THE BACK STORY
Gold Country Media Has Defied Newspaper Naysayers
For six Northern California publications , the alleged death of print is a very big typo
BY Ed Goldman
Bill Sullivan is the associate publisher of Gold Country Media , which publishes six community newspapers and three magazines in the Capital Region . He ’ s pictured here at the Auburn Journal , which started publishing in 1872 . Its oldest newspaper is the Folsom Telegraph which is 165 years old .
Mark Twain once famously wrote to a scoop-hungry newspaper reporter who ’ d heard that the great American author was dying : “ The report of my death was an exaggeration .” So are reports of the death of newspapers themselves .
Look no further than Gold Country Media . The average age of the six newspapers it publishes — the Folsom Telegraph , Auburn Journal , Placer Herald , Lincoln Messenger , Roseville Press Tribune and Loomis News — is nearly 135 years old .
“ Our Folsom paper recently turned 165 and we did a large anniversary edition ,” says Bill Sullivan , associate publisher of all the Gold Country Media papers . “ The early days ’ headlines were mostly on the railroad coming to town , gold discovery and settlement . The town of Lincoln just turned 130 and we did a smaller-scale anniversary issue .”
One common trait all these small cities and towns have is that they developed and grew alongside the newspapers when they started publishing , he says .
Sullivan , who has been at his job for seven years , proudly notes that in the past five years , “ We ’ ve brought Gold Country to strong award-winning status .” Gold Country Media has won 30 California News Publishers Association awards in the last five years . “ We ’ ve done that by keeping our focus on community — and having passionate , dedicated journalists and employees who love what they do .”
“ Granted ,” he clarifies , “ we do it with less these days .”
Gold Country Media publishes its twice-weekly flagship newspaper , the Auburn Journal , six weekly newspapers
By the Numbers :
• The Folsom Telegraph is 165 years old
• Auburn Journal turns 150 this year
• Rocklin ' s Placer Herald is 169
• Lincoln Messenger is 130
• Roseville Press Tribune is 115
• Loomis News ( the baby of the bunch ) is a robust 81
• That adds up to 810 years , an average of 135
SOURCE : GOLD COUNTRY MEDIA
88 comstocksmag . com | January 2022