About Citizen Journal
Citizen Journal is a newspaper built for the 21st century on classic journalistic ideals. We don't drop a printed paper on your porch every morning—we deliver the news the moment it breaks, on iPhones, Androids, and the web. Our focus is local news and sports, delivered in an economically sustainable, innovative way: supported by local advertisers, and the most important civic news will always be free. That model matters more than ever. Since 2000, roughly 3,200 U.S. newspapers—about a third of them—have closed or merged. Every closure leaves a town without local sports coverage, a local government without a watchdog, and a community adrift in an algorithm-driven sea of social posts and misinformation. The papers that remain have too often been hollowed out by national chains and no longer serve the readers in front of them.
Citizen Journal now publishes 8 daily local newsletters and a daily statewide Kansas newsletter—each built around paragraph-length stories you can read in five minutes. Alongside them, we're growing our local sports reporting, in-depth journalism, and other coverage. We operate in more than 20 Kansas cities and, beyond Kansas, in 14 cities across four more states—Nebraska, South Dakota, Arizona, and Wyoming—with more communities on the way.
Team
Greg Loving
Greg is the co-founder and CEO of Citizen Journal. He launched Citizen Journal in McPherson, Kansas, and has grown it into a local news operation serving 20+ Kansas communities and 14 cities across four other states. Before journalism, he was Director of Supply Chain Management at Blue Origin and held commercial and engineering roles at ExxonMobil. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and degrees in chemical engineering and economics from the University of Kansas.
Max Vidavsky
Max is Citizen Journal's lead software engineer, building the systems behind the platform — from Cronkite, CJ's AI meeting-coverage pipeline, and House 2 Home, its realtor advertising platform, to the tools that power eight daily local newsletters. Born in Australia and raised in Russia, Max studied at Penn State. His favorite thing about America? The First Amendment.
Matthew Petillo
Matthew holds degrees in computer science and multimedia journalism from the University of Kansas, where he served as editor-in-chief of The University Daily Kansan. He's a White House Correspondents' Association scholarship recipient and worked as a Dow Jones News Fund data journalist at Kansas City PBS and Flatland. At Citizen Journal, he works at the intersection of code and coverage.
Molli Fawl
Born and raised in McPherson, Kansas, she is a graduate of Kansas State University. She began her career in human resources before making the leap to small business ownership in 2021. In 2025, she joined the team at the Citizen Journal. When she's not working, she's chasing her three kids around to their sporting events with her husband, Treg — free time, what's that? Together, they continue to call McPherson home.
Treg Fawl
Born and raised in McPherson, I graduated from Central Christian College of Kansas and began my career as a teacher and coach for USD 418 from 2014–2017. From 2017–2024, I managed Turkey Creek Golf Course while continuing to coach. I currently serve as a Loan Officer at Farmers State Bank and as the head girls golf coach for USD 418. In 2025, I joined the Citizen Journal team. My wife, Molli, and I have three children who keep us busy with sports and activities.
Rica Simpson
Rica covers Hutchinson for Citizen Journal, reporting on city government, schools, and community life. She has three kids, including Hassan, who was just born.