Hollister
– Mike Schmeltzer, a journalist who’s been in the field for more
than 30 years, is taking the Free Lance’s reins from outgoing
editor Dan Fitch.
Hollister – Mike Schmeltzer, a journalist who’s been in the field for more than 30 years, is taking the Free Lance’s reins from outgoing editor Dan Fitch.
Schmeltzer previously spent three years as the editor of The Daily Triplicate in Crescent City, a community of around 30,000 residents near the Oregon-California border. Former Daily Triplicate publisher Teresa Tsalaky described the Free Lance’s new chief as an excellent editor.
“He should be editing a major metropolitan paper,” Tsalaky said. “A small community is very lucky to get someone of his caliber.”
Schmeltzer, 51, grew up in western Montana. In search of adventure, the 19-year-old Schmeltzer traveled to Alaska, where he juggled University of Alaska classes with a job as a reporter and photographer for the Juneau Empire.
“The newsroom was an exciting place,” Schmeltzer said. “This was the era of Watergate, of Woodward and Bernstein. Journalism seemed very glamorous.”
Schmeltzer said he fell in love with the profession, a love that deepened when he went to work as sports editor of the Anchorage Daily News. He was inspired by the “small, feisty” paper’s staff, and Schmeltzer wasn’t the only one: During his first year at the Daily News, the paper won the Pulitzer Prize for public service.
“I’m a really lucky person, because I found a career that I enjoy as much as I do,” Schmeltzer said. “It’s fun to come to work every day.”
Schmeltzer’s longest employer was The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash., where he spent 22 years, the last eight years as the head of the paper’s suburban bureau in Spokane Valley. Schmeltzer said he finally left when his daughter graduated from high school, because he and wife Shani Marchant were ready “to go off on an adventure.” Tsalaky, whom Schmeltzer knew from his early days at The Spokesman-Review, offered him a job as editor of The Daily Triplicate.
“The job itself was a lot of fun,” Schmeltzer said. “But although the area was really beautiful, it was very isolated.”
It was the isolation that made Schmeltzer and Marchant look for a new location. Schmeltzer said he finally settled on Hollister because of “the whole package.” The city’s small-town feel and its location on the edge of the Bay Area provide the best of both worlds, Schmeltzer said, and he thinks both the town and the newspaper have great potential.
And although he’s only been in Hollister for a few weeks, Schmeltzer thinks his new home has some great opportunities for development and progress.
“This community is going to grow,” he said. “But we can steer it, rather than reacting after the fact. And the newspaper can play a significant role in helping with that.”
Free Lance Publisher Steve Staloch said Schmeltzer and Marchant are a welcome addition to the Hollister community.
“Mike is a seasoned newsperson who has been a leader in community news for many years,” Staloch said. He added, “We wish Dan all the best. He took the position during a period of turmoil in the community, and he handled those issues professionally.”
Tsalaky said that one of Schmeltzer’s strengths as an editor is his emphasis on “people-focused storytelling.” Schmeltzer, she said, wants his writers to show how stories affect the residents of a community.
According to Schmeltzer, this emphasis led to circulation gains during his time at both The Spokesman-Review and The Daily Triplicate. He said he wants to use the same principles at the Free Lance that worked in Spokane Valley, where he tried to edit the Metro section like a small-town newspaper.
“We tried to really hit you right at home, to tell stories through the people affected by and involved with the news,” Schmeltzer said.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at (831) 637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
