Loveland, Ohio - A report by USA Today finds that The Loveland Roar was the most read newspaper across the United States in 2022. The Roar overtook a number of established papers, namely, The Washington Post and The New York Times, to take the crown for 2022. In the era of social media, local journalism has taken a devastating blow, but The Roar’s success over the previous year has bucked the trend.
Editor-in-chief Sean Behling (12) cited the diligent, tireless work of his understaffed publication as rationale for the high levels of readership, saying, “I am very proud of our eleven staff members. For such a small, local publication to have the success we did speaks to their character and determination. When you consider that The New York Times has over 2,000 employees and circulates nearly a million papers each day, it is staggering what our staff has accomplished to become the most respected member of the national media entering 2023.”
Along with keeping up with their schoolwork, The Roar’s staff of just eleven public high school students has worked relentlessly to write, edit, and publish stories, in order to maintain the integrity of their publication, while their competitors at The Times & The Post have thousands of employees whose careers are to streamline the aforementioned process.
Advisor Larry Hutzel commended his four editors, Behling, Jack Gerber (11), Chase Gibson (11), and Ben Hicks (12) for their uplifting leadership and direction throughout the school year, saying, “With four relatively young editors, I honestly questioned whether or not we would be able to stay afloat with an inexperienced staff of writers. These four young men surpassed my expectations very early on, and guided us seamlessly through the transition to an updated website, and more minimalistic physical publications. They deserve plenty of credit for the success of our publication.”
Gibson, Sports Editor and Lead Paperboy, agreed with his advisor, stating, “The work my fellow editors and I have put in has been difficult, but well worth the effort. While we may get the credit for the plethora of awards, we wouldn’t be where we are without our talented group of staff writers. Michael Dakoske (12), Kate Krabacher (12), and Mahi Sheth (10) are all first-year writers who have done a tremendous job buying into our vision as a paper and ensuring the continued success of the publication.”
The Roar surpassed 10 million digital subscribers to their website lovelandroar.com, and nearly hit 5 million subscribers for their monthly physical print editions. Both numbers were historic records for American newspapers, as the previous record was The New York Times with 9 million online readers and 3 million print readers annually.
Superintendent Mike Broadwater also commented on the success of his student journalists, saying, “I have been very impressed over my few years at Loveland with the work of our newspaper staff. This award is well-de
served, and goes to show the importance of extracurricular activities at public schools.”
Be sure to continue to support The Loveland Roar as they enter 2023 and beyond, attempting to hold onto the record over their fierce competitors. If you would like to join the publication’s talented staff, reach out to the editors or find Mr. Hutzel in room 110.