Kyle Clayton is taking a step back from his responsibilities as an editor at the Chilkat Valley News. He has hired Lee Zion, who comes from Minnesota, by way of Ukraine. Clayton says Zion responded within hours of his posting the job offer online. We talked with Clayton and Zion about the changes.
d’Epremesnil: “Lee, what took you to move to Haines and become the editor of our weekly paper?”
Zion: “Well, for one thing, I don’t have to drive, I can walk anywhere. And I am so looking forward to not driving a car for the rest of my life. As far as what I’ll be doing, I am committed to this position, I will have to work hard, and I swear I will enjoy it.”
d’Epremesnil: “How do you get to know all the local issues arriving like this and jumping into a position where you’re going to be writing this week’s paper?
Zion: “That takes time. However, I’ve already written a few stories for the paper that’s coming out this week today, and you’ll see a few things by me in there.
d’Epremesnil: “Can you tell us about your previous experience with newspapers?
Zion: “I’ve done a lot of things. I was the business reporter at the San Diego Business Journal. And in Harrisonburg, Virginia. I was a reporter/copy editor. Then there was Bryson City, North Carolina as an editor, which I greatly enjoyed. And most recently, I was the owner and other things at the Lafayette Nicollet Ledger in Lafayette, Minnesota.
d’Epremesnil: “And you left that position to go volunteer in Ukraine.
Zion: “Yes. And sadly, just a few days before I left, I pulled my back out. I don’t know what it was. All I know is I was in extreme pain. So naturally, I was useless. But I did some volunteer work. I was able to do that for a short while.”
d’Epremesnil: “You were serving food and drinks. What population were you serving?”
Zion: “These were refugees.
d’Epremesnil: “How long did you stay there in Ukraine?
Zion: “Just a few months. And that was it. This was in Lviv, which supposedly is far from the war, and far from attack. But every once in a while I’d hear about an attack in Ukraine. I remember being there. And I was told that if those alarm sirens go off, you go over there. And they pointed to where over there was. And keep in mind, I was in pain at the time. So all I could say to myself was I’m not going to make it. If the bombs come. Let them hit me.”
d’Epremesnil: “You have a beautiful 7000 Page dictionary. Do you travel everywhere with this?”
Zion: “No, I just put it on my desk and I leave it there. But it’s interesting to have.This is an archival piece of dictionary. It’s from 1914. And obviously modern words like the internet aren’t going to be in there. But other words, you get a fascinating history.”
d’Epremesnil: “Thank you. Kyle, you just spent six years as a reporter and editor, how did you end up owning a newspaper?”
Clayton: “Well, there’s different stories about how that happened. It happened so fast. I don’t recall exactly. I’m going with “I got drugged by Tom Morphet”. But no, I moved here to work at the paper. I knew Tom was interested in selling it. I didn’t commit to doing that. But I ended up going that direction.”
d’Epremesnil: “Any thoughts on the last six years of being at the center of everything?”
Clayton: “I’ve learned a lot. It’s been challenging. I’ve definitely developed a thicker skin living in Haines in a good way. I don’t take things as personally as I used to, I think when I first moved to town, I was troubled by some of the conflicts. I’ve come to learn that that is inevitable and good for communities. I mean, there’s people with different values. Sometimes they’re irreconcilable, and you have to hash things out. Sometimes it gets heated. And that’s okay. So you’re taking a break.”
d’Epremesnil: “You’re planning to come back?”
Clayton: “Yeah, the main reason I decided to hire an editor is the timing was right for my wife and I to spend more time with each other and our family. She’s about to give birth, we’ve often daydreamed about traveling for an extended period of time. And as she’s taking the next year off, we thought that it could work out to make that happen. So that’s the goal. I’m gonna get a job, I still need to work. I’ll still be around at the paper, but Lee will be running things on a weekly basis. And like I said, I still own it. I’m still responsible for the paper. So I’m not just going to disappear. But I have all the confidence in Lee. I mean, when he owned the Nicollet Ledger for four years, he ran it almost single handedly. That is not an easy job. It requires a lot of effort. And you have to care to be able to do that. And I’m real happy. He’s here, he’s gonna be good.”
d’Epremesnil: “There’s more changes coming to the newsroom?”
Clayton: “Yeah, there’s a full time reporter that’s coming June 7. And other than that, the setup will be like we always have an editor, a full time reporter and a part time reporter. I hope that people are welcoming to Lee and it sounds like they already have been. Like I said I’ll be around, I’m not leaving.”
d’Epremesnil: “Thank you”
