Reported/written by Dan Cepeda at Oil City News.
(Wyoming) – Around 11 communities in Wyoming have lost their local newspapers after the sudden closure of their parent company.
According to a company statement that was shared on the Pinedale Roundup’s Facebook page on Wednesday, News Media Corporation, or NMC, said it would cease operations effective immediately.
“This decision was not made lightly,” it said, citing “financial challenges, a significant economic downturn impacting our industry, revenue losses and increasing expenses” as causes.
According to its website, NMC operated newspapers in small communities in five states, including Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Arizona and Illinois. Attempts to reach the company by phone on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
In Wyoming NMC operated under Newspapers Inc., which published several newspapers in Wyoming and western Nebraska, according to a Torrington Telegram story announcing the promotion of its publisher, Rob Mortimore, to president of the Wyoming operation.
According to a social media comment by the Telegram, the company published newspapers in Torrington, Wheatland, Guernsey, Lusk, Scottsbluff, Pinedale, Kemmerer, Evanston and Lyman.
On Wednesday morning, Mortimore published a message on the Telegram’s Facebook page announcing what he described as a shocking development.
“While current economic trends were being navigated, we were moving forward, adjusting our business model to today’s economy and did not expect the sudden closure,” he said, adding that some 30 employees across nine publications in Wyoming and Nebraska would be affected.
“I am devastated by the loss of such a crucial and valuable resource. Nine communities no longer have a newspaper. With our vast spaces, there will undoubtedly be a void, leaving stories of great people, great accomplishments and great memories going untold. No more watchdog for local governments.
“We love our communities and we loved serving the people.”
The term “news desert” is used to describe the growing number of communities that lack local reporting as traditional news outlets pull back or close. According to the Poynter Institute, the U.S. saw 127 newspapers close in 2023 alone.
“I particularly worry about rural counties,” said Tim Franklin, senior associate dean of Medill School at Northwestern University, in the article. Franklin oversees the school’s local news initiatives. “There is not the capital to support local news, and advertising and audience are weak. … So we increasingly separate into news haves (in cities and suburbs) and news have-nots,” he said.
Pinedale Roundup’s managing editor, Cali O’Hare, posted that they were unable to send their latest finished paper to the press, which would’ve been today. They also were not given the chance to print a proper final edition.
“Our hearts are broken for our colleagues and our communities. We all deserved better than this, and we wish we could have said a proper goodbye,” she said.