Today In Wyoming's History: August 5. The final locally printed Tribune.

From one of our companion blogs:

Today In Wyoming's History: August 5:

2018  The last in house printed, in Casper, edition of the Casper Star Tribune rolled off the presses, and with it over a century of there being a locally printed newspaper in Casper. The paper continued on, but printed by a contractor in Cheyenne.

On the low readership Monday edition, for August 6, the Tribune put a happy face on the event, starting off with a front page article that noted the following:

The newspaper you are reading was printed in Cheyenne and transported to Casper early this morning for delivery around Wyoming. It was printed by Adams Publishing Group, which publishes the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and a handful of other newspapers around the region. APG’s German-made Mann Rolland press was installed about 10 years ago and is arguably the highest quality press in the region. We are really pleased it is our in-state option.

We did not make the decision to print in Cheyenne lightly. We value our workers who staffed the Star-Tribune’s press and mail room for years. But the reality is print subscriptions have declined, and in response, more and more newspaper publications are moving toward regional printing plants. One plant printing many newspapers across a region can offer higher quality products at lower cost than free-standing newspapers. Our press is aging, and given the long-term outlook, that option is unsustainable.

Since word of the change became public last month, some have wondered whether the Star-Tribune itself is shutting down. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, with our print circulation and more than 3.1 million page views each month, the Star-Tribune has more readership and audience than at any time in our 127-year history.

A couple of items.

There's no doubt quite a bit of truth in this article, which goes on from there, but probably the most significant admission is that;  "But the reality is print subscriptions have declined, and in response, more and more newspaper publications are moving toward regional printing plants."

The Tribune says it isn't in trouble.

Reading this confirms my belief that it is.