Some local newspapers struggle as others see increased readers during pandemic
EDMOND, Okla. (KFOR) – Paper revenues have dropped by more than 60% between 2008 and 2018, leaving journals across the nation struggling to make ends meet.
Robert Medley has been churning out stories for more than 30 years.
First at The Oklahoman- until last year.
“I was in the first group to be laid off by Gatehouse the owners of The Oklahoman in August 2019,” now Managing Editor at Yukon Progress Robert Medley said.
The Oklahoman now prints at the Tulsa World after the OKC printing press stopped production in 2016.
After more than 90 years, the El Reno Tribune announced they will start outsourcing their paper after May 29. A source close to the newspaper says they’ll start printing at the Edmond Sun’s facility.
Meanwhile, the Edmond Sun announced they’re merging with the Norman Transcript after more than 130 years.
Group Publisher Mark Millsap said in part, “the crisis has had a significant impact on The Edmond Sun. Most of our revenue comes from advertisements from local businesses, which are also suffering at this difficult time.”
News 4 reached out to Millsap with questions about the future of the facility and its employees, but referred us back to the statement released in the Edmond Sun.
“Newspapers were in a crisis before a pandemic but now we’re doing the jobs we were trained to do that we’re experienced to do and there’s a need for people,” Medley said.
It’s a need the Yukon Progress is seeing with hundreds of new subscribers.
“We had a record breaking April. We had more people because they were trapped at home subscribe to the paper and kept up with our local news,” Randy K. Anderson, a newspaper publisher in Canadian County said.
Randy Anderson owns the Yukon Progress, Okarche Warrior and the Piedmont-Surrey Gazette.
He said the pandemic is hurting some advertising.
“Advertising is down. We have a lot of annual contracts that safeguard us from downturns,” Anderson said.
The Oklahoma Press Association told News 4 over the phone advertisers have been decimated, adding newspaper subscriptions merely pay for the cost of the delivery.
“It’s been tough. It’s always a challenge, but we have to be smarter in what we do…” Anderson said.