Turning a small-town newspaper into a community hub

Episode 286 of “E&P Reports” — A Vodcast series hosted by Mike Blinder

Four years after Max Kabat and his wife Massey Crowe launched a bold experiment in West Texas, we brought him back on the program to see how things are going. When we first spoke, they had just taken over the Big Bend Sentinel and opened the Sentinel—a combined café, bar, event space, and newsroom—designed to fund and fuel local journalism in the remote town of Marfa. Now, with the model gaining traction and national attention, Kabat offered an update on how the venture is evolving, what’s working, and why others are starting to take notice.

The move, Kabat admitted, wasn’t just bold—it was necessary. “If we didn’t change anything about the model we inherited, it would be sort of a slow roll towards a slow demise,” he said. From the start, they treated diversification not as a choice but as a lifeline. “We needed to add more buckets to make the thing sort of be bigger, badder, stronger, better.”

That meant integrating journalism with retail and hospitality, an approach Kabat describes not as revolutionary but evolutionary. Drawing on their combined backgrounds in brand strategy and storytelling, the couple built a space that feels as much like a town square as a business. “We just brought people together instead of yelling at each other on the bottom of an article or on Facebook,” he said. “Might that be a revolutionary idea that sort of local journalism could own?”

The Sentinel is now doing more than breaking even—its revenue from the café and events has surpassed what the newspaper generates on its own. That shift, Kabat believes, is both practical and philosophical. “We sort of trade on this concept of community. That’s what we thought journalism was always in the business of.”

A replicable model rooted in place

What began as a highly local experiment has started to draw national and even international interest. Kabat said he regularly consults with organizations looking to build sustainable models for journalism in their own communities. “We were looked at as those crazy folks out in Far West Texas trying to do something different,” he recalled. “Six years later, I think people are like, well, maybe there is something to that.”

Still, he’s clear that the model isn’t one-size-fits-all. “This exact model is bespoke to the area that we’re in,” he said. “We were very realistic about what the economy here is. It’s tourism.” Their solution—a welcoming third space that attracts both locals and visitors—grew directly from that context. But the underlying principle is widely applicable: recognize the real needs of your community and meet them authentically.

That kind of local resonance extends even into the merchandise the Sentinel sells. Hats and posters emblazoned with slogans like “Print is not dead” and “Journalism is alive” not only draw attention but help foot the bills. “People might not want to pay $50–60 for a subscription or a dollar for a paper, but they’ll gladly pay for a hat that virtue-signals their values,” Kabat explained. “We sell a fair amount of merchandise that is based upon journalism being alive or print is not dead.”

The lesson for other small publishers is clear: sustainability starts with understanding your audience—not just what they’ll read, but what they’ll support.

Building a mission-driven culture

Running a combined news outlet and hospitality space in a town as small and remote as Marfa comes with its own staffing challenges. Kabat credits much of their success to intentionally fostering a sense of shared purpose among the team. “People are doing different things—they’re cooking, they’re cleaning, they’re barista-ing, they’re writing articles—but everybody’s sort of rowing in the same boat together,” he said.

Kabat draws heavily from his experience consulting with mid-market companies across the U.S., applying lessons from those engagements to his own venture. He referenced entrepreneur Kevin Rutherford, whose leadership principles helped shape his thinking on team culture. “I don’t consider myself a leadership guru,” Kabat said, “but I like to learn and listen and pay attention.”

Their model blurs the lines between business categories. It’s part newsroom, part neighborhood hangout, part cultural platform. But at the core, Kabat insists, it’s still about serving people—readers, locals, tourists, and staff alike. “This isn’t the Max and Massey show by any stretch,” he said. “This is a community-wide effort.”

That humility doesn’t mask the ambition behind the project. Even with all its moving parts, the Sentinel remains rooted in a clear mission to keep journalism alive and relevant. For those looking to emulate the approach, Kabat offered practical advice: “Don’t do it alone,” he said. “Think creatively. Talk to people. Think about what your community needs and how you might actually solve that with something else besides the same old, same old.”

He also emphasized that collaboration—not isolation—is key. “If you’re really good at one thing, go find a partner that’s good at other things,” he said. “Diversified revenue streams are hard to create. But if you have the right people… you don’t have to sit in your office and think, ‘Woe is me.’”

In Marfa, that philosophy isn’t just theoretical—it’s served hot, with espresso.