Seven Wyoming newspapers are about to be closed. They got their second life | Wyoming

Wyoming I saw the resurrection last week.

Eight towns throughout the rural country are rolling up from their sudden closure intuition newspaper Just a week ago. Staff have announced an email from News Media Corporation (NMC) that announced the immediate shutdown of the press.

“I write to you, and I write to you that NMC will close the door permanently,” NMC said in an August 6 email. “Unfortunately, due to financial challenges, economic downturns, impacting our industry, loss of revenue and increased expenses, and the recent attempt to sell the company as a constant focus, we have reached a business that is no longer viable. It’s a difficult decision. It’s by no means your personal performance or performance or dedication to the company.”

The scene is not unique. According to local news initiativeSince 2005, 3,200 local news media have disappeared across the United States. An estimated 55 million Americans are not able to obtain local news sources.

Residents in Wyoming are almost added to the growing list of news deserts A miracle is here. A group Wyoming News Executive Enters Foldpurchased eight papers – there are seven papers in Wyoming, and the other one is across the border of Nebraska. Printing will resume and paper workers who never stop working during the closure will receive full salary.

Four South Dakota papers are Bring it back from the edge In separate transactions.

Rob Mortimore, one of the news executives who are stepping up their purchases Wyoming Publishers of the paper and Torrington Telegraph have worked in Wyoming News for 24 years and consider the task crucial.

“When the community loses the newspaper, they lose their voice,” he said.

Wyoming is the least populous state among the unions, with only 11 towns and more than 10,000 people and a total population of 600,000. Its windy plains, deserts and high mountain peaks all create larger properties than in the UK.

Jen Sieve-Hicks, executive editor of the Buffalo Announcement, said the state’s rural nature makes local newspapers even more important. Sieve-Hicks noted that the town has no radio stations, and the most recent station is 110 miles away, the announcement is the only source of news in a county as big as Delaware and Rhode Island.

“We are really the main source—we are the only source of news in the community,” she said. “We are connective tissue in the community.”

Hicks worked in the announcement for 20 years, and her husband Rob was rooted in Wyoming’s news business, dating back to 70 years. The couple and Mortimore bought the documents together after closing. The store is “100% locally owned” and buy without Private equity or hedge fund participation This spread the documents nationwide.

For Cali O’Hare, executive editor of Pinedale Roundup, local control over rural news is crucial.

“Local ownership is key,” O’Hare said. “I think it’s very important to think of companies as bottom lines and numbers, and I think it’s very important to keep them away from it.”

O’Hare is no stranger to the requirements Dangers of a rural newspaper or news desert. After an earlier cut, O’Hare has been a solo show at Pinedale Roundup for the past 18 months, a county smaller than Connecticut. She handles everything from obsessive to sports pages. O’Hare has been committed to the commitment of her local community.

“The first newsroom I’ve ever worked in, we have a sign hanging in the back that says, ‘Hours are long, the salary is terrible, but at least everyone hates you.’” “So that’s my mindset, just serving and sacrificing for my community.”

O’Hare learned about the closing time of the review on the morning of August 6 and had a fever of 100F. She started pulling the day for 18 hours, clearing the office, stopping the press of the coming issues, and visiting old copies of old papers that wanted to serve the community for the past 121 years from longtime Sublette County residents.

O’Hare She was covered just a week agoannoyed by her doctor. She said she and other local Wyoming journalists firmly believe that the closure will not stick with it.

“Companies can close, but that’s much greater than the company,” O’Hare said.