The goal of The News staff — past and present — has always been to continue the newspaper’s mission of updating readers on local, state, national, and world happenings well into the future. In an ever-changing media climate, those goals are hard but achievable, News Publisher/Editor Justin Hinkley said.

Six days a week, from about 8:30 a.m. until the early morning hours of the following day, advertising, circulation, layout, newsroom, mailroom, and press staff work to handle business operations, write content, and design and print the physical paper.

Each department and employee is vital to the final product becoming a reality, Hinkley said, and, without all of them working in unison, it is unlikely The News would have reached the 125th anniversary it celebrated on Thursday.

Although the staff at the paper isn’t as large as it was a decade or two ago, one thing remains consistent: The bond between employees and administrators has grown beyond coworker status.

News Photo by Torianna Marasco The in-house printing press is seen from above on Tuesday at The News office in downtown Alpena. Aside from The Alpena News daily paper, other businesses and companies work with the News to use the in-house press to print their projects.

The employees together celebrate marriages and births and mourn illnesses or deaths. They celebrate one another’s successes and offer support and encouragement during times of failure.

Check out the interactive timeline of the history of The Alpena News below. Story continues below timeline.

News File Photo Newsboys gather to collect their papers headed for Rogers City in 1968 in this Alpena News archive photo.

In other words, The News is much more than an office building in downtown Alpena. It is an institution that extends well beyond newsstands and websites.

Hinkley said maintaining a staff is a challenge, but the camaraderie and motivation former and current staff has exhibited makes for a better product for readers. He said News employees are also aware of the legacy of which they are a part and are motivated to maintain it.

“Our staff cares about each other and for the community and understands the mission of this newspaper to inform the community so it can make educated decisions in their lives,” Hinkley said. “I think every staff member understands they are a piece of that puzzle and all take it very seriously, and they work hard every day to make sure every paper we put out is the best it can be.”

Rarely do members of the public get to see the inner workings of The News, from the reporters working their sources to the pressmen making sure each paper comes off the printing press as pristine as possible. Often, when field trips for local students visit The News or tours are offered to community members who want to learn more about the local paper and its production, The News’ guests leave with a newfound appreciation for the work involved in publishing a paper every day.

Tim Kuehnlein, political science and history instructor at the Alpena Community College, said Alpena is lucky to have a daily newspaper that covers local news, events, and major and minor developments in the Alpena area.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena News Publisher/Editor Justin Hinkley, standing on Monday in a storage room known affectionately in the newsroom as “the morgue,” looks at large books that contain full editions of The News. Dozens of the books in The News collections contain printed papers dating back to the 1930s, and new ones arrive every few months.

He said that, without The News, the community would suffer.

“Most government and most politics are local,” Kuehnlein said. “Local newspapers like The Alpena News have been a mainstay for a nation of communities blessed with the freedoms of expression that enhance our experience as a democratic republic if we use the freedom responsibly to focus on facts with objective perspectives while expressing opinion, where appropriate, in a responsible manner.”

At an open house on Thursday, community members received tours of the paper and received an inside peek of the different departments at the paper and chatted with employees.

In 2023, The News printed about 1.3 million papers, not counting tabs and other inserts.

Last year, newsroom staff produced 882 stories, took 1,070 photos, and wrote 2,204 news briefs. That only counts what news reporters and Lifestyles Editor Darby Hinkley wrote and does not include content produced by freelancers or interns or submitted by the community. That tally also does not include anything written by the Associated Press.

News File Photo Papers go on a conveyor from the press to Darrel Havermahl and Steve Kaminski in the mailroom in this June 1972 photo.

Each year, The News uses around 250,000 pounds — or more than 100 metric tons — of newsprint.

News Photo by Torianna Marasco Alpena News mail crew members stack freshly printed papers on Tuesday night. The mail crew makes sure the paper has everything it needs, including special sections and inserts, before it goes out for delivery.

News File Photo A News employee works on a linotype machine in this undated News archive photo.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena News Advertising Consultant Peyton Kaiser stands next to large rolls of newsprint at The News offices in downtown Alpena.