Two days after their Illinois-based parent company shut them down with no notice, efforts are already underway to find new local owners for eight legacy Wyoming newspapers and one in Nebraska.
Cali O’Hare, the former editor of the Pinedale Roundup, says she has already found financial backing to reopen the 122-year-old newspaper.
In eastern Wyoming, there’s also reportedly a buyer interested in the Platte County Record-Times and Torrington Telegram. It is unclear whether that interest includes other now-shuttered News Media Corp. papers or just those properties.
“It’s been a very emotional day, but we’re moving forward,” said Marie Hamilton, a reporter for the Record-Times and Telegram. “We got some good news that we have an interested party in purchasing the Record-Times and Telegram. I don’t know if the other papers are included in the purchase or not, but it’s a hopeful sign.”
In the meantime, Hamilton and other staffers were busy Friday at their former office removing all the bound archive editions of the newspaper. She said those are going to the local library for safekeeping until, or if, the papers reopen.
Hamilton was among the News Media Corp. employees abruptly terminated Wednesday without notice, along with their health care coverage. The closures affected all News Media newspapers in five states.
In Wyoming, that included the Record-Times, Telegram, Pinedale Roundup, Guernsey Gazette, Lusk Herald, Uinta County Herald, Bridger Valley Pioneer and Kemmerer Gazette. The Business Famer in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, was also part of the Wyoming group and was closed.
There’s been no word on when at least the Record-Times and Telegram could be published again, but Hamilton said it could be soon, as they don’t want to break the schedule of printing legal notices for their towns and counties.
“I don’t know when we’ll be back in operation,” she said. “In the meantime, we were given the green light to get things back online and post things to our website — without pay.”
Nobody’s Home
On the western side of Wyoming, the impacted News Media publications haven’t had updates like Hamilton has, with former employees saying they’ve only heard local rumors.
“I had heard from somebody who was interested in buying the Gazette,” said Rana Jones, who reports for the Kemmerer Gazette and Unita County Herald. “But nothing definite.
“I guess we’re all just cautiously optimistic there will be some sort of buyer to swoop in and save these papers. It’s really hard to think of these towns not having their newspapers.”
There is one definite offer on the table, but so far, News Media Corp. has been unresponsive to it.
O’Hare said she’s ready to reopen the Pinedale Roundup and has reached out to the company about buying the paper.
“I’ve secured the money to make an offer, plus cover operations and payroll,” she told Cowboy State Daily in a text message. “I just can’t get anyone from corporate to respond to my attorney’s calls or emails.”
News Media Corp. CEO J.J. Tompkins also has not responded to multiple messages from Cowboy State Daily. An email to Julie Young, who is described in the separation letter to employees as “HR support,” also didn’t respond by the time this story was published.
If the potential buyer for the Record-Times and Telegram is also interested in any of the western newspapers, the staff there haven’t heard about it.
Don Cogger has been the sports editor for the group of western papers for almost six years. He said he hasn’t heard anything specific about any potential to sell or reopen.
“You hate to see a paper go under, and especially all of them at once,” he said.
When he got the separation letter Wednesday, “I was just shocked,” Cogger said. “You were hoping someone was pulling a prank, but no one was prepared for it, no one was ready for it. You just couldn’t understand it.”
Even if there is interest, the way the shutdown happened isn’t encouraging to potential buyers, Jones said.
“The hard part about the way they went about doing this is if somebody did want to come in and take over the paper,” she said. “We’ve lost those subscribers and advertisers and the doors to the office are now locked.”
What About Paychecks?
In the meantime, the newspapers remain closed with no confirmed buyers or plans to reopen.
The employees are also left wondering if they’ll receive their final paychecks, along with any accumulated vacation pay. They were let go Wednesday, the last day of the pay period for News Media Corp.
They won’t know until payday next Friday if the company is going to honor their final paychecks. Queries to Tompkins and Young regarding employee pay were not returned.
“That’s definitely a concern,” Cogger said. “You hope the company would step up and do right by their employees, especially the way they handled the whole termination thing.”
Still Hopeful
Craig Allen grew up in Torrington, lives near there now and for the last 25 years has worked for News Media Corp. selling advertising and managing the papers there and in Nebraska.
The Telegram is his hometown newspaper, and Allen said he can remember when in high school, he helped the newspaper move its office across the street into its current space.
He also was shocked and saddened by the closure and said it’s not because of the financial performance of the Wyoming papers.
“Our papers here in Wyoming, we could stand alone,” he said. “Yes, sales have gone down since COVID, but these hometown papers are supported.”
He said he’s heard some rumblings about possible buyers, but nothing definitive.
Allen remains hopeful and believes this isn’t the end for these publications.
“I’m hopeful. You’ve got to have that hometown newspaper,” he said. “You’ve got to cover your hometown sports and what’s going on in the town. Whether it’s the hard copy or online — digital — I’m sure it’s just a bump.”
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
