Bill Sniffin writes: “What is so tragic is the way these newspapers were shuttered. Just no warning. Hard on both the employees and the communities.”
By Bill Sniffin, Columnist
As a long-time former newspaper publisher, the news of eight Wyoming newspapers closing hit hard.
I started writing for the local newspaper when I was 16, over 60 years ago. Yes, I have ink in my blood. This news hits close to home.
The local newspapers in Evanston, Bridger Valley, Kemmerer, Pinedale, Wheatland, Guernsey, Lingle, and Lusk were arguably the lifebloods of their communities. And even during these recent tough times, they provided a service.
Gross Mismanagement
Illinois-based News Media Corporation, the owner, was founded in 1975 by John C. Tompkins. I knew John well. He died two years ago leaving the operation in the hands of his incompetent son J. J.
I blame him and his team for the mismanagement that resulted in these newspapers closing.
Up until last Tuesday, these papers were still operating. Although most were on life support, they were not in losing towns.
What gripes me the most is that there was a much better solution than just shutting them down.
They could sell them to the staffs or to local groups or even their competitors. By shutting them down like they did they literally destroyed their values. It looks like young J. J. Tompkins got pouty and just walked away. Shame on him.
My wife and I owned lots of newspapers and other related businesses over the past 50 years.
We ran the Lander newspaper for 30 years. The last newspaper we owned was in Winner, S. D. We sold it in 2008. It hit on hard times a year ago. But the owner there (who lived in the Black Hills) announced he had problems and that it was going to close. A local group put the money together to acquire it and keep it going. Good luck for Winner. Bad luck for these eight Wyoming towns.
Like most newspapers, we always practiced what is called “refrigerator journalism.” By that, we always loved visiting people’s homes and seeing clippings from our papers cut out and stuck on the refrigerators with magnets. Are those days gone?
David Peck in Lovell, Dave and Toby Bonner in Powell, Dan Dockstader in Afton, Bob Bonnar in Newcastle, Kevin Shields and Robert Stover at the Lander Journal and Riverton Ranger and Robb and Jen Hicks in Buffalo are a few examples of folks making their Wyoming newspapers work and work well.
Kemmerer Is Booming
Long-time auto dealer and chef Vince Tomassi was baffled by the closure in his hometown newspaper in Kemmerer. “How are we going to learn about stuff about town?” he asks. “All the things that have to be done. Crazy. I always liked the Evanston and Fort Bridger papers. With our boom, you would think someone could make a newspaper work here in Kemmerer.”
The radio stations in Kemmerer are owned by Dockstader, a very successful newspaper and radio operation out of Afton. I am hoping he might come to the rescue of those communities.
Folks in Pinedale are rallying around its editor as she tries to get that newspaper back on its feet.
One of my favorite towns is Wheatland. Community leader Chuck Brown is nearing his 90th year and laments: “Having grown up and lived in SE Wyoming all of my adult life, losing our community newspaper is sad beyond words, and the manner in which it occurred in notifying employees and their respective communities by ownership is equally sad. Hopefully, a new owner/publisher can be found and the newspapers can be restored to their former important places in the geographical areas they have served, in some cases over 100 years.”
One-Fifth Of Wyoming’s Newspapers
With the closings of the 8 newspapers, it leaves just 31 newspapers left operating in the state. This is a loss of 20 percent of all newspapers in the state. Amazing.
Starting a new newspaper from scratch is a very tough project. Much tougher than keeping an existing one going. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks in these towns as their leading citizens decide if they need a local newspaper or not.
Good luck and Godspeed.
