According to Wikipedia there have been over 2500 newspapers in the state of Colorado. As of July 2015, (the most recent statistics I could find) the oldest running non-daily newspaper in the state is the Weekly Register-Call in Central City. It was founded on July 26, 1868. It was originally called the Central City Register and, in 1878, merged with the Weekly Register-Call and continues to this day. It is independently owned and is published every Thursday.
So, how many of those 2500 newspapers are still in business? According to the organization, OfficialUSA.com, there are currently 176 newspapers in Colorado; with a total of 399 towns or cities in the state.
Of those 176 papers, according to Bay Edwards of the Colorado Press Association, about 30% are owned by individuals. The rest are the property of conglomerates. In our part of Colorado, the World Journal in Walsenburg, the Wet Mountain Tribune in Westcliffe, and your own Greenhorn Valley View are owned by individuals.
Gannett, the publisher of USA Today, now owns the Pueblo Chieftain. In August 2019, Gatehouse Media purchased and merged with Gannett, becoming the largest newspaper chain in the USA. After the merger, the companies retained the Gannett name.
As of September 30, 2012, the largest newspaper in the state was the Denver Post with a circulation of 412,669. As of March, 2016, that number had dwindled to 253,261.
The Denver Post was the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc. founded in 1983. Today, MediaNews is one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews bought The Denver Post from them on December 1, 1987. Times Mirror, the previous owner, had bought the paper from the heirs of founder Frederick Gilmer Bonfils in 1980. Since 2010, The Denver Post has been owned by hedge fund Alden Global Capital, which acquired its bankrupt parent company, MediaNews Group.
The Salida Mail is the second oldest, non-daily newspaper still in business in Colorado. They began June 5, 1880. They actually began in South Arkansas, CO and moved to Salida in 1880. They merged with the Salida Record (began in 1890) in 1948. In 1956, they changed their name to the current name. They publish Tuesday and Friday of each week.
The Colorado Springs Gazette is the second largest paper in Colorado. As of September 30, 2012, their circulation was listed as 64,394. That number has grown to 93,300 per day as of the most recent numbers I could find, but there was not a date attached to the article.
Why does it matter who owns your newspaper?
When I was the advertising manager for the Norton Daily Telegram, in Norton, Kansas, a six day a week paper owned by Richard Boyd, everything covered was local with the exception of a handful of statewide stories. Boyd employed nine people in addition to himself.
That paper was bought by a company that owns a number of small papers primarily in Kansas. They now publish only two days each week, and the nine employees has dwindled to about half.
Colorado Community Media owns 24 Colorado papers in communities including Parker and Elizabeth. The front page of each of those publications is local and the rest of the pages, for the most part, are the same in all two dozen publications.
Last week, someone called in to renew their subscription and said they had heard we were planning on retiring. Someone the week before called and said they didn’t know if we were still in business because of COVID. We heard this week that the Trinidad newspaper got purchased by a media conglomerate who was considering going entirely digital.
We get inquiries on about a quarterly basis from companies from lands far, far away who would like to buy the Greenhorn Valley View. Since some guy named Guttenberg invented the printing press the printed word has been instrumental in the formation of countries, opinions, and communities
No one can see into the future, but I suspect as long as we remain healthy, we intend to continue to do our best to represent the Greenhorn Valley well. Just thought you might like to know.