Colorado weekly's owner donates it to the local historical society, in an effort to save it

When the Silverton Standard & the Miner, a 1,000-circulation weekly in Colorado, found itself dangerously close to going out of business, owner Randy Miller decided that, instead of shutting it down, he would donate it. Now the local historical society has found itself in the newspaper business, determined not to let the paper die.

"It's very much a part of our history. That's the reason we're doing it," San Juan County Historical Society chair Bev Rich told Nancy Lofholm of The Denver Post. The paper will now be run as a non-profit business, and the historical society is seeking $10,000 in grants to cover start-up costs. Lofholm writes that this approach is "just beginning to get widespread discussion as one way to save the country's ailing newspapers." (Encarta map)

Editor Mark Esper says that the paper, founded in 1875, is necessary in a town which is frequently isolated in the winter, when avalanches close the passes that provide access to the town. "We have no other media out here -- no radio or TV station covering the town. So the newspaper serves a function that is irreplaceable," he says. (Read more)