The South Wasco Times Debuts To Fill Local News Void
Story and photos by Drew Myron
Colleen Strohm didn’t want to start a newspaper. Rumors and exaggerations shook her to action.
“I started going to city council meetings, and a big issue in Maupin was parking,” she says. “It really drew divisions. The next day, I went to the post office and I heard people saying that the city was going to pave over the park, and that wasn’t true at all. It made me realize this is how people get their news—at the post office or gas station—and they are getting it wrong.”
Hungry for accurate local information, Colleen urged friends and neighbors to start a newspaper.
While everyone agreed there was a need, “no 1 had the time or energy to take on the challenge,” she says. “I thought it was really important to have a source for local news. Finally, I just decided to do it myself.”
The South Wasco Times debuted in October 2023. The monthly newspaper runs 20 pages and costs $2 an issue. The paper is available at businesses throughout south Wasco County.
Within the first few months, the paper drew 120 subscribers. Based in Maupin, the Times covers news and events in south Wasco County, home to about 1,200 people.
The paper covers local government, civic institutions, businesses, schools, and people. It includes comprehensive listings of local music and entertainment.
“We’re covering a large area that has more cattle than people,” Colleen says. “I’m meeting with people I wouldn’t normally have conversations with, and it’s been really interesting. There are so many good people here.”
While cautious with controversy, Colleen feels an obligation to shine a light on community issues. She wants to address local concerns, including growth, development, housing, business struggles, and school funding.
“There are things happening that people should know about,” she says. “I don’t want to do big exposes all the time, but I do want people to feel accountable.”
Starting a newspaper was a big leap for Colleen, who has no journalism experience. She spent 40 years as a preschool teacher in Portland. In 2021, she and her husband, Doug Lowell, moved to Maupin to retire.
With a can-do spirit, Colleen stumbled upon Make My Newspaper and went to work. The online service provides tutorials in all aspects of newspaper production. It also offers printing and shipping.
The newspaper staff includes Colleen, who serves as reporter, editor, and publisher; and Doug, a retired advertising copywriter and Portland State University professor who serves as the paper’s advertising manager, reporter, and photographer. For now, they are unpaid. The publication is an all-volunteer endeavor.
“I always think I can do more than I can,” Colleen says with a laugh. “It’s so much work, and I’m learning as I go.” The paper is breaking even thanks to advertisers, subscribers, and volunteers who contribute pieces on health, gardening, fishing, and sports.
The South Wasco Times launched as newspapers across the nation are folding and local news coverage is disappearing. Since 2005, the country has lost almost 2,900 newspapers, including more than 130 confirmed closings or mergers in the past year, according to the 2023 State of Local News Project, a sweeping analysis conducted by Northwestern University.
The report states that 204 counties in the United States have no local news outlet, and 1,562 have only 1, usually a weekly newspaper. That is more than half of the nation’s 3,143 counties.
A decline in local news has increased political polarization and led to more political corruption, according to the report.
Rural areas are especially likely to feel the impact. These news deserts—areas where traditional media no longer have reporters covering local governments, people, businesses, and the community— are even more likely to feel the void of a trusted, reliable news source.
For 36 years, the WamPinRock News filled the local niche. Editor Merle Hlavka provided folksy news from Wamic, Pine Hollow, and Rock Creek until the paper ceased operations in 2021.
“The South Wasco Times is fantastic,” says the retired newspaperman who has agreed to serve as an occasional correspondent. “Colleen and Doug are full of energy and professionalism. They’ve got a fire in the belly. And the community is excited and tickled to have a voice.”
Just as vinyl records and film cameras are experiencing newfound appreciation, newspapers are finding favor again, too. The South Wasco Times is only available in print form. Colleen and Doug, who have a collection of vintage Woodstock typewriters, are proud to be part of what they call “an analog revolution.”
“People want to sit down with a physical newspaper and a cup of coffee,” Colleen says. “They want something in their hand.”
The fresh-eyed publisher feels optimistic that unbiased local news has the power to educate, inform, and unite.
“When you give people information, it can create compassion and unity,” Colleen says. “People want to feel heard. The division in the community is often because we don’t understand each other.”