After more than a century, a post on the Kingsville Record and Bishop News website announced Wednesday, Nov. 13, that it would be delivering its last issue on Dec. 5.
The article stated, “This decision was not made quickly or lightly. As many of you are aware, the newspaper industry faces troubling financial times and an even more uncertain future.”
The newspaper said on its website it plans to contact subscribers, advertisers and other partners over the next few weeks to discuss details of its plans to close.
The newspaper’s publisher Chris Maher did not respond to requests to comment.
The Kingsville Record’s closing is not an isolated event. Local newspapers across the country are being forced to close their doors because of financial reasons.
These closures have left a hole in the communities they leave behind, as local newspapers provide something the larger papers cannot: trust.
Ray Mosby is the editor and publisher for the community newspaper in Rolling Fork, Miss. Mosby experiences the role of a small-town paper, and knows the importance of having one.
“The community newspaper is not some monolithic entity; its editor is not some ivory towered ‘big shot.’ He or she is also a neighbor. He or she is one who goes to church with you, or stops to chat in the grocery store or is always there to volunteer at community functions or stops to shake hands or just waves in passing,” Mosby said.
Kingville’s Interim City Manager Deborah Balli said the newspaper’s closure was not a surprise to those in the community.
“It’s a sign of the times, and we were expecting it,” Balli said. “It just shows that they don’t have the readership to supports the newspaper.”
Balli said they will still get information such as notices for ordinances out by posting information on their website and doors. They will also be looking into getting that information printed in Corpus Christi Caller-Times, although she notes it may not reach the same portion of the community if it is not printed in the local newspaper.
Chair of the Department of Art, Communications and Theater Todd Lucas puts this closing in the context of the overall state of journalism, specifically the role of the journalist.
“They’re not just writers anymore. They’re not just the person that goes out, gets the story, writes it up and submits it. They’re now a part of the whole process,” Lucas said.
To respond to the evolution of journalism, the communications department is looking into creating a more rounded experience for aspiring journalists at TAMUK.
“Here we’re getting into something more multi-media and possibly cross-disciplinary between film, speech and journalism… really creating that multi-media person who can then have more opportunities to write for corporate America, for small business, for small ad firms or newspapers in a variety of areas, not just print media,” Lucas said.
The South Texan has served the university and the community since 1925. It is printed weekly through each of the long semesters.