Jonathan McNiven
Wow, folks, what a week! I can’t believe all that has happened since we went to press last week. Since then, YCN landed an exclusive interview with Donald Trump Jr. on Friday, June 22, and I visited personally with United States Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke today, Wednesday, for a couple minutes after he was on the radio show Montana Talks with Aaron Flint. (I’ll talk about guest hosting the radio show later).
First, know that your local newspaper is gaining traction, and we are trying to keep the local beat on stuff that is happening here. From Last Best News (local online publication) ceasing publication locally on July 1 to national figures like U.S. Interior Secretary Zinke stopping in Billings for a brief visit with the Yellowstone County Commissioners and Billings representatives, YCN is busy getting the news.
U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke reading a past edition of the Yellowstone County News on Wednesday June 27, 2018 after talking on the radio with Aaron Flint from Montana Talks. (Jonathan McNiven photo)
We have so much that is going on that we need to be hiring another reporter, so if you’d like to get your feet wet and start contributing to your only weekly newspaper that covers Yellowstone County and Billings area news, give me a call. Heck, maybe I can get David Crisp (former owner/publisher of the Billings Outpost) to come write for YCN since the Last Best News went out of business. Or maybe Ed Kemmick will change his mind and write for us since he doesn’t have enough on his plate as well. Either way, I understand why some local publications have gone out of business with the changing times, business models, and employee payroll requirements out there. It’s not easy running a business and then making it successful is even harder.
I had to take a selfie with the present company since Donald Trump Jr. was in Billings. From left to right, Jonathan McNiven, Matt Rosendale, Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Gillfoyle (Fox News Contributor)
As for YCN, we have been blessed, and we continue to gain traction, supporters, advertisers and we are working hard to be your local weekly publication with local hard news and stories that affect this area as well as keep you informed on what is going on for local school districts and local news, etc. In fact, we have a lot to do still, but we’ll focus on the little successes we have each and every week. read more
