Before the Insider was the strapping, young publication it is today, it was just a mere twinkle in someone’s eye.
In 2006, the powers that be at the Monitor decided that they wanted to create a brand spankin’ new publication. “(The Monitor) wanted to find a way to give back to our core community,” said Insider publisher Danielle Kronk.
Kronk explained that the daily paper couldn’t always find a home for some of the super local community news going on around town. That’s where the Insider would come in. Its mission was to publish Concord’s “really great meat and potatoes stuff,” Kronk said.
Mark Travis, now publisher of the Valley News, was the first one on board and was named publisher of the Insider. Travis needed a partner in crime, and that’s when Kronk came in as editor.
Right off the bat, Travis and Kronk had differing thoughts on the type of publication the Insider should be. Travis envisioned a more newsy weekly paper, whereas Kronk wanted something more hip and spunky. Eventually, the two agreed on blending the two worlds together – there would be content like the police log and city briefly, but there would be a hefty dose of sass mixed in.
“We were peanut butter and chocolate,” Kronk said of her partnership with Travis. “(The Insider) was our Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.”
Kronk admitted that the first year was rough going. It wasn’t easy to get people to spill their stories in a publication they hadn’t heard of. Luckily, some Concordians were willing to give the Insider a shot and the rest is, well, history.
Now the Cruel Oppressor, Kronk still has a soft spot for her reporting days. “It’s not every publication that would send you out to get an exclusive story on a duck.”
