based solely on the economics of the plan and how a locally, employee-owned newspaper would be far more of a benefit to the economy than one owned by a large corporation not based here.

A dollar spent locally generates between five and seven dollars in community wealth, but not if it the majority of that dollar goes to a corporate entity located elsewhere.

In addition to the financial benefits, local, employee ownership guarantees a newspaper that is the best kind of public watchdog and the best kind of a community servant.