The operator of The Daily Iowan newspaper in Iowa City has purchased two area weekly newspapers from Dubuque’s Woodward Communications.
Student Publications Incorporated is probably best known for its award-winning student newspaper. It has bought the Solon Economist and Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun for an undisclosed price. Daily Iowan Publisher Jason Brummond says the weeklies will put out their first copies under new management next week.
“This isn’t the Daily Iowan coming in and telling these papers what to publish or what to do,” he says. “They’re still going to be in charge of their papers and their content and what we’re hoping is we can add a layer of resources behind them that they have not had.”
Student Publicans is independent from the University of Iowa. But Brummond says the University of Iowa’s journalism program is committing interns and even classes focused on telling stories in these communities. Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun Editor Nathan Countryman has been at the weekly for eight years, and when he got an email about the meeting he feared the worst. “You always worry about the future of your position,” he says.
Countryman’s fears subsided after he learned about the purchase of the newspapers at the meeting. “I’m viewing it as a strong positive for this community. Being able to pull from journalism students. Give them on-the-ground training in what you might experience in community journalism is just a boon for the profession,” Countryman says.
Daily Iowan Publisher Brummond says all employees – including both weeklies’ editors – have received raises as part of the transition. He says they’re keeping the Mt. Vernon paper’s brick-and-mortar location. Woodward Communications still operates The Telegraph Herald. newspaper in Dubuque.
(By Zachary Oren Smith, Iowa Public Radio)