Five newspapers in Colorado combine as one weekly paper

Five weekly newspapers in Colorado’s sprawling San Luis Valley are no longer separately publishing. Instead, Valley Publishing Inc. has combined them into one weekly subscriber-based paper, said the company’s editor-publisher Brian Williams. That single newspaper is now called SLV Journal. The community newspapers affected in the largely rural area of Colorado that’s about the size of Massachusetts include the Monte Vista Journal, Del Norte Prospector, South Fork Tines, Mineral County Miner, and Center Post-Dispatch.

This major print newspaper roll-up, which took place over the summer, also includes the SLV Lifestyles publication. Brian said increased printing and mailing costs coupled with dropping revenue drove the move. As for local reactions so far, ‘understanding’ is the best description, he mentioned. “When people ask about the changes and hear the explanation the comment I hear most is ‘that makes sense,’” he added. “They wish the paper(s) were [the] way they were but they understand the reasons for it.”