A Different Side of the Story: Former Capital-Journal Publisher Creates New Government Career
Stephen Wade spent three decades running publications that hold the government accountable. Now, he’s helping the government with its accounting.
A former regional publisher with Gannett, Inc. (the media company that publishes the Topeka Capital-Journal), Wade is months into his new position as budget and performance manager for the City of Topeka. Seeing the Capital City from a different angle, Wade said his new role challenges him every day. And that’s exactly what he wanted.
“I figured I have a good 15 years left of a working career,” Wade said. “It was an opportunity to do something different.”
Wade’s career in journalism began as a sports photographer and picture editor in Los Angeles, where he built a solid portfolio of snapshots from Rose Bowls, a Final Four and several football championship games.
Wade’s photography took him to the Topeka Capital-Journal. He started as a picture editor, but later put aside his lens to explore the business aspect of the news. He moved to the production side then worked his way up to the paper’s director of operations.
While no longer capturing championship moments, Wade enjoyed the new challenges of his leadership role.
“Whether you're on the news side or the business side, there is something different every day,” Wade said. “That's the part of working in newspapers I absolutely adored.”
Eventually, Wade accepted the role of publisher and spent 18 years leading regional papers for 12 different Kansas communities. Even from the top, Wade still felt connected to his journalist roots.
“You're shining a light in areas that need a little bit of help,” Wade said. “You're helping a community celebrate. You’re certainly helping citizens stay in touch with what's going on. You’re holding others accountable.”
A Chance for Something New
Despite his affection for news, three decades into his career, Wade’s interest piqued when the city’s budget management position opened.
“I had been through so many different mergers and acquisitions that it was just time for me,” Wade said. “The thing about public administration is, you still have the ability to affect change and help build better communities.”
Wade believed his experience in forecasting and strategic planning would be a good fit for the role. But to sharpen his edge, he took classes from the University of Kansas’ school of public affairs and administration. The more classes he took, the more assured he felt.
“I really started to see that that career path made sense,” Wade said.
The next step was persuading employers.
“The hardest part was trying to convince somebody outside of that industry that my skills would translate,” Wade said.
Wade interviewed a lot of job candidates over the years, but spent little time on the other side of the desk. So, he hired a professional to help with his resume.
“I consider myself a decent writer, but telling your own story is hard,” Wade said. “Hiring someone helped me define my strengths. I think it helped me do a lot better in interviews because it forces you to reflect and tell your story quickly and succinctly.”
The extra polish paid off, and Wade landed the job. Despite his confidence in his new path, Wade’s last day in the newsroom was tough.
New Job. New Industry. Same House.
Wade jumped right into his new government role, budgeting capital improvement projects, creating operational and personnel budgets and developing financial forecasts.
The pandemic added an extra challenge, both for the budgets and for Wade’s transition to a new industry.
“If I had stayed in journalism, it wouldn’t have been as a big of deal,” said Wade, who works at home most of the time. “But changing professions, learning all new systems and procedures, it’s been tough.”
Luckily, working remotely is one aspect of the job that isn’t new for Wade. In his publishing role, managing from afar was required when overseeing a dozen different community publications. Another bonus from his journalistic roots – knowing how to write well.
“When you work remotely, you learn to communicate differently,” said Wade, who has the “touch base” email down pat.
He admits he’ll miss the electricity of election night coverage in the newsroom, but his new venture is doing plenty to keep him on his toes.
“Every day so far for me has been different,” Wade said. “Intellectually, it's been a great challenge that I've absolutely loved.”
