In an age of a disintegrating local newspaper industry, what would the Winona Daily News look like if the corporate owner, Lee Enterprises, chose to reduce the paper to a weekly? Look no farther than 30 miles downriver. Lee just merged the once robust and newsy suburban Onalaska Community Life and Holmen Courier into a flimsy usually eight-page free-distribution sheet called the Courier. In a recent issue there no news albeit four routine mini-announcements, nine sentences total. Why no local news? There are no local reporters. Of major stories, six were reprinted from earlier editions of the LaCrosse Tribune; two reprinted from a national syndicate; three reprinted from far-away Eau Claire, Janesville, Madison papers; and one from Wisconsin Public Radio. This is as low-cost as journalism gets. Advertising, also, is slight: One half-page ad, three quarter-page ads, and a pathetic smattering of tiny ads. Merchants have lost confidence in Lee’s ink-on-paper products to reach potential customer.
Earlier: Newspaper drops two issues
Earlier: Lee buys Onalaska, Holmen papers
Almanac: Lee Enterprises