In 2005 John Garrett started Community Impact Newspaper from the game room of his home with his wife and best friend, Jennifer. They began with the creation of the Pflugerville, Texas edition. Today that one paper is part of a growing empire of over 30 monthly printed and 24/7 digital hyperlocal community news platforms that serves four Texas metropolitan areas.
In 2016, printing and mailing over 2.5-million papers required John to open a 36,000-square-foot printing facility housing a $10 million press operation that works twenty-four hours a day.
Over the years, Community Impact has now received 106 awards for writing and design from the National Newspaper Association. It was also named to Inc. Magazine's top 5000 fastest-growing companies for seven consecutive years.
In this 161st edition of “E&P Reports,” we go one-on-one with John Garrett, CEO and founder of Community Impact, a community newspaper publishing company that mails over 2.5-million editions monthly to over 60 Texas communities while employing over 200 journalists, salespeople and support staff. E&P Publisher Mike Blinder and contributing writer Victoria Holmes ask Garett how he maintains growth and profitability in a news ecosystem that has compressed and shrunk its commitment to people and print.
