News from The Outpost

When it comes to the media, there’s absolutely no truth to the adage, “No news is good news.” In fact, the more news the better.

That’s the philosophy that led Dana and Suzy Michie of Suncrest to take on a new challenge last winter, publishing The Outpost, a community-oriented newspaper that is part of their multimedia company, Lake Spokane Media.

The first issue of The Outpost was published on Dec. 31, 2005, and there’s been a new issue every other week since. Dana Michie said recently that circulation has risen to 6,000, with most of the readership in southern Stevens County but circulation as far north as Chewelah, Colville and Kettle Falls.

Approximately 4,500 papers are direct-delivered, with the remainder available at gas stations and grocery stores in Stevens County. The newspaper is free, but subscribers pay for mailing.

The Michies have been in business for just more than two years and their media company also produces interactive CD-ROMs for businesses, as well as videos of sporting events, children’s plays and other community events.

“There’s absolutely a niche for community newspapers – that’s one of the areas that’s left for entrepreneurs,” Dana Michie said. “Everybody wants to know what’s going on in their own backyard, not the bigger-city stuff.”

Dana Michie, 37, is self-taught, with a GED and some college study after years as one of Washington’s first registered home-school students. At 23 he started a career in video production “doing lots of weddings and some industrial work.”

When he and his wife became interested in publishing a print product, he said, he spent hours doing research in magazines and on the Internet.

“It’s amazing,” he said, “but that’s how we started and grew our paper.”

On the masthead, Dana is listed as the content and layout editor, and Suzy is responsible for billing and the community calendar. But they also do a little bit of everything else, including some writing.

“I’d eventually like for The Outpost to become equivalent to the (Colville) Statesman-Examiner or the (Chewelah) Independent, a large, successful paper that remains community-minded,” Dana Michie said.

“It takes determination and tenacity to make something like this work, but I have to say that there’s probably at least a little bit of insanity that’s involved, too.”