The Skagway News moved to online publishing this March due to COVID-19. But help from federal and local relief grants could put the paper back in print next year.
When Gretchen Wehmhoff and Melinda Munson took over the Skagway News,they didn’t expect a pandemic to undercut their business model or for border closures to cut the paper off from its Canadian printer. They had to immediately transition to online publication.
But now, there’s a chance the Skagway News could be back in print.
“I am optimistic,” said Wehmhoff. The nearly $10,000 in relief grant money should be enough to cover printing and shipping costs.
“We’re looking at how long will this CARES money last us? We put it aside, and it’s sitting in an account just for printing. But we’re not sure what would happen if all of a sudden we run out of money? You know, do we just go back online? How would our readers feel about that? But yeah, our goal is to print again, because we have so many readers that really want the print copy.”
The newspaper has a circulation of about 350 papers. Wehmhoff says subscriptions have been picking up online after a downward slide, so she’s hoping to increase the circulation number. She estimates about 40 percent of the paper’s subscribers don’t live in Skagway.
Munson said she’s grateful local businesses have continued to advertise online—it’s kept the lights in the office on. And despite the uncertainties and changes, she said printing is worth the effort.
“A printed paper, whether you like to read online or in print, really having a print version does give more credibility than not having a print version. So I’m looking forward to having that back,” she said.
The publishers have a couple of bids in from regional printers and are waiting to hear from a few more early next month. The first published issue would come in January 2021—if everything works out.
