07/23/2015

Kevin Behrens takes over as Journal-Tribune publisher

From the Marysville Journal-Tribune

For 111 years, the Marysville Journal-Tribune has been family-owned and run by the Gaumer and Behrens family.

Today, the succession of family operation includes another generation as Dan Behrens turns control over to his son Kevin who assumes the title of publisher.

“It is with great pride that I am able to continue the family-owned tradition of the Journal-Tribune with my son taking my place at the helm.” said Dan, who will remain editor and serve as chairman of the board. “I’m sure that my grandfather and mother and father felt the same way.”

Kevin is the fourth generation of the Gaumer/Behrens family, which has owned the Journal-Tribune since 1904. He is actually the fifth generation of the family to be involved in newspapers since his great-great grandfather, Dr. T. M. Gaumer, and two brothers, owned and operated the Champaign Democrat, now the Urbana Daily Citizen, and the Zanesville Signal as well as newspapers in other communities around the state and nation.

“The family ownership is the stability of the business,” said Kevin.

He said family-ownership gives employees a sense that they can be heard. Kevin said he has appreciated all of the help and guidance he has received from many Journal-Tribune employees over the years.

“The longer you are here, the more you appreciate the people it took to build this,” said Kevin.
He specifically mentioned Don Streng, the only employee to work with all four generations of the Behrens/Gaumer family.

That guidance has allowed him to “take time and figure out how things work.”
Adding, “I think that’s what the last 20 years have done, they have allowed me to see the business from afar and see how it runs.”

He said a family-run newspaper also gives the community confidence that local issues will be handled correctly.

“We are more concerned with covering the county and giving the community its center and that allows us to run the newspaper more community minded than with a chain or corporate mindset,” said Kevin.

He said the Journal-Tribune, which started operation in 1849, is the county’s longest continually run business.

The newly named publisher said watching other family run newspapers sell or fold “really puts it into perspective."

“To be one of the oldest family newspapers in the country says something,” said Kevin. “It resonates when you look at the newspaper here in town and newspaper business nationally.”

Dan has worked for the newspaper in various capacities for more than 46 years, since returning from active duty in the Ohio Army National Guard in 1969. He served as managing editor. He continued in that position more than 20 years before becoming editor and publisher in February of 1997 after the death of his brother, David. Dan has seen a great deal of change at the Journal-Tribune as production has moved from the “hot metal” process, with the Linotype as the main typesetter, in the old rented Tribune building at 131 N. Main St., to offset printing at the current location, 207 N. Main St.

He explained with “computers and electronics, the newspaper has moved into a new phase of operation.”

The older Behrens says it is that new phase that makes this the right time for a change.

“My son knows computers, and I don’t very well,” Dan said. “So the prudent decision is to put him in charge and let him run it.”

Kevin, who for over 20 years has served as advertising salesman, business manager and, most recently, general manager for the paper, said the transition has already started.

“This has been a migration,” said Kevin. “It doesn’t just change on July 1. We knew this day was coming, so it is not like this is going to be a big change.”

He added, “I have some things I’d like to see happen, but for the most part, they are already in the works.”

He specifically cited adding more content to the mobile app and reinforcing relationships with “people that will move this county forward.”

The younger Behrens has already made his mark with electronic innovations at the Journal-Tribune.

The newspaper was one of the first small daily newspapers in Ohio to add an e-edition so subscribers can read the pages of each edition online. He developed an app allowing readers to subscribe to or purchase the entire paper on their mobile devices.

“It has been a fluid situation as we adapt to the technology available to us,” said Kevin. “I can see our app housing more archives.”

He said currently the app contains a rolling, 30-day archive of newspapers. Kevin said he envisions the day when the app will give users access to more years of newspapers.

“I think the app is going to continue to gain value,” said Kevin. “The subscription is going to be more valuable to readers because there is more to it.”

He added, “I hope the app we have is going to house all of Union County history at the touch of your fingertip, on your device, on your timeframe, wherever you are. The area has a rich history and that’s why the archives are so important. People will want to reflect on the growth to see how it came about.”

Kevin said he connects with that history. He sees himself as a lot like his great-grandfather, Bruce Gaumer, down to his decision to live near a former family home at the corner of Seventh and Ash streets.

“I think being right in town, being there, is appropriate,” said Kevin, adding that his grandmother, former publisher Mary Elizabeth Gaumer Behrens, wanted him to live in town.

“It’s an exciting place to live,” he said. “You can walk to school. You can walk to the parks. You can walk to work, just like they did 100 years ago. Some things change. Some things stay the same.”

Behrens said it wasn’t just his grandmother’s dream to have him live in town. She also wanted to see him take over the paper and keep it in the family.

As he has mentioned in past editorials, Dan stressed the importance of family-owned newspaper in the community, “remains as high as ever.”

An exercise science major at Miami University, where he graduated in 1996, Kevin said the family business is not something he aspired to, but rather it was a dream he grew into.

His father had a similar experience, having graduated from The Ohio State University Law School and passing the Ohio Bar in 1968. Although intending to practice law as a career, Dan’s plans were derailed when agreed to fill in at the paper temporarily as managing editor. That temporary position became permanent and has lasted nearly five decades.

“My dad, to his credit, never put any demands on me,” said Kevin. “He also never let me quit anything I started.”

He said he plans to take the same approach with his six-year-old son, Berkley Bruce Gaumer Behrens.

“I’m here to help him if he wants the help,” Kevin said. “I want to wait to see what he wants to do.”
He explained that he will treat his son like the wrestlers he coaches at Marysville High School. He said he never begs them to let him help. If they want the help, he wants to give it to them, but if they don’t want help, he doesn’t force it on them.

The new publisher said in the last two decades, “the landscape has changed a lot” but the mission remains the same.

“We are trying to fill a niche in town, that is to be the local, trusted news source. With the age of the Internet, it has just broadened our influence,” said Kevin.

He added, “As the world we live in evolves, I look at it as newspapers are more and more valuable moving forward.”

He explained that as more and more news sources create noise in the community, it is even more important for community members to have a reputable source for information.

“They always have seen us that way and I think they always will because we have to stand behind our stories,” said Kevin.

He added, “There is more and more ability to get news, but we are still the only place for trusted news in this area. People truly appreciate having the good news of their lives documented in our newspaper.”

Kevin knows that he has learned a lot from previous generations, but knows the success of the newspaper will depend on its ability to remain consistent while it adapts.

“We are going to continue meeting the needs of our subscribers and our advertisers by still delivering the newspaper to peoples’ doors as we migrate into email inboxes and apps and onto tablets,” Kevin said.

Dan says his son will be up to that challenge.

He concluded, “I know that under Kevin’s operation, the newspaper motto, ‘If it’s for the good of Marysville and Union County ... We’re for it!’ will continue to be his guiding force.”