In 1952, Arthur and Morley Ballantine wanted to enter the news publishing industry, and they picked southwest Colorado as the place to do it — purchasing a publication that is now the Durango Herald.
Over the years, the company expanded, adding new titles, video services, digital services, and local phone directories to its publishing empire. And today, their son, Richard G. Ballentine is chairman of the board of Ballantine Communications, continuing a mission of serving the readers and businesses of the region.
Recently, the company announced it was opening offices and hiring staff just 60 miles away, in Farmington, New Mexico, to start a brand new, free tabloid called the Tri-City Record that will print five days a week.
Farmington has a population of 46,000+ and is the largest city in San Juan County (population 120,000). The city has been served by its newspaper of record, The Farmington Daily Times, for over 120 years. However, today that Gannett publication might be labeled by some as a “ghost paper,” having dropped their staff numbers to a single reporter to work and serve the entire area.
Ballantine initially explored the venture by bringing in the owner of the nearby Aspen (CO) Times, David Cook. Cook worked as a consultant, meeting business leaders, evaluating reader acceptance and making recommendations on the project's viability. It was later agreed that Cook would manage the New Mexico operation for Ballantine as the Record’s new publisher.
In a recent interview, Cook stated, "Forget about state lines. There’s no question that the Four Corners region has many economic tie-ins for sure.” Ballantine added to that sentiment, saying, "There are increasing connections between southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico in news topics and advertising needs.”
In response to why a new newspaper should enter an area that already has a newspaper in place for over a century, Cook stated, "There were some real gaps in the beat reporting. So I saw a real opportunity. San Juan is the fifth largest population center in New Mexico — and in my estimation … it was slowly becoming a news desert.”
In this episode of "E&P Reports," we explore the Tri-City Record, a new, five-day-a-week free publication serving San Juan County, New Mexico, being launched by Ballentine Communications, the owners of the Durango (CO) Herald. We learn from board chairman/ owner Richard G. Ballantine and new Record Publisher David Cook why they believe there is a real opportunity for expansion into this area already served by an existing Gannett title since that paper has drastically cut back on staff and content over the past few years.
139 Exploring two centuries of “Clash” between presidents and the press
138 The trilingual La Gaceta: News, politics and opinion, all rolled into one.
137 Merger of News Media Alliance (NMA) and The Association of Magazine Media (MPA) is a go!
136 Stewart Bainum’s journey to launch the Baltimore Banner
135 Deep-fake videos make people doubt what they see with their own eyes
134 Latest Borrell study shows OTT on the rise surpassing search in 3-years.
133 ARPA Funding gives 150 Businesses Access to Advertise with the R-J
132 Meet Ben August, the new owner of NYC’s voice of labor, The Chief.
131 This 108-year-old Alaskan newspaper is free for the taking.
130 News vets exit the daily to start a growing nonprofit
129 Florida's public notice reversal. A panel discussion
128 Florida reverses recently approved legislation requiring public notices on local newspapers
127 One-on-one with columnist Rex Huppke, as war breaks out during his 1st week at USA Today
126 Getting to know the Military Veterans in Journalism
125 100-percent sponsored content. Jed Williams & Dave Arkin’s Check Out DFW
124 Why we need and how to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion
123 When a Texas daily folds, a weekly tabloid explodes.
122 News industry advocates appeal to Congress to pass safe-harbor bill
121 A frank chat with news publishing technology veteran Kurt Jackson
120 American Journalism Project makes good on a promise to fund nonprofit local news
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