2021-10-21 08:34
In many places, it started with a cut in print days. Furloughs. Layoffs. Just to get through the crisis, newsroom leaders told readers.
In some places, none of it was enough.
Now, small newsrooms around the country, often more than 100 years old, often the only news source in those places, are closing under the weight of the coronavirus. Some report they’re merging with nearby publications. But that “merger” means the end of news dedicated to those communities, the evaporation of institutional knowledge and the loss of local jobs.
At least 14 of the newsrooms now gone are owned by CNHI. Several are owned by Forum Communications Company. And a few are — were — owned by local families.
Since 2004, about 1,800 newspapers have closed in the United States, Penny Abernathy reported in her research on news deserts. 1,700 are weeklies. The pace of closures, up till now, has been about 100 a year, said Abernathy, a professor at the University of North Carolina’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media.
“Between places switching to online only and those that are merging, this is a really sharp increase,” she said, “and not surprising either.”
The pace might be faster, but Abernathy’s research shows a trend that’s still playing out in the middle of a pandemic — the newsrooms that are closing are mostly weeklies in small communities.
“And when you lose a small daily or a weekly, you lose the journalist who was gonna show up at your school board meeting, your planning board meeting, your county commissioner meeting,” she said.
Communities lose transparency and accountability. Then, she said, research shows that taxes go up and voter participation goes down.
Some of the places listed here grew up alongside their communities. The Journal-Express in Knoxville, Iowa, was founded by a Civil War veteran who was friends with Abraham Lincoln, the site (which now redirects visitors to a “Knoxville” page on the website of the nearby Oskaloosa Herald) reported. After The Edmond Sun started publishing in Edmond, Oklahoma, in 1889, the nearby paper that’s now the Oklahoman told readers “The Edmond Sun now shines on our table. It has come to drive the darkness from our neighboring city.” (That site has also disappeared, instead directing readers to The Norman Transcript website.)
Some are newer, like the Waterbury Record in Vermont, which launched in 2007.
“The Record has never been profitable, but we were in this for the long haul,” publisher Greg Popa told readers. “We started publishing the paper in 2007 to fill a news desert in a community we felt was on the upswing.”
Here, we’ve collected everything we’ve found about the local newsrooms we’ve lost because of the coronavirus. When possible, we’ve included clippings from that newsroom or about it. As many of the sites mentioned here are disappearing with no notice, we wanted to show they once did exist. We’re sure we missed some, please help us fix that. Also, if you can make it to the end, you’ll see there are a few bright spots, too.
City: McGregor, Texas
Founded: 1904
Closed: October 2021
Owner: Bonnie Mullens, Charles Mooney and Mynette Taylor
City: Las Vegas, Nevada
Founded: 2003
Closed: Spring 2022
Owner: Black Mountain Institute, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
City: Akron, Ohio
Founded: 2014
Closed: October, 2021
Owner: Co-op
City: San Antonio (Texas) College
Founded: 1926
Closed: December 2021
Owner: San Antonio College
City: Richmond, Virginia
Founded: 1982
Closed: Sept. 8, 2021
Owner: Alden Global Capital
City: Ontario, New York
Founded: Unknown
Closed: Oct. 24, 2021
Owner: Gannett
City: Canandaigua, New York
Founded: Unkown
Closed: Oct. 24, 2021
Owner: Gannett
City: Canandaigua, New York
Founded: Unknown
Closed: Oct. 24, 2021
Owner: Gannett
City: Canandaigua, New York
Founded: Unkown
Closed: Oct. 24, 2021
Owner: Gannett
City: Canandaigua, New York
Founded: Unknown
Closed:Oct. 24, 2021
Owner: Gannett
City: Canandaigua, New York
Founded: Unknown
Closed: Oct. 24, 2021
Owner: Gannett
In the process of reporting this story, many of the sites and merger announcements have turned into 404s or begun automatically redirecting users to the websites of nearby publications. We’re linking so you can see the URLs, which are digital evidence of the disappearances.
By the way, giving little notification about mergers isn’t an unusual tactic, Abernathy said, “for companies owned as investments and not as civic institutions.”
Sixteen on this list are from CNHI.
Bill Ketter, CNHI’s senior vice president of news, told Poynter that CNHI is “strongly committed to saving local journalism. It is a core principle of the company. Even in the most difficult circumstances. Newspapers faced economic challenges even before the coronavirus crisis struck in February. The pandemic served to make matters much worse, especially for those papers that relied mostly on local retail advertising revenue, which dropped off the cliff when many local businesses shut down for weeks. So it made sense to merge our smallest papers with nearby larger papers to help weather the storm and keep local news alive in the region.”
City: Tama, Iowa
Founded: 1866
Closed: Merged with the Toledo (Iowa) Chronicle, two miles away, in May of 2020.
Owner: Ogden Newspapers
City: Toledo, Iowa
Founded: 1853
Closed: Merged with the Tama (Iowa) News-Herald, two miles away, in May of 2020.
Owner: Ogden Newspapers
City: Gladbrook, Iowa
Founded: 1881
Closed: Merged with the Reinbeck (Iowa) Courier to create the Sun Courier in May of 2020. The newsroom is in Tama, 28 miles away.
Owner: Ogden Newspapers
City: Reinbeck, Iowa
Founded: 1902
Closed: Merged with The Gladbrook (Iowa) Northern-Sun Print to create the Sun Courier in May of 2020. The newsroom is in Tama, 38 miles away.
Owner: Ogden Newspapers
City: Traer, Iowa
Founded: 1883
Closed: Merged with the Dysart (Iowa) Reporter to create the North Tama Telegraph in May of 2020. The newsroom is in Tama, 22 miles away.
Owner: Ogden Newspapers
City: Dysart, Iowa
Founded: 1878
Closed: Merged with The Traer (Iowa) Star-Clipper to create the North Tama Telegraph in May of 2020. The newsroom is in Tama, 33 miles away.
Owner: Ogden Newspapers
City: Jasper, Florida
Founded: 1870
Closed: Merged with the Valdosta Daily Times in Valdosta, Georgia, about 35 miles northwest, in July of 2020.
Owner: CNHI
City: Live Oak, Florida
Founded: 1884
Closed: Merged with the Valdosta Daily Times in Valdosta, Georgia, about 45 miles northwest, in July of 2020.
Owner: CNHI
City: Mayo, Florida
Founded: 1888
Closed: Merged with the Valdosta Daily Times in Valdosta, Georgia, about 60 miles north, in July of 2020.
Owner: CNHI
City: Keota, Iowa
Founded: 1875
Closed: Merged with The News-Review in Sigourney, Iowa, about 20 minutes west, on June 17.
Owner: Mid-America Publishing.
“The Keota Eagle was established in 1875 by George C. Miller and has been serving the community of Keota, Iowa ever since. “
City: Mineral Wells, Texas
Founded: 1900
Closed: Merged with the Weatherford Democrat, about 30 minutes east, announced May 23.
Owner: CNHI
City: Pella, Iowa
Founded: 1866
Closed: Merged with The Oskaloosa Herald, about 20 minutes southeast, announced May 14.
Owner: CNHI
The site has disappeared, but before it did, under history, it read: “Only one other business has operated in Pella under the same name longer than the Pella Chronicle.”
City: Knoxville, Iowa
Founded: 1855
Closed: Merged with The Oskaloosa Herald, about 30 minutes east, announced May 14, 2020.
Owner: CNHI
The site has now disappeared. Before it did, it read: “The Journal was founded by William Milo Stone, a Civil War hero and friend of Abraham Lincoln, who went on to serve as governor of Iowa.”
City: Centerville, Iowa
Founded: 1864
Closed: Merged with Ottumwa Courier, less than an hour northeast, announced May 13, 2020
Owner: CNHI
“During its history, the Daily Iowegian has survived the rise and fall of the coal industry, depressions, wars, vast agricultural developments, years of industrial changes and shifting community fortunes.”
City: Gardendale, Alabama
Founded: 1970
Closed: Merged with the Cullman Times, 40 minutes north, on April 22, 2020
Owner: CNHI
The site has disappeared along with the letter from the editor explaining the move.
City: Edmond, Oklahoma
Founded: 1889
Closed: Merged with The Norman Transcript, 45 minutes north, on May 6, 2020
Owner: CNHI
The site has now disappeared. Before it did, it read: “On a hot July 18, 1889, The Edmond Sun premiered as a small four-page weekly in what was then a train refueling town.”
City: Zionsville, Indiana
Founded: 1860
Closed: Merged with The Lebanon Reporter, 20 minutes northwest, May 12, 2020.
Owner: CNHI
The site disappeared before we could pull any history from it.
City: Morehead, Kentucky
Founded: 1883
Closed: Merged with The Daily Independent in Ashland, more than an hour west, on April 29, 2020.
Owner: CNHI
City: Grayson, Kentucky
Founded: 1946
Closed: Merged with The Daily Independent in Ashland, about 30 minutes east, on April 29, 2020
Owner: CNHI
City: Grayson, Kentucky
Founded: Unknown
Closed: Merged with The Daily Independent in Ashland, about 30 minutes east, on April 29, 2020
Owner: CNHI
City: Greenup, Kentucky
Founded: 1870
Closed: Merged with The Daily Independent in Ashland, about 20 minutes southeast, on April 29, 2020
Owner: CNHI
City: Rushville, Indiana
Founded: 1854
Closed: Merged with the Greensburg Daily News in Greensburg, about 20 minutes south, in May 2020.
Owner: CNHI
City: Batesville, Indiana
Founded: Around 1870
Closed: Merged with the Greensburg Daily News in Greensburg, about 20 minutes west, in May 2020.
Owner: CNHI
City: Eureka, Nevada
Founded: 1870
Closed: Merged with The Ely Times, more than an hour east, in March of 2020
Owner: Battle Born Media
City: Brooklyn, New York
Founded: 2016
Closed: Sept. 10, 2021
Owner: Corner Media, Inc.
City: Stoneham, Massachusetts
Founded: Unknown
Closed: August 2021
Owner: Gannett
City: Sandwich, Massachusetts
Founded: 1974
Closed: August 2021
Owner: Gannett
City: Bourne, Massachusetts
Founded: Unknown
Closed: August 2021
Owner: Gannett
City: Melrose, Massachusetts
Founded: 1901
Closed: July 29, 2021
Owner: Gannett
City: Hudson, Massachusetts
Founded: 1902
Closed: July 23, 2021
Owner: Gannett
City: Marlborough, Massachusetts
Founded: 1889
Closed: June 25, 2021
Owner: Gannett
City: Reedsport, Oregon
Founded: 1996
Closed: June 17, 2020
Owner: Country Media, Inc.
City: Sidney, Iowa
Founded: 1885
Closed: February 2021
Owner: Publisher, Ellen West Longman
City: International Fall, Minnesota
Founded: 1911
Closed: June 24, 2021
Owner: MediaNews Group
City: Gallatin, Missouri
Founded: 1864
Closed: May 26, 2021
Owner: Gallatin Publishing Company
The North Missourian was preceded in death by Missouri Sun, Gallatin Sun, Gallatin Spectator, Western Register, Peoples Press, Gallatin Democrat, and Daviess County Republican, all of Gallatin; the Winston Sentinel, Coffey Sun, Altamont Times, Pattonsburg Call, Lock Springs Herald, Jameson Laconic, and 21 other Daviess County publications.
The North Missourian is survived by Tri-County Weekly of Jamesport, the last surviving paper of Daviess County.
City: Boyne City, Michigan
Founded: 2009
Closed: July, 2020
Owner: Publisher Christopher Faulkner
City: Seattle, Washington
Founded: 1891 and 1923 (due to mergers of the West Seattle Herald and the Ballard News-Tribune)
Closed: April 2020
Owner: Robinson Communications
City: Montesano, Washington
Founded: 1883
Closed: April 1, 2020
Owner: Sound Publishing
City: San Francisco, California
Founded: 2014
Closed: October 2020
Owner: Emerson Collective
City: Ocean Shores, Washington
Founded: N/A
Closed: March 25, 2020
Owner: Sound Publishing
City: Balsam Lake, Wisconsin; St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin
Founded: 1985
Closed: August 2020
Owner: Ledger Publications, Inc.
City: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Founded: 1990
Closed: December 17, 2020
Owner: Minnesota Premier Publications
City: Tucson, Arizona
Founded: 1946
Closed: March 1, 2021
Owner: The Jewish Community Federation of Southern Arizona
City: Mankato, Minnesota
Founded: 1970
Closed: May, 2020
Owner: CNHI
City: La Porte City, Iowa
Founded: 1893
Closed: Sept. 30, 2020
Owner: Independent
City: Ware Shoals, South Carolina
Founded: 1981
Closed: Dec. 2, 2020
Owner: Independent
City: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Founded: 1979
Closed: Oct. 28, 2020
Owner: Star Tribune Media Co.
City: Union, South Carolina
Founded: 1850
Closed: Sept. 30, 2020
Owner: Champion Media
City: Bamberg, South Carolina
Founded: 1896
Closed: Sept. 30, 2020
Owner: Trib Publications
City: Santee, South Carolina
Founded: 1988
Closed: Sept. 30, 2020
Owner: Trib Publications
City: Holly Hill, South Carolina
Founded: 1972
Closed: Sept. 30, 2020
Owner: Trib Publications
City: Philomath, Oregon
Founded: 2015
Closed: September 2020
Owner: Lee Enterprises
City: Shell Lake, Wisconsin
Founded: 1890
Closed: September 30, 2020
Owner: Inter-County Cooperative Publishing Association
City: Whippany, New Jersey
Founded: 1946
Closed: July 29, 2020
Owner: Jewish Week Media Group
“For more than 70 years, the New Jersey Jewish News (NJJN) has been essential Shabbat reading. Its pages have reported the Jewish issues of the day, from the declaration of Israeli statehood and the trial of Adolf Eichmann to the struggle for Soviet Jewry; from celebrations of early b’not mitzvah to the hiring of female clergy; from upheaval in late 1960s Newark to Jewish participation in #BlackLivesMatter protests; from the raid on Entebbe to murders in Pittsburgh, Poway, and Jersey City.”
City: Mount Vernon, Indiana
Founded: 1867
Closed: June 24, 2020
Owner: Landmark Community Newspapers, Inc.
“The Mount Vernon Democrat, since its creation in 1867, has been a place of employment in Posey County to many, many people. The newspaper was awarded the Hoosier State Press Association’s Blue Ribbon in 2005 and 2006, and was a runner-up in the 2008 contest.”
City: Middletown, Pennsylvania
Founded: 1854
Closed: July 1, 2020
Owner: Joe and Louise Sukle
The final edition included this: This newspaper at its core is a family business. Five generations of grandfathers, grandmothers, uncles, moms, dads, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters of the Fox, Graybill and Sukle families have worked here. We laughed together, argued together, celebrated together and cried together. Through good times and bad, we preserved our paper’s long tradition of providing independent journalism to this community. We leave behind a reputation for fearlessly speaking truth to power and a proud legacy of watchdog reporting that served all its citizens. We had high hopes our daughter, Julianna, would usher the family business into the future. That can no longer be. It will be our deepest regret.
City: Chicago suburbs
Founded: 2005
Closed: April 1, 2020
Owner: 22nd Century Media
22nd Century Media published the following 14 community newspapers in the Chicago suburbs: The Lake Forest Leader, The Glencoe Anchor, The Highland Park Landmark, The Northbrook Tower, The Wilmette Beacon, The Winnetka Current, The Glenview Lantern, The Homer Horizon, The Lockport Legend, The Mokena Messenger, The New Lenox Patriot, The Orland Park Prairie, The Tinley Junction, and The Frankfort Station.
City: Payette, Idaho
Founded: Early 1890s
Closed: June 24, 2020
Owner: Wick Communications
City: New Sharon, Iowa
Founded: Unknown
Closed: June 18, 2020
Owner: Mid-America Publishing
City: Merkel, Texas
Founded: 1890
Closed: May, 2020
Owner: John Starbuck
“It’s important to note that a newspaper like the Merkel Mail doesn’t have a huge newsroom. If you met John, you met the news staff.”
City: Havre, Montana
Founded: 2018
Closed: May 22, 2020
Owner: Paul Dragu and Teresa Webber Dragu
“Idealism, a sense of purpose, lots of volunteer hours, opportune side gigs, and the backing of our wonderful supporters and advertisers got us this far. But then a pandemic hit, the world changed, and an upstart news organization’s uphill battle to sustainability became immensely steeper.”
City: Belle, Missouri
Founded: 1923
Closed: May 6, 2020
Owner: Tri-County Newspapers
City: Bland, Missouri
Founded: 1921
Closed: May 6, 2020
Owner: Tri-County Newspapers
City: Vienna, Missouri
Founded: Unknown
Closed: May 6, 2020
Owner: Tri-County Newspapers
City: Hastings, Minnesota
Founded: 1866
Closed: May 7, 2020
Owner: Forum Communications Company
UPDATE: This newsroom relaunched online in August of 2021 after being purchased by O’Rourke Media Group.
City: Woodbury and Cottage Grove, Minnesota
Founded: 1960s, we think
Closed: May 6, 2020
Owner: Forum Communications Company
City: Two Harbors, Minnesota
Founded: At least 1822
Closed: May 22, 2020
Owner: Forum Communications Company
City: Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Founded: 1974
Closed: April 30, 2020
Owner: Southwest News Media
“The Eden Prairie News was founded by a group of Eden Prairie residents in 1974. They recognized that Eden Prairie would soon be a fast-growing suburb, and felt the community should have its own newspaper. They sold stock to get it off the ground.”
City: Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota
Founded: 1995
Closed: April 30, 2020
Owner: Southwest News Media
City: Waterbury, Vermont
Founded: 2007
Closed: March 26, 2020
Owner: Vermont Community Newspaper Group
“The Record has never been profitable, but we were in this for the long haul. We started publishing the paper in 2007 to fill a news desert in a community we felt was on the upswing.”
City: Mesquite, Nevada
Founded: 2006
Closed: 2020
Owner: Battle Born Media
City: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Founded: 1844
Closed: March, 2020
Owner: Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
“The capital to start the newspaper came from 78 founding subscribers who paid $5 each for a prepaid three-year subscription. After a subscription drive, some 600 people had paid $2 to take the paper for a year, even before the first issue was printed.”
City: Cleveland, Mississippi
Founded: 1916
Closed: April 2020
Owner: Walls Newspapers
“My grandfather used to say that a community gets the newspaper it is willing, or able, to pay for,” said owner Lee Walls. “I’m sure there are people and businesses in Bolivar County and Cleveland who are willing to pay for a local newspaper, through subscriptions and advertising, but history has taught me there are not enough.”
City: San Diego, California
Founded: 1979
Closed: March 2020
Owner: McKinnon Broadcasting
City: Gunnison, Utah
Founded: 2005
Closed: April 2020
Owner: Mark and Jodi Henline, sold to the Sanpete Messenger. No word yet on what’s next.
RELATED: This year’s Pulitzers are a reminder why local news matters all the time, not just in a crisis
Several newsrooms or newsroom owners announced they were closing temporarily to get through the coronavirus. They include:
While reporting this story, eight publications reported as closed were brought back to life. Here’s hoping this list gets longer.
City: De Smet, South Dakota
Founded: 1939
Closed: April 11, 2020
Reopened: May 20, 2020 as the Kingsbury Journal, a volunteer publication serving the De Smet News and Lake Preston Times communities.
Owner: From Dale Blegen to The De Smet Development Corporation.
City: Lake Preston, South Dakota
Founded: 1881
Closed: April 11, 2020
Reopened: May 20, 2020 as the Kingsbury Journal, a volunteer publication serving the De Smet News and Lake Preston Times communities.
Owner: From Dale Blegen to The Lake Preston Development Corporation.
City: Indianapolis, Indiana
Founded: 1990
Closed: April 2020
Re-opened: May 2020
Owner: Nuvo Cultural Foundation
“The provider that hosts our website has designed a substantially lower cost package, which makes it possible for nuvo.net to continue.”
City: Clinton, Indiana
Founded: Before 1936
Closed: April, 2020
Re-opened: Mid-May
Owner: From the Carey family to Hoosier Media Group
“Our companies believe strongly in local names and local faces journalism. We plan to provide Vermillion County with a hometown newspaper they will proudly call their own.”
City: Stanton, Nebraska
Founded: 1879
Closed: May, 2020
Reopened: May, 2020
Owner: From Dani and Brian Hadcock to Pitzer Digital LLC
“The newspaper was set to close May 6 due to an economic downturn during the novel COVID-19 era. Not wanting to see Stanton County lose its only newspaper, the Pitzers asked how they could help the community save its newspaper.”
City: Burbank, California
Founded: 1985
Closed: April 2020
Reopened: May 2020
Owner: California Times to Outlook Newspapers
City: Glendale, California
Founded: 1905
Closed: April 2020
Reopened: May 2020
Owner: California Times to Outlook Newspapers
City: La Cañada, California
Founded: 1946
Closed: April 2020
Reopened: Merged with La Cañada Outlook
Owner: California Times to Outlook Newspapers
“We are thrilled to have acquired three iconic newspapers with deep roots and historic legacies in their respective communities.”
While the titles live on, the Los Angeles Times reported that the 14 people who lost their jobs with those last three closures were not getting their jobs back.
This story has been updated to include comment from CNHI.
Correction: The Mineral Wells Index is in Texas, not Indiana. It has been corrected. The Hendricks County Flyer was included erroneously on this list. It closed before the pandemic, in May of 2019. Ashland is east of Olive Hill, Morehead and Grayson, Kentucky. The founding dates and distance between several Ogden papers has been updated. We apologize for the errors.
Photo Courtesy: The Edmond (Oklahoma) Sun, July 25, 1889. (newspapers.com)
