Dear editor:
Shocked! What just happened?
Forty percent of Wyoming’s newspapers were closed today by outside owners.
Why do I care? My wife and I owned six of them in the 1970’s and 80’s. They were all award winners with great local news and editorials. All had great print circulation and affordable advertising and subscription rates. Not so today!
When we decided to sell in 1987 we wanted to keep them in a family type ownership. That was to News Media Corp. in Rochelle, IL owned by newspaper man John Tompkins. He knew local news.
He owned several small community weeklies and convinced us he was the right buyer. He loved Wyoming and the West and would annually bring his publishers and company executives to Cheyenne Frontier Days — did so for more than 20 years.
John was president of the company and had a son he was trying to train to someday become president.
Unfortunately John got sick and named the son chief operating officer. John told me several times he should fire him but he was family.
The son immediately started to cut expenses, mostly in the newsroom, with local memberships and supplies cut first. Then advertising and subscription rates were raised substantially.
Today Torrington, Wheatland and Evanston have about 20 percent of paid subscribers as when purchased and also have some of the highest advertising rates in the state.
Employees who have survived their employment are some of the best news folks in state. They received no advanced notice of the shutdown.
Sure, the internet and social media hurt newspapers. But local news keeps readers as proven by Buffalo, Cody, Powell, Basin and others.
Remember it is local, local, local.
Hopefully people will step up and provide Wyoming communities with Wyoming news.
Mike and Pat Lindsey
Cheyenne
