Melinda Munson and Gretchen Wehmhoff, Skahway News publishers.

A Colorado-based production company is following Skagway News publishers as they navigate the pandemic and economic downturn. The company sees contemporary America reflected in the port town’s struggle.

Newspaper publishers Melinda Munson and Gretchen Wehmhoff knew taking over a small town paper would be tough, but they didn’t anticipate a global pandemic, the collapse of the town’s cruise industry, or becoming documentary stars.

“Awkward, very, very, very awkward,” laughed Munson.

“Gretchen’s a natural. I am not!”

But Munson says she’s tickled to be part of an Alaska documentary whose focus is two women.

They aren’t getting paid for the documentary, but Wehmhoff said she sees the story’s merit. She and Munson took over the paper just days before COVID-19 decimated the local economy, crippling the paper’s finances. The paper’s visitor’s guide is a lynchpin to its profitability.

“We’re both independent, intelligent women who had a sense of obligation. You know, we took on a challenge. And we’re not going to give up just because it’s tough,” Wehmhoff  said.

They were both so focused on telling Skagway’s stories, that they didn’t realize they’d become one of them. “We’re just in survival mode,” said Munson.

“And we’re just trying to make it to the next issue and the next issue the next issue. Then Stan’s in Colorado, just really having deep thoughts about our paper!”

Stan is Stan Bush, who runs Go North Productions. He and two photographers filmed in Skagway this week. He hopes to find a buyer for what could be a full length film or documentary series following the local newspaper’s fight for survival. He left town right after graduating from Skagway High—Class of ‘02—and he’s “home” again for this project.

“This story to me is about the power of the news to begin with. And we are following the… the tracking of the Skagway news because information in a crisis is extremely important, particularly localized information,” Bush said.

Bush says he’s not just talking about how the pandemic has shaken the economy, but also about local news’ fight against misinformation in the era of “fake news” and Facebook.

And he has a perspective—he got his start at the Skagway News—and he used to help broadcast basketball games for this radio station. He credits his experience at the paper with his later opportunities, like college and a career as a broadcast journalist at CBS in Colorado.

He says Skagway was once his gateway to the world. Now, he’s turning his worldly lens back to the Upper Lynn Canal.

“What happens in Skagway is really a microcosm for what happens around the country. And it’s because Skagway is such a unique community that all of the issues that we’re seeing not just around the country, but around the world have a confluence here,” he said.

Bush says the title—The Last Front Page—it’s a nod to the last frontier, and the high stakes. But he says he’s hopeful the paper will pull through.

Munson and Wehmhoff are betting their livelihoods on it.