The Anamosa Journal-Eureka, previously slated to discontinue publication after its Feb. 1 edition, has been saved, thanks to a last-minute acquisition by Nelson Media Company, located in St. Ansgar in Mitchell County. On Friday, Feb. 2, Nelson Media CEO Chris Nelson received an early morning call from an employee informing him of the newspaper’s impending […]
The Anamosa Journal-Eureka, previously slated to discontinue publication after its Feb. 1 edition, has been saved, thanks to a last-minute acquisition by Nelson Media Company, located in St. Ansgar in Mitchell County.
On Friday, Feb. 2, Nelson Media CEO Chris Nelson received an early morning call from an employee informing him of the newspaper’s impending closure. By 10:30 that morning, Nelson Media had a tentative agreement to purchase the paper from
Woodward Communications, Inc.
“There’s history involved in the newspaper,” said Mr. Nelson. “What I thought was fascinating is the fact that this newspaper first printed when Abraham Lincoln was alive, and it predates the Civil War…that was a wow factor for me.”
There are no changes planned for the 167-year-old newspaper the first month following the acquisition, and the coverage area and logo will remain the same.
“People that are subscribed now are going to get the same paper. They might start to see, hopefully, some more content in terms of news. We're going to really push content, meaning more stories or higher storytelling,” said Mr. Nelson, who wants to eventually increase the volume of the paper.
“To be able to have a bigger newspaper, you need to have more ads, you have to have more revenue…if we start to get a real break in a relationship with Anamosa, and we start to see more advertising, that newspaper’s only going to grow. We're not here to grab and hold all the profits. We want to make sure that we have a great newspaper and have as much journalism as we possibly can,” he said.
Keeping it local
For Nelson Media, keeping the news local is the goal for all its publications.
“Local content is the heartbeat of the community,” said Mr. Nelson. “We want to have really good news in our newspaper, but we’re also going to hold the powerful accountable…what makes our democracy so wonderful is the ability (to have) free speech.”
Nelson Media also has plans to grow its marketing and video production agency to enhance its social media presence through marketing campaigns. “Different areas, markets and cities allow us to build relationships and communicate with various organizations and schools and businesses…I think newspapers are here to stay, but there's other ways of getting news," he said.
Fresh vision
In a Feb. 1 news release from Woodward Communication, CEO Bob Woodward cited distance and finances as a factor to selling the newspaper.
“The Jones County area is a little farther from our core market of Dubuque, making it more difficult to manage and reducing the efficiencies needed to operate in today’s media environment,” Mr. Woodward said.
Distance will not be a cause for concern for Nelson Media, Mr. Nelson said.
“We're in 2024 and there are so many different ways you can communicate and transfer information today, than you could even 10 years ago. Distance will never be an issue,” he said.
“Our vision is we treat each newspaper as its own LLC, as its own independent business, and I have full faith in the staff that we bring in (are) going to do a good job, and cover the news that they want. We look at performance for each individual based on the content that they produce and what our financials look like every quarter,” he added.
According to Mr. Nelson, most of the staff will stay put, with the exception of editor Jake Bourgeois, who is staying with Woodward Communications, said Mr. Nelson.
According to a column written by Mr. Bourgeois on Feb. 1, he has been with the Journal-Eureka for 29 years and his future plans are unclear.
“As I write this, I’m not exactly sure what the future holds for me,” he said, reminiscing about the time spent at the paper.
“The best thing about this job was the relationships I was able to make with the coaches, athletes and parents from each and every school. When you get into the journalism field, you don’t do it for the money (laugh here). You do it because you love it, and for me being able to do something that I have loved for 29 years adds unmeasurable amounts of value.”
Nelson Media is onboarding current Linn News editor Laura Drummy to work at the Journal-Eureka, as well as an advertising specialist not yet named. According to Mr. Nelson, retaining the Journal-Eureka’s sports editor, Daryl Schepanski, was a non-negotiable.
“I said ‘if you're not part of this deal, I have no interest in purchasing it,’ because I know the importance of Darryl and what he brings to the community…he is going to be a cornerstone not only for the newspaper, but I think to help develop younger journalists in our company, and I think he can be looked at as a mentor in other areas as well,” said Mr. Nelson.
Aside from the Journal-Eureka, Nelson Media also owns newspapers in Iowa and Wisconsin, including The Denmark News, Calhoun County Phoenix, The Akron Hometowner and Dayton Leader. Prior to starting Nelson Media in 2020, Mr. Nelson spent a decade as a meteorologist for five different TV news markets, says news is “in his blood” and has big plans for the future of his media company.
“I felt I wanted to be a much larger part instead of just a small part in the pie. I wanted to be able to have a vision for what this media sector is going to look like, and I want to be a big player. We're not looking to get any smaller…ultimately I think my goal before I retire or die is, I'd love to own every single newspaper in Iowa."
