By Keith Vance

Wallie Funk is many things. He’s a journalist, a photographer, a community leader, a father, grandfather and husband. It’s near impossible to pick just one aspect of his life and say, “That’s the most important thing he’s done.” But what stands out is Funk’s unwavering dedication to independent community newspaper publishing.

Since he graduated from the University of Washington in 1948, Funk, now 85, has owned three community newspapers with his business partner and college buddy John Webber. From 1950 to 1989 the duo owned the Anacortes American in Funk’s hometown as well as the Whidbey News-Times and the South Whidbey Record on Whidbey Island.

“Every week, when I heard the presses start,” Funk said, “it was a new week, a new exciting week, and I never lost that thrill.”

Webber and Funk purchased the struggling Anacortes American in 1950.

“We had $10 between us,” recalled Funk, “and they took it as option money.”

Unfortunately for Funk and Webber, they still needed to come up with $3,700 to close the deal.

Funk said: “The only bank in town turned us down.”

But Funk and Webber were able to scrape together the necessary funds by borrowing from friends and neighbors.

When they purchased the American, the town of Anacortes was in pretty bad shape. The Secretary of Commerce had listed Anacortes as a “chronically depressed” community.

“Anacortes was running on four flats economically,” said Funk.

He remembers one UW professor telling him that Anacortes was the “bone-yard of Washington state journalism.”

As the publisher of the town’s only daily newspaper, Funk took it upon himself to make a difference and he got involved.

“It’s inspiring the passion that he’s brought to improving his community,” said Jack Darnton (UW, class of ’71), the current publisher of the Anacortes American.

During the ’50s and until he sold the newspaper in 1964, Funk played an active role in Anacortes politics, and not everyone was happy with the result. There were a lot of people angry about the changes taking place in the town and the new taxes that Funk was a proponent of.

Funk wrote about the period when he and Webber ran the Anacortes American: “One could raise a question about our objectivity because these are the years in which we were involved civically, politically and personally, as were others with whom we worked and warred over issues that left a strong mark on the Anacortes that emerged in the latter half of the century.”

After selling the American, Funk and Webber went to Oak Harbor where they published the Whidbey News-Times and the South Whidbey Record until 1989.

Oak Harbor is where Funk spent the bulk of his career. It’s also where he had the most influence as a community publisher. He not only was active in the Whidbey Island community but Funk also helped young journalists get their start.

Eric Nalder is one of those journalists who started out working for Funk. Nalder, UW class of ’68, is an investigative reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and has been awarded two Pulitzer Prizes for his work. His first job as a reporter was working for Funk at the Whidbey News-Times.

Nalder recalls meeting Funk for the first time in 1970. He said the two got together for drinks to discuss an opening at the newspaper.

Nalder said that he thinks Funk liked his long hair, sport coat and bad tie. “He hired me on the spot.”

“This was the era of hippies,” said Nalder. “He embraced that.”

He ended up working for Funk for just a few months, but Nalder said that job working for Funk was a big deal to him. He said he meets people all the time who have either worked for Funk or at least know him personally.

“Journalism in the state of Washington is better because of Wallie Funk,” said Nalder.

Scott Wilson, UW class of ’77, started his career in journalism with Funk too. He’s now the publisher of the Port Townsend Leader.

Working for Funk, Wilson said, “was an unforgettable experience. He’s a wild man.”

“He was extremely engaged, and engaging,” Wilson said. “He was unafraid to take things on.”

Wilson worked for Funk for a couple of years and said that he learned a lot about what it takes to be a good publisher of a community newspaper. He said you couldn’t work for Funk without learning about the publisher’s civic duty.

It’s the difference between a bottom-line publisher and one who cares about more than profit.

Funk said that as a publisher, there are times when you need to be able to bleed.

Stephen Berentson also got his start with Funk and he tells a similar story about Funk’s influence on him. He graduated from Washington State University in 1975 and started working for Funk at the Whidbey News-Times in 1976.

“The job with Wallie is key to everything I’ve done in my career,” said Berentson, who now owns his own public relations business in Anacortes.

Berentson refers to the period that Funk ran the newspapers in Oak Harbor as “Wallie Funk’s school of journalism.” What was great about working with Funk, he said, was that he gave the young people who worked for him the responsibility to make decisions.

“He’s fiercely competitive,” Berentson said. “But also very loyal to his staff.”

Wilson said: “He’s the type of guy that you’d love nothing better than to sit around (with) late at night, drink a bottle of wine and talk. He’s endlessly interesting.”

Funk’s quick to point out that he’s not done. When he looks back at his life he says: “My life has been about people. Life has not been dull.”

He’s been married to Mary Anne since June 24, 1954. They have two sons, Carl and Mark, and two grandchildren, Casey and Charley. Funk now lives in Anacortes and is considered by some to be a living legend, and he’s still an active community leader.

Next time you’re in Anacortes, stop by the Anacortes American and you’ll probably find him there.

“To this day my blood pressure goes up when I think of anything related to ‘newspapering.’ I love it. I still love it.”