Print is dead! Long live print! What's the real story?
More than 80 publications serving Colorado's Front Range communities found out the hard way over the past two years, as our state’s few remaining commercial printing presses have closed, reduced capacity, or raised prices — throwing many local news publishers into a tailspin.
Some publications are now printing in Wyoming, Kansas or New Mexico. Some consolidated their brands. Some closed up shop. But almost all who remain in business are paying significantly more to produce their print products — which for most, still account for the vast majority of their razor-thin profit margins, thanks to dedicated local advertisers who recognize the value of their trusted, local brands.
Today, we are delighted to join the National Trust for Local News and Colorado Community Media in announcing plans for a new community press to serve Colorado.
NTLN expects to begin printing CCM's 23 weekly newspapers in May 2024, and aims to offer "mission-driven" printing services to other local papers and community-based partners in the coming months.
Colorado newsrooms interested in printing at the new CCM printing press can contact publisher Linda Shapley at printing@coloradocommunitymedia.com.
Members of the Colorado Media Project funder table - including The Colorado Trust, Gates Family Foundation, Bohemian Foundation — joined forces last fall to quickly raise $900,000 to put the deal in motion.
“While we recognize that printing presses are no longer the sole means of providing trusted community information, for specific communities they remain the only trusted source of hyperlocal news,” said Johanna Ulloa Girón of The Colorado Trust. Corey Hutchins has the full story in NiemanLab.
Want to know more about the crisis that newspapers in Colorado (and across the U.S.) are facing, due to reduced options for printing? Check out this 2023 white paper that CMP commissioned to explore causes, publisher and printer concerns, and potential solutions (including purchasing a new press!)