02/05/2016

Keith Rathbun, publisher of Sugarcreek Budget and tireless advocate for community newspapers, dies at 63

Community memorial to be held Sunday, February 7

By Jason Sanford, ONA Manager of Communications and Content

Keith Rathbun, publisher of the Sugarcreek Budget and a longtime advocate for community newspapers, died January 25 of a heart attack. Rathbun was 63. He had also served for a number of years as a trustee of the Ohio Newspaper Association, most recently as vice president, and was scheduled to begin his two-year term as president this month.

“Everyone who knew Keith was deeply shocked by his passing and mourns the loss of a great man and dear friend,” said Karl Heminger, ONA President and President of Findlay Publishing Company.

“The cliché 'a life truly well lived' keeps popping into my head when I think about Keith,” said Dennis Hetzel, ONA executive director. “He was born to be a great newspaperman and a leader in our industry, but that's secondary to his success as a human being. He brought passion and high standards to everything he did, and his commitment to his community, his family and his friends was something special. 

Rathbun had published The Budget since 2000. The weekly newspaper, which publishes a local edition along with an international edition aimed at Amish and Mennonite communities around the world, celebrated its 125th anniversary last year. Rathbun’s work at The Budget had been profiled in a number of media outlets including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Prior to purchasing The Budget Rathbun was publisher of Cleveland Scene Magazine, a magazine he’d worked for since the 1970s. In that role he was an instrumental part in both the creation of the Rock ’N Roll Hall of Fame and ensuring it remained in Cleveland.

Rathbun was a passionate advocate for community newspapers. In addition to his work with ONA, he also served on the board of the National Newspaper Association, where he was known for pushing the United States Postal Service to fulfill its duty to properly deliver weekly newspapers to subscribers. Rathbun’s advocacy on this issue eventually lead the Postmaster General to personally promise to address the delivery issues for both The Budget and other Ohio papers.

“Keith took pride in putting out an excellent newspaper that served his readers well,” said former ONA President and longtime Ohio newspaper executive Dick Morris. “He’d put a lot of work into getting The Budget out, take a quick breath and turn right around and get excited about doing it all again for the next week. Keith never lost his enthusiasm for newspapers.”

In a 2015 interview with ONA, Rathbun said that he loved newspapers as a kid, and once his high school journalism advisor showed him how much fun it was to make a newspaper he knew what he’d do with his life. “My career was determined in 10th grade,” Rathbun said.

When Rathbun was asked what was the most rewarding part of his job, he said it was when a reader stopped him in the street to say, “‘I read … in your newspaper, and I did not know that.’ It’s such a gratifying feeling to know you are providing subscribers with news that they need, not just read.”

Originally from the Cleveland area, Rathbun attended Ohio University and was an active alumni. He is survived by his wife, Maxine, his children Erik and Nicole, and four grandchildren.

A community memorial for Rathbun with be held on Sunday, February 7 at 2 p.m. at Smith Funeral Home, 115 Andreas Drive, in Sugarcreek.

Comments about Keith Rathbun’s life

“Everyone who knew Keith was deeply shocked by his passing and mourns the loss of a great man and dear friend. While the Sugarcreek Budget might not have been Ohio’s largest newspaper, Keith was greatly respected by every newspaper person who knew him, no matter the paper’s size. He was really looking forward to leading the Ohio Newspaper Association as board president and would have done a marvelous job. We will truly miss a wonderful colleague and even better friend.”

— Karl Heminger, ONA President and President of Findlay Publishing Company

“I was shocked by Keith’s sudden death.  Having worked closely with Keith for several years on ONA’s executive committee, I appreciated his deep industry knowledge, and insight regarding issues faced by our industry.  He was very giving of his time for the organization, serving on and chairing numerous ad hoc committees, in addition to his core responsibilities on the ONA, Ohio Newspapers Foundation, and OCOG boards.  I had looked forward to the guidance he was prepared to provide to ONA during his upcoming term as President of the Board of Trustees.  A critical skill demanded of leaders in the newspaper business these days is adaptability.  I have not encountered a clearer example of this skill than that of a leader managing a national, Amish publication, after years of managing an alternative weekly newspaper operation in a major metropolitan market, as Keith had done.  ONA will miss his leadership; I will miss spending time with my friend.”

— Bill Southern, Director of Finance and Information Technology at
The Blade and ONA trustee.

“Keith took pride in putting out an excellent newspaper that served his readers well. He’d put a lot of work into getting The Budget out, take a quick breath and turn right around and get excited about doing it all again for the next week. Keith never lost his enthusiasm for newspapers. He was a lovable people-person, well known and respected in his town, in the Amish community at whole, and in the newspaper industry. Keith loved everything about being in journalism; even on vacation he was known to ‘stop in’ at the local newspaper, meet the publisher and trade some anecdotes about the industry. Keith was never too busy to offer help if needed. He was a great friend and he would have been a great president of ONA.”

— Dick Morris, former ONA president and
Quality Director/General Manager at Celina Daily Standard.

"Keith was determined to improve delivery quality for his subscribers, most of whom were not candidates for electronic options so prevalent today. He was dogged in his pursuit of improved mail prep on his side, and was fully palletized and entered in Cleveland to expedite his nationwide efforts to achieve excellence. His hard work for Ohio Press and NNA Postal Committee led to his appointment to board of National Newspaper Association. He will be sorely missed by his staff, many industry friends, and leaves large shoes to fill."

— Max Heath, NNA Postal chair.