Local journalists celebrate 19 years of National Parks reporting

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The National Parks Traveler now boasts two million readers every year.

Kurt Repanshek started the National Parks Traveler as a way to find story ideas and pitch them to high paying magazine outlets. But that was about at the same time that the printed medium, both newspapers and magazines, began an alarming decline, eliminating jobs and their physical publications.

One of the foremost casualties of the contraction of the news industry he says has been coverage of areas of civic importance — including the National Park System.

The National Parks Traveler is the only editorially independent news organization that covers national parks and protected areas on a daily basis. Repanshek says the Traveler fills critical gaps created by news outlets that no longer have the capacity to cover the parks as they should be covered.

“Just about the same time I'd launched the Traveler, the magazine world kind of cratered. The dot-com boom was starting to take a lot of strength and starting to take a lot of advertising and editorial windows away from hardcover magazines,” Repanshek explained. “But at the same time readership in the Traveler kept accelerating. And so, I figured, there's a niche out there that needs to be filled.”

Long-time Summit County resident and award-winning photographer Pat Cone serves as the Traveler’s special projects editor. He says they produce about three original news stories every day. He’s one of several correspondents who is sent to report and document the news and hold park managers accountable.

“We hold the Park Service to task when they do something that maybe is a little more interesting,” Cone said. “So, we’re a bit of a watchdog when it comes to that, which I think it's a role that needs to be filled.”

Repanshek says there are 420 national parks, monuments or historical areas in the country that span from the Virgin Islands to America Samoa and the western Pacific.

The National Parks Traveler is also the only nonprofit news organization in the country developed to cover the national parks. According to Repanshek, it has a readership of more than two million a year and they have produced 286 podcasts with 750,000 downloads. But like KPCW, it relies on its listeners and readers to keep their lights on, which he says is becoming increasingly difficult.

“There was a story in National Parks Conservation Association magazine this past March, that raised the attention of the Traveler and the situation we were in. I tried to retire twice in the past six months and each time the readers stepped up and donated enough money to keep us going. And we did get a nice donation that really has helped us move forward. It doesn't solve the problem. We're still underfunded, because one person can't do this. But there's a real interest in National Park news.”

To ensure their future financial stability, he says any interest in underwriting or sponsoring the Traveler is welcome.

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Local journalists celebrate 19 years of National Parks reporting

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