Sam Hoisington is a 20-something news entrepreneur who founded Madison (Wisconsin) Minutes in late 2020 and transformed a humble email newsletter into a daily newsletter with 20,000 subscribers. After selling the Madison Minutes in 2023, he returned to his hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas, and launched The Bentonville Bulletin.
Our conversation revealed Hoisington’s vision for the Bulletin and how he applies the business skills and experience he gained operating the Madison Minutes.
Q: Was journalism a career goal or dream from an early age?
A: No. I was a history major for the first couple of semesters in college, but then I discovered a journalism major and became excited about that. I do love journalism. I love reporting and the business side of it.
Q: What did you learn about the business side of journalism from your Madison Minutes experience?
A: The biggest thing I learned is how to make money. Many journalism startups don’t have someone on staff who has news business experience. At Madison Minutes, I was responsible for advertising and the reader revenue program. My business partner took care of the editorial content. I learned how much advertisers will pay for ads and what ad format they prefer. It was a great learning experience.
Q: Why do you think this is the moment local news can succeed?
A: First, interest from national and local funders has increased significantly in the past few years. Second, during my pitch to start Madison Minutes, I was surprised to learn that more people know journalism is in trouble than I thought. Just about everyone is willing to do something and become involved now.
Q: How will you apply what you’ve learned about the business side of journalism to The Bentonville Bulletin?
A: I intend to tell everyone how much we had to pay for insurance and legal fees just to set up the Bulletin. When people read our email newsletter or blog, they are unlikely to think about how much it costs to create and publish that content. I want them to know we spent $1,000 on this and $2,000 on that so that they could read our content.
Q: What is the composition of your staff?
A: I just hired a full-time managing editor, Heather McCombs, with 15 years of reporting and editorial experience. We have a few freelancers, but we’ll have some more once Heather is in place.
Q: How much has Bulletin readership increased since you launched in April 2024?
A: We have approximately 4,300 newsletter subscribers with a 60% open rate. People are very interested in the Bulletin. I had to stop promoting subscriptions because I received so much inbound interest and story ideas. My goal is 10,000 to 12,000 newsletter subscribers by the end of the year.
Mitch Bettis is the owner and president of Arkansas Business Publishing Group, which has approximately 30 titles across the state and into Texas. He is a proud supporter of Hoisington and his newest venture.
“Sam was an intern at our business magazine in 2017, among the five to eight we have every summer. He caught our eye, and I've been able to watch his career, his entrepreneurial endeavors and the development of his business skillset. I was incredibly excited when he wanted to return to his hometown and wanted to be supportive in any way possible. It’s rare to find someone with talent and heart for community journalism,” Bettis said.
“It’s encouraging to me that Sam is an example of young people gravitating toward locally owned community journalism as a place of import and impact.”
Bob Sillick has held many senior positions and served a myriad of clients during his 47 years in marketing and advertising. He has been a freelance/contract content researcher, writer, editor and manager since 2010. He can be reached at bobsillick@gmail.com.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here