Farmington now a two-newspaper town

‘Durango Herald’ publisher adds ‘Tri-City Record’ five days a week to serve northwest New Mexico

Farmington became a rare two-newspaper town Monday, in a century where newspapers have disappeared by the hundreds and dozens of big cities no longer even have newspapers that print seven days a week.

The Tri-City Record is an expansion into New Mexico for Durango, Colo.based Ballantine Communications Inc., which has long published the Durango Herald and The Journal that covers Cortez, Dolores and Mancos, Colo.

The Tri-City Record is publishing five days a week Monday to Friday in competition with the Farmington Daily Times, which newspaper giant Gannett acquired in 2015.

“The newspaper currently serving the San Juan County (New Mexico) area has very little local news,” Ballantine CEO Carrie Cass told The New Mexican in an email. “We feel strongly that the community deserves a paper that will contribute to the community and provide transparency on local government and municipal developments.”

The Tri-City Record started with four reporters, a photographer and a community editor, with more newsroom staff likely added in the near future, Cass said.

The Record will cover Farmington, Aztec, Bloomfield, Kirtland, Shiprock and the Navajo Nation. The paper started with an initial print distribution of 7,000 copies available at more than 75 central locations. Home and business delivery is planned for the future.

The country had 6,377 newspapers at the end of May, down from 8,891 in 2005, Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications reported.

Ballantine Communications was not deterred.

“We have done business in the Four Corners region for more than 70 years,” Cass said. “We have relationships with the local businesses and want to be more involved with the community in the future.”

The New Mexican prints the Tri-City Record as well as the Durango Herald and The Journal.

“There are increasing connections between southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico in news topics and advertising needs,” Ballantine board chairman Richard G. Ballantine said in a news release.

The Tri-City Record’s publisher is David Cook, who is a Ballantine board member and remains owner and publisher of the Aspen Daily News. The senior editor is Trent Stephens, who also is and remains the senior editor at Durango Herald and The Journal.