Kent to launch paper after 14-year hiatus

KENT — The town of Kent is set to regain its local publication, The Kent Good Times Dispatch, ending the fourteen-year hiatus of designated local reporting in the town. 

Under the new ownership of Kent News, Inc., a local nonprofit, the publication will release an inaugural, online edition for readers and viewers on Oct. 12. Kathryn Boughton, a former managing editor of The Lakeville Journal and last editor of the original Kent Good Times Dispatch, has accompanied the newspaper’s return and has joined the staff as its editor once again. 

Officially founded in 1952 by John and Jane Greene, The Kent Good Times Dispatch initially began as a project by a local Boy Scouts of America chapter, and named The Good Turn Daily. Fifty-seven years of dedicated reporting followed, making the newspaper a staple in Kent and its surrounding towns. 

In 2009, then-owner The Journal Register Company closed The Kent Good Times Dispatch in the wake of the 2008 recession, eliminating local reporting from Kent for nearly a decade and a half. 

In the wake of COVID, however, Kent residents banded together on Facebook and formed Kent News, Inc., the new publisher of The Kent Good Times Dispatch. The nonprofit was formed in 2022 by Deb Schlee, Carl Raab, Karen Chase, and Andrea Schoeny. The initial group has changed and grown, now with a fully-functioning board and contributing donors.

The organization celebrated its first fiscal “birthday” on July 2, 2023, with cake and champagne as thanks. 

The first issue of The Kent Good Times Dispatch follows this achievement, and marks the start of a new beginning for the publication. The hiring of Boughton by Kent News Inc. holds true to this, bringing editorial expertise to the new generation of newspaper production in Kent. 

As a lifelong journalist, Boughton’s first job out of college was at The Lakeville Journal. She worked at the original Kent Good Times Dispatch from 2001 until 2009, so her dedication to this vision is not unwarranted. 

She said, “I believe that what I write can illuminate difficult issues facing towns and facilitate grassroots efforts to improve our communities,” continuing, “I am thrilled that [The Kent Good Times Dispatch] is returning and look forward to being a part of this effort to restore local journalism to the town, an endeavor I consider to be essential to a healthy society.” 

As The Kent Good Times Dispatch turns a new page with its Oct. 12 launch, the newspaper will remain online until further notice, citing that creating a publication with care is more valuable than creating one in print. 

In addition to publishing limited editions, The Kent Good Times Dispatch will publish a voter’s guide for the Kent 2023 municipal election on Nov. 7, as well as moderating a debate between the first selectman candidates on Oct. 13 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Kent Town Hall. 

More information can be found on the organization’s website, www.kentgtd.org