Nearly 1,000 print subscribers to the Pinedale Roundup woke up empty-handed Thursday.
On Aug. 6, the newspaper’s parent company, News Media Corporation (NMC), announced it was abruptly closing, and with it, over 100 small-town newspapers across Wyoming, Nebraska, Illinois, Arizona and South Dakota.
Six counties across Wyoming lost sources of local news and 30 employees are out of jobs, according to a Facebook post by the Torrington Telegram.
Some counties have no outlets standing, including Sublette, home of the Roundup. Uinta, Niobrara, Goshen, Platte and Lincoln counties are left with at least one fewer.
Wyoming was already considered a news desert, given that there is no statewide daily print publication. Papers have been skimming down in publication frequency as a cost-cutting measure. This abrupt closure only further cements the state of Wyoming’s parched local news landscape, especially in the southwestern corner and eastern plains region.
In Sublette County, Cali O’Hare has run the Roundup for the last three years and the last year almost entirely on her own.
O’Hare received a call at 8:34 a.m. Wednesday morning from her colleague at Evanston’s Uinta County Herald, who told her to expect a termination letter in her inbox, marking the end for her 121-year old newspaper.
The Roundup printed a weekly paper each Thursday, covering the Sublette County seat of Pinedale, a gateway town of 2,005 to the Wind River Range. Almost half the town’s population had paid print subscriptions, with another 542 paying for online circulation.
Within 10 minutes, O’Hare was laid off via email and told not to send her already-prepared paper to the press the next day. She instantly lost her health insurance and is not sure her final paycheck will come.
“I'm heartbroken for my community and for all my colleagues who I've got the utmost respect for,” O’Hare said. “We all deserve so much better than this. Our communities deserved better than this.”
In her three years running the paper, O’Hare had already seen NMC gut the Roundup and lay off all newsroom staff, save herself.
In the letter, the Illinois-based company said it was experiencing an economic downturn, rising costs and the failed attempt of a sale.
NMC has not responded to requests for comment.
Wyoming Newspapers, Inc President Rob Mortimore, publisher for NMC’s Wyoming outlets, lamented the cuts in a Facebook post on the page of the now-dissolved Platte County Record Times.
“With our vast spaces, there will undoubtedly be a void, leaving stories of great people, great accomplishments and great memories going untold,” Mortimore wrote, referencing the growing news desert in the wake of the closure. “No more watchdog for local governments.”
An outpouring of support flooded the comments section, including an outgoing message from an editor at the Record Times.
“Our immediate thoughts were of our communities we serve,” Marie Hamilton said. “You, our readers and advertisers were the ones we immediately thought of because the services we provided our communities are more akin to setting you a plate at a family dinner.”
Hamilton has pledged to post stories without pay until she can get another news outlet up and running.
O’Hare has promised the same. First, though, she needs housing security, then nonprofit status and funding for a new outlet.
The following is a list of the news papers that have shuttered as a result:
Torrington Telegram - Torrington, WY
Lusk Herald - Lusk, WY
Platte County Record Times - Wheatland, WY
Lingle Guide - Lingle, WY
Guernsey Gazette - Guernsey, WY
Pinedale Roundup - Pinedale, WY
Uinta County Herald - Evanston, WY
Bridger Valley Pioneer - Lyman, WY
Kemmerer Gazette - Kemmerer, WY
