from staff reports
The Newton Record will print its final edition of the weekly newspaper after more than 107 years of publication.
The Record's four employees will work their last day Jan. 14 — the day the newspaper prints its last edition.
The weekly community newspaper has been in publication since 1901. Once publication of the Record stops, subscribers to the paper will begin receiving the Sunday edition of The Meridian Star, and advertisers will be encouraged to take their business to the Star, publisher Robbie Robertson said.
Both The Newton Record and The Meridian Star are owned by Birmingham, Ala. based Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.
"I want to thank the community for all of their support. It's just a situation that didn't work out," Robertson said.
The final edition of the paper, which has provided news from Newton and the surrounding areas, will publish Wednesday, January 14. The paper's closing comes amid national economic troubles and numerous newspaper closings and downsizings nationwide in recent months.
The Record has a paid circulation of 2,400 and many loyal local advertisers, but the current recession has caused advertising from surrounding communities to slow, publisher Robbie Robertson said. Without that additional advertising, he said, the paper was not able to stay afloat.
The first edition of the Newton Record was published on Dec. 5, 1901 and bore the motto "The pen is mightier than the sword." It boasted itself as the "Neatest and Newsiest Paper in the County" and had a story on a new high school, along with some ads, covering the entire front page. At that time, the entire school construction cost only $5,000.
The most recent edition of the Newton Record, published on New Year's Eve, carries a huge banner proclaiming "Happy New Year!" and contains local front page stories on a new Quizno's franchise, the Newton Police Chief's heart health concerns, and a look back at 2008.
The paper contains columns from correspondents in different Newton County communities, local classifieds and obituaries, a community calendar of events, and public records.
"We've done everything possible to keep it open," Robertson said. "I'm very thankful for the time we've had here... I want to thank the community for all of their support. It's just a situation that didn't work out."
Robertson, who is also publisher of the Star Herald in Kosciusko, is the sixth publisher of the Record. The paper's first publisher was C.E. Cunningham in 1901. CNHI acquired the Record from American Publishing Co. in 1999, and Robertson has been the paper's publisher since 2003.
