For sale: A newspaper for the rest of us

A while ago, I heard a rumor that Piazzano’s, one of my favorite Lansing restaurants, was for sale. The next time I stopped by, I asked owner Jim Farhat if that was true. He said it was, but that he was in no rush.

Indeed, Farhat concluded the sale after courting the new buyers for 15 months. To him, it was worth the wait because he wanted buyers who would respect what he had built over three decades, not destroy it. The brothers who purchased it have promised just that.

As a result, an important local asset — in this case, a locally owned, independent, neighborhood restaurant with character and good food — will continue. It is not going to end up being gutted for a dispensary or whatever some health conglomerate might want to build in its place.

City Pulse is also independent and locally owned. And, in the minds of our readers and many more online, a newspaper with character and good “food” in the form of content.

City Pulse’s founding mission has not changed since we published our first issue Aug. 15, 2001: “To provide a journal of news and opinion on civic, social and political issues as well as arts and entertainment in Greater Lansing.”

Now, 1,231 issues later, it is time for me to look for a new owner to take over.

Why now? Not because I am done. Yes, I’m 78. Sure, long days are tougher now than they were when City Pulse started 24 years ago. However, I am still passionate about journalism and City Pulse. No regrets, except for not having started it sooner.

Rather, it is because City Pulse needs me to have an exit plan. My fear for a few years now has been what would happen to City Pulse if something happened to me, especially unexpectedly. For good (and ill), City Pulse depends too much on too few people. Changing that needs to start at the top.

As some of you know, I have had City Pulse quietly on the market for a few years. A couple of offers fell through. Two others I rejected.

Those experiences have helped me realize what I would consider the best-case scenario in a sale.

I want City Pulse to remain editorially independent, which means ownership unbeholden to any enterprise that would undermine City Pulse’s journalistic credibility.

I want City Pulse not only to continue publishing news but also to find ways to expand coverage. The Lansing State Journal’s sad decline as the paper of record and the demise of almost every weekly in the Greater Lansing area have broad implications for our community, particularly given the civic climate. As a recent fundraising slogan of ours said:  “Now more than ever: City Pulse.”

I want new ownership that is more savvy (and more enthusiastic) about business than I am. City Pulse can and should be both bigger and better. I am the first to admit I have taken it as far as I could. City Pulse has been profitable for nearly 20 years (except for losing $576 in 2012 in a delayed reaction to the Great Recession). It’s in an increasingly rarified space: a newspaper making a profit on advertising. I see other ways it can increase profitability without sacrificing its main mission. (Perhaps another regret: never having had a partner who could have led City Pulse’s business side.)

In short, I want new ownership that will grow City Pulse for the purpose of carrying on its mission.

And, like Jim Farhat, I am willing to be patient to find the right person or people who can do that.

(Berl Schwartz is the editor, publisher and owner of City Pulse.)