Newspaper folds after just 1 year in circulation
4:54 PM
Posted: Friday, December 26, 2008
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Mitch Traphagen started as the self-described "editor, publisher and janitor" of the East Iowa Herald a little less than a year ago.
Now, his days as a newspaperman are numbered.
The Herald, based in tiny Victor, is suspending publication effective Dec. 31. Traphagen said his paper's plight is symptomatic of the rest of the newspaper industry's woes.
"I could really see it coming in October," Traphagen said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "We had a lot of political ads, but I could also see that we weren't getting any new ad calls for November. ... It was like someone suddenly turned off the tap."
Virtually every corner of the newspaper industry has suffered in 2008, with media conglomerates big and small citing the poor economy for sharp cuts.
Tribune Company, the publisher of the Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times, for example, recently filed for bankruptcy. Gannett Company, another industry giant and the owner of The Des Moines Register, recently announced it would reduce its payroll by 10 percent, leading to companywide layoffs.
The trend has hit much smaller newspaper and media as well -- perhaps few smaller than the Herald.
Despite already ominous signs in the industry, Traphagen launched the Herald with a first edition on Jan. 10, 2008. His goal was to create a publication that served a narrow audience that he saw as underserved -- the town of Victor, population of a little under 1,000.
His initial optimism was vindicated early on, Traphagen said. Subscription requests poured in, even before the paper's first issue hit the press.
"People will say that newspapers are on their way out, but I don't think it's true," he said. "We've never slowed down in terms of getting subscriptions in. About 95 percent of households in this area are subscribers."
Subscriptions, though, are not the financial engine of the newspaper industry -- advertisements are. Ad sales continued to slump, then disappear altogether, Traphagen said, even as subscription requests continued.
"It literally came to an end, the ad revenues," he said. "If a car dealer isn't selling cars it's hard for them to advertise. I understand."
Traphagen said he is open to restarting the paper if economic conditions change. He is saddest for his customers, who will now be left without a local paper to read.
"I was worried folks would feel let down, but we're getting plenty of nice e-mails, nice calls," he said. "Virtually everyone has said the same thing, 'Thank you for being here."'
Now, his days as a newspaperman are numbered.
The Herald, based in tiny Victor, is suspending publication effective Dec. 31. Traphagen said his paper's plight is symptomatic of the rest of the newspaper industry's woes.
"I could really see it coming in October," Traphagen said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "We had a lot of political ads, but I could also see that we weren't getting any new ad calls for November. ... It was like someone suddenly turned off the tap."
Virtually every corner of the newspaper industry has suffered in 2008, with media conglomerates big and small citing the poor economy for sharp cuts.
Tribune Company, the publisher of the Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times, for example, recently filed for bankruptcy. Gannett Company, another industry giant and the owner of The Des Moines Register, recently announced it would reduce its payroll by 10 percent, leading to companywide layoffs.
The trend has hit much smaller newspaper and media as well -- perhaps few smaller than the Herald.
Despite already ominous signs in the industry, Traphagen launched the Herald with a first edition on Jan. 10, 2008. His goal was to create a publication that served a narrow audience that he saw as underserved -- the town of Victor, population of a little under 1,000.
His initial optimism was vindicated early on, Traphagen said. Subscription requests poured in, even before the paper's first issue hit the press.
"People will say that newspapers are on their way out, but I don't think it's true," he said. "We've never slowed down in terms of getting subscriptions in. About 95 percent of households in this area are subscribers."
Subscriptions, though, are not the financial engine of the newspaper industry -- advertisements are. Ad sales continued to slump, then disappear altogether, Traphagen said, even as subscription requests continued.
"It literally came to an end, the ad revenues," he said. "If a car dealer isn't selling cars it's hard for them to advertise. I understand."
Traphagen said he is open to restarting the paper if economic conditions change. He is saddest for his customers, who will now be left without a local paper to read.
"I was worried folks would feel let down, but we're getting plenty of nice e-mails, nice calls," he said. "Virtually everyone has said the same thing, 'Thank you for being here."'
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