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Friends and Readers of the Plainsman Herald
A January 2024 report on local news in the United States revealed that 2,627 weekly publications closed or merged with other papers between 2004 and 2023, with the number of non-daily papers falling from over 7.4 thousand to less than 4.8 thousand in that period.
The impact of the internet and digital media on local print media revenue has been significant and as with most enterprises when the costs to produce outpace the return, it no longer becomes viable. This year begins Volume 138 of the newspaper that started as the Springfield Herald in 1887. The reality is that print news 138 years later doesn’t have the following in 2024 … in terms of advertising, readership, and sponsors, to make it a viable enterprise. No matter how much we/ I/ you love this paper and the idea of local news, the Plainsman Herald is not special or immune to all of the issues associated with the digital age, and sometimes we must face the reality that things have run their course.
We were recently featured in a 9News Denver story about small town newspapers making a comeback. The producer Gary Shapiro was awesome and did a truly great piece of work. However, the main focus was a little more optimistic than reality. It really did not paint a complete picture of the Plainsman Herald’s dire outlook and many other small papers like it.
We could not have kept the Herald going this long without each and every one of you that has sponsored, advertised, and submitted news, articles, and photos. It has been apparent since we acquired the Herald, that trying to keep a print paper alive in the 2020s is a precarious notion. Many of you told us, “We don’t need to advertise”, but you sponsored us these past five years anyway. Your choice to support this effort only delayed what we have spoken of as a possibility since taking over in 2019. As subscriber, sponsor and advertiser numbers stand, the Herald will not be able to continue publishing a print edition into 2025.
Recently multiple advertisers and sponsors have changed paths in regard to print advertising. While we recognize that everyone is struggling and we don’t begrudge anyone trying to cut costs, we can’t continue to absorb increasing costs and cover local events without sufficient community sponsors and advertisers. We / I get the unenviable task of making this announcement and other hard decisions in the coming days, weeks, and months. There is probably no way to end gracefully, but we’ll try. The current plan is for the final issue of the Plainsman Herald to be printed the last week of December 2024, but plans are still in development.
We are certainly willing to discuss options, as parting with a 138 year old friend is not easy. However, buyers for unprofitable rural weekly papers are scarce to nonexistent and there is no way to spin the story to magically make this paper a profitable & viable enterprise. Additionally, the incessant weekly grind without the hope for profitability will be a non-starter for most. Non profit and community run papers are options and I am willing to participate in discussions and possibly on a temporary basis serve in an advisory role. The past five years have been rewarding, but also has shown us that any continuation of this periodical beyond 2024 is not feasible and thus will not include Lonesome Prairie Publications.
Our largest subscription renewal month is August. No more annual subscriptions will be sold. Issues will be available in our rack locations, and for those who wish to close out the final days of the Herald we will provide pro-rated subscriptions through December 2024. If we are able to shut down sooner, we will make another adjustment. No more annual sponsorship packages will be sold. If anyone wants to provide best wishes to participants of the Fair, a Veterans Day greeting, or other special notice we will still take those on an individual event basis. When we discontinue printing in December, most of our ad/sponsorship obligations to our current sponsors will be fulfilled. We will also address prorated subscriptions refunds requests in December 2024 and January of 2025. We will attempt to cover our normal slate of events through December, although we cannot guarantee this as our employees may choose to take opportunity elsewhere if it arises. They have been encouraged to do what’s best for them.
We are going to try and not be sad about the future of print media, local news and this paper. This has been coming for a long time. We have had the privilege to stand in the shoes, even if for just a short time, of the first Herald editor George Hosmer, my favorite writer, Sam Konkel, Ralph and Juanita Williams who have left us a great, maybe the greatest historical record of the Dust Bowl, Bruce Thompson, Melvin Stults, Penny Self, and most recently Sarah Steinman. How lucky we have been to have had this opportunity.
Thank you for your support.
Kent, Lexi, and Hunter
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