Local News Is Dying. This 25-Year-Old Bought His Hometown Paper Anyway.

Evan Newton is one of the youngest newspaper owners in the country today. The 25-year-old took over The Monticello News, a small weekly newspaper in southern Georgia, two weeks ago. But by the looks of his desk, you’d think he’d been running the show for years.

There are half-filled reporter notebooks, an old film canister, a walkie-talkie, and a half-burned candle used to offset the smell of the office cats—including a black tabby named Typo who got her name from sitting on people’s keyboards. The landline rings while Newton is in the middle of editing a story about the town’s softball team. It’s a subscriber calling: Her paper didn’t show up on the doorstep last Thursday. Newton realizes her subscription has lapsed, and helps her renew it.

“I’ve never owned a business,” said Newton, who admitted he barely graduated from college. Now he’s managing a three-person staff, plus a handful of freelancers and contract delivery people. “This is all learning in real time.”