Rural newspaper companies in California, Kansas and Okla. make Editor and Publisher's latest list of '10 That Do It Right'

MaryLee and J.D. Meisner are renovating a building to house their Oklahoma newspaper company.

Three rural newspaper companies, two 170 miles apart in the Great Plains, are among this year's edition of "10 That Do It Right" picked by Editor & Publisher and reported by Editor Robin Blinder:

Cimarron Valley Communications of Cushing, Okla., publishes the Cushing Citizen, the Drumright Gusher and the Yale News. J.D. and MaryLee Meisner bought the Citizen in February 2020, and a month later, the pandemic hit. But they quickly bought the struggling papers in nearby towns. "They added pages and color to their products, and their rack sales took off. The Drumright Gusher was given an additional boost with the decision to expand its coverage area and report news from an adjacent community that had lost its newspaper a decade ago. They also returned the Yale News to its roots and began reporting micro-community news and sports." Yale's population is 1,059.

At the Gusher, "A student reporter program gives English students a chance to write, get credit and be published in the paper. And art students have the opportunity to work as photographers at events, like galas and banquets that they usually wouldn't attend, and get credit for their work. The paper has started a scholarship program for the student reporters because they can't be paid, since they receive school credit." When schools in the area went to remote learning, Cimarron created Smartypants, a weekly kids' page that is so popular it appears in more than 50 U.S. newspapers and one in Ireland. "The Meisners also gave another publication, Okie Charmed, new life by restarting the glossy print magazine in 2021. It now prints six times a year and is the only magazine in the state that covers Oklahoma women, women-owned businesses and fashion for the Oklahoma woman."

Left to right: Editor Adam Strunk, "marketing dude"
Bruce Behymer, owners Joey and Lindsey Young

Kansas Publishing Ventures was bought by Joey and Lindsey Young, who first purchased Lindsey’s hometown paper, The Clarion in Andale, in 2012, when they were 27 "and fresh from a handful of years in community papers." They bought KSP, which had the free-circulation Hillsboro (Kansas) Free Press and a book-publishing company, and now have Harvey County Now (formerly Newton Now), circulation 4,000; the McPherson News-Ledger, circ. 1,700; a custom printing and promotional products business and a tech services division.

In the pandemic, "They gave away advertising to local businesses who were hurting" and got other businesses to sponsor listings of those businesses. "They have websites and a social media presence, but they focus on engagement and conversion to paid readers." They host candidate forums and have an annual “Blues, Brews and Barbecue” event that draws more 1,000 people and an event beer, Off the Record Ale, locally brewed.

Gazette Editor Nicole W. Little

At the Mariposa Gazette, “Our philosophy is if we don’t support community, why should they support the paper,” said Greg Little, editor and co-owner. California’s oldest weekly newspaper began in 1854 in the Sierra Nevada foothills, some of which became Yosemite National Park. Little and his wife Nicole bought the paper four years ago "and haven’t stopped growing, expanding this last year to include a new region to their east — eastern Madera County," which "had all but lost their coverage when their corporate-owned newspaper went down to four pages and stopped covering local news."

Print circulation and ad revenues are up "even though they have lost two special publications during the pandemic — a fair book and a visitor’s guide," since resumed. They "were instrumental in getting a veteran’s memorial constructed at their county courthouse — donating all the advertising and promotion over the two years it took to fund and erect the monument. . . . The Littles encourage their employees to join community groups and pay their membership fees to help their employees be a part of the community. They also sponsor and host community endeavors such as political debates for local and congressional races, local sports team sponsorships, various promotional contests and even a float in parades."

The other seven "news publishers that do it right" on this year's list are The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Nashville Tennessean, the Salt Lake Tribune, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Community Journals of Greenville, S.C.; Pioneer Publishing of Omaha, and Oahu Publications, new owners of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.