With laws defining a newspaper as one published at least once a week, there was a rush to find a solution when a US publisher announced it was closing more than 20 titles.

Now with a flurry of community activity, a trio of new owners has emerged for the eight Wyoming local newspapers, closure of which was announced last week.

Newspaper executives Robb and Jen Hicks and Rob Mortimore have reached an agreement to buy the titles from Illinois-based News Media Corporation and resume publication, keeping staff in their jobs.

Mortimore gave credit and “an immense debt of gratitude” to former owner JJ Tompkins, for whom, he said, “it would have been far simpler to yield to the demands of creditors.

“Instead, he chose to work with us to safeguard the future of these Wyoming communities, to preserve their newspapers, and to ensure that every employee was paid and retained.”  

According to a report in WyoFile, Mortimore will continue as group publisher, while the Hicks had operated the Buffalo Bulletin since 1996, and had multigenerational ties to Wyoming newspapers dating back seven decades.

In addition to the local newspapers in Wyoming, News Media Corp had mastheads in Illinois, Arizona, South Dakota – four of which are to be bought by a company in North Carolina – and Nebraska. The fate of the others is unclear.

Pictured: How WyoFile followed the developing story; pictured is Rob Mortimore