A necessary price increase

It’s something we have to do every few years – raise the cost of our newspaper. Like everything else subject to inflation, we really have no choice if we are to stay in business.

And so, on October 1, the cost of the Basin Republican Rustler will rise by 50¢ to $1.50 per copy.

We’re among the last papers in the state to make this change, and many papers have gone to $2 or $3 a copy. For instance, the Northern Wyoming News in Worland is increasing to $2 a copy, and the Cody Enterprise and Sheridan Press are already $2. Papers in Buffalo, Torrington, Newcastle, Lusk and elsewhere are $3 a copy.

So, $1.50 seems reasonable, we think. Frankly, it’s a sign of the times. The main driver of our increase is the skyrocketing cost of second class mailing from the Postal Service. Mailing costs are up approximately 20 percent over the last year and a half and will continue to climb. As our readers know, the cost of gas, utilities, payroll and more has risen, not to mention at our press in Powell the cost of newsprint and plates.

It all adds up. We have always tried to keep the cost of our newspaper as low as possible. In the 1980s the Chronicle cost 35¢ a copy, then rose to 50¢ in 1991 and 75¢ in February of 2006 nearly 15 years later. We hit a dollar in 2018, 12 years after the previous increase.

And now $1.50, our first increase in eight years. What other product can you think of that has stayed the same price for eight years or costs just 25¢ more than it did 20 years ago?

It’s something we have to do. Think of it this way: Snickers candy bars roll off the assembly line by the thousands and have increased from about a dollar in 2018 to anywhere from $1.57 to $1.89 in 2026, depending on the location, a 57% to 89% increase. And we’re going up 50¢.

A quarter pounder with cheese cost around $4.21 in 2018 and has risen to about $6.29 or $7.50 in 2026, depending on the location. It’s 50¢ for us.

Running a newspaper is a very labor-intensive process involving hundreds of manhours for each edition, so we hope our readers understand and will hang in there with us.

And with a per-copy increase comes a subscription increase. For local subscribers, we are jumping from $45 a year to $50, a direct reflection of the increasing mailing costs, but still less than $1 a week. We have a similar increase for out-of-county and out-of-state subscriptions. But anyone who would like to renew at our current rate may do so through today, October 1, even if you recently renewed your subscription.

We believe a community newspaper is a valuable commodity, and according to a recent survey we conducted, our readers agree. 

Due to those survey results and what other papers are already doing, we strongly considered going to $2 a copy, but frankly, we didn’t want to hurt our customers who rely on coin-operated racks to get their weekly copy of the paper. It’s going to be hard enough to come up with six quarters for a paper, let alone eight. So we’re sticking with a 50-cent increase, matching a recent increase by the Powell Tribune.

It is our firm belief that a community newspaper is still the heart and soul of smalltown America, and we work hard every week to bring you the news and information you need in a format we hope is readable and enjoyable.

Thank you for supporting local journalism. We will strive to earn that extra 50¢ with each issue. 

— David Peck

David Peck is the owner and publisher Basin-Republican Rustler, Greybull Standard and Lovell Chronicle, also serving as editor of the Chronicle.