Bob & Wendy became instant bestsellers on Substack

this is a longer version than the story we shared in The Dirt, with extra quotes including who else tried to hire Wendy Weitzel. PS: they're still trying. ;)

The longest-running newspaper column in America was dropped from The Enterprise last month with a quick phone call to lay off writer

Bob Dunning

. Dunning, who named Davis “the town of all things right and relevant”, took a beat—and then took to Substack to continue his column

The Wary One

in a direct-to-reader fashion.

Within days, Dunning had amassed thousands of followers on the platform. One he hadn’t even heard of days earlier.

“It's true, I did not know about Substack. But my sweetheart, Shelley, and all six of my kids, not only knew about it, they were confident this would be a great place for my column to continue uninterrupted. They were right. They were so, so right,” Dunning told The Dirt. “Almost overnight, I had several thousand subscribers, and just two weeks after launch we're nearing 4,000. It's unbelievable, at least to me. I feel like I'm living a dream. I've never traveled at the speed of light before, but it's certainly thrilling.”

What The Enterprise may have failed to comprehend before phoning Dunning was the following he had amassed over the last 54 years. Nimble like Dunning, they followed him to Substack in one week, paying subscription fees for the privilege of seeing Bob Dunning’s name and words in their inbox.

Substack allows writers and journalists to publish their own work on a subscription basis, behind a paywall. It’s not much different than how Dunning’s column worked with The Enterprise—only this time, he’s in control of his words and their value.

A subscription to The Wary One is $7/month, $70/year, or $350 for founding, life-long membership.

One week after Dunning was laid off,

Comings & Goings

columnist

Wendy Weitzel

left The Enterprise in an act of solidarity. She joined Dunning on his Substack journey.

Weitzel started Comings & Goings to cover business news in Davis and Yolo County in 2001, but her history with the paper goes back even further.

The decision to leave, she said, was tough.

“The biggest decision was whether to leave the paper I’ve loved for 25 years. I had some friends urging me to quit immediately when they heard Bob didn’t get a severance after 54 years. I waited a week to verify the news and see if McNaughton Media would bow to the pressure and give him a severance. They didn’t. I wanted to write a farewell column. Several other writers who quit over this did so quietly,” Weitzel told The Dirt.

Comings & Goings, which had long been the most clicked on content on The Enterprise’s website, made a natural transition to Substack. But not for lack of trying on the part of a few other folks in town who saw Weitzel’s value and wanted to work with her, too.

“I had other attractive offers, including from The Dirt, but this one was the best fit,” Weitzel explained to The Dirt. “It’s a super user-friendly platform, where subscribers get an email every time I post a column. We’re getting noticed by the Substack founders for what we’re doing. We have the backing of a local entrepreneur,

Brian Bolz

and his teams at Beehively and TechaBee. They made everything happen so quickly.

Comings & Goings subscribers can get excited about new types of reporting and content from Weitzel on this new platform.

“I am no longer limited to my Friday morning deadline for the Sunday business page. I can post when news breaks. Also, I can expand to cover areas that overlap with Enterprise reporters’ beats without worrying about stepping on toes. Likewise, I don’t have to worry about Enterprise reporters covering my beat,” she explained. “Since it’s an online-only platform, I can add lots of links to business websites or related news, without making the text too cumbersome.”

On Substack, Weitzel is in full control of her column. No more middleman-newspaper-editor telling her what to do or when. She now breaks news as it happens, no longer constrained to once-a-week deadlines.

“I’ve loved writing this column for the last 23 years, and am excited about its potential for growth on Substack,” Weitzel said. “I feel like all of that groundwork is finally paying off.”

On The Wary One, Dunning looks forward to the new format, connectivity with the community, and a whole lot more photos.

“It will continue to be a column about all sorts of things, but since I am now completely in control of the content, I'm sure I'll try some new things and have a few surprises. Maybe a contest or two with some swell prizes. A lot of interaction with the readers in the comments section,” Dunning told The Dirt. “I might even serialize a book I have written and include that on a regular basis. And I'm always open to reader suggestions. Always have been and always will be.”

In small towns, news travels fast.

So, too, does compassion.

“The outpouring of support has truly overwhelmed me. It's so heartening. I type for a living. I didn't expect this. Sure, I knew I had a number of readers and I've been a part of this town for a very long time, but this reaction was a direct hit to the heart. I will be forever grateful. I shouldn't be surprised,” Dunning said. “Davis is a loving and giving town, filled with good and decent and honest and very kind people. I thank them all with every fiber of my being. Their love and their support mean the world to me and helped me through a very difficult time. God Bless them all.”