Pueblo Chieftain’s printing operation to shut down
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO)--A recent press release statement by the Pueblo News Guild is announcing that Gannett, the corporate owner of the Pueblo Chieftain, is stopping print operations in Pueblo, ultimately putting the Chieftain's headquarters on the market.
The statement was released on Tuesday, June 13, and the decision will oversee the elimination of around 51 jobs in the Pueblo community. According to the press release, that decision will see work being outsourced to Denver.
The Chieftain’s owner, the Rawlings family, sold the company to GateHouse Media back in 2018--a large publisher based out of New York who operates in 38 states and publishes more than 560 community newspapers.
According to the Pueblo News Guild, the decision to sell to GateHouse Media and merge with Gannett in 2019, has prompted “corporate executives to cut dozens of jobs and diminish the quality of the paper, leaving the employees with higher workloads.”
As a result the company has seen its 30 journalists trickle down to just five news reporters and one sports reporter.
The Guild stated they believe Gannett’s decision will further degrade the newspaper’s reputation in the community and fears the moving of the print operations will not only impact those soon to be laid off but could likely result in a delay for its readers in getting their newspapers from Denver.
The Pueblo Chieftain is the oldest daily newspaper in Colorado, and one of the only remaining large-scale news presses.
According to the press release, dozens of publications from around the region are printed at the Chieftain and the Guild worries about its future printing availability and costs.
In their final statements, the Guild stated, “Chieftain journalists will remain committed to telling Pueblo’s stories in spite of the short-sighted decision made by Gannett executives who couldn't tell the difference between Pueblo and Hatch green chiles.”
