Gallup Independent shutting down after almost a century of reporting

After nearly 100 years covering western New Mexico and the tribal lands of the Navajo Nation, the Gallup Independent will publish its final edition Saturday.

Publisher Bob Zollinger, who has run the paper since the mid-80s, confirmed it would be shutting its doors for good — ceasing its print and online publications. He said the decision followed years of trying to battle a tide of advertising revenue losses and, more recently, attempts to sell the daily publication.

Zollinger spoke of the loss the way one would of losing a relative or close friend.

“It doesn’t feel good. It’s a death,” he said. “Today, when I walked through the pressroom, the last 40 years were compressed to, you know, just a flash, and a little tear came to my eye.”

Zollinger declined to divulge the specifics of revenue losses and subscriber numbers but added, “The good news is our circulation was moving up for the last four or five months.” He said that circulation, however, only covered enough for the printing of the paper and “we just kept marching on.”

That will all come to a halt Saturday. 

Zollinger said, though he believed they had suspicions months ago, he informed a dozen of his staff members of the reality on Wednesday. He was met with empty stares, he said, “there was just nothing ... just no noise.”

Multiple staff members couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.

Zollinger said he got a similar response after telling the president of the Navajo Nation. 

“I mean, he was in disbelief that we were doing it,” he said. “He was in shock. He said, ‘What are we going to do? This was our source of accurate and truthful information.’”

Zollinger said, as is the case in small towns, it was not long before word spread. Then the calls came in from politicians, doctors, lawyers and community members.

“I have deep concerns about what’s going to happen in Gallup. There’ll be no oversight, there’ll be no one looking at the county, there’ll be no one looking at the city, there will be no one looking at the schools,” he said. “So this community is just going to be out in the middle of nowhere, you know, a free-for-all.”

The Independent’s demise comes as newspapers big and small continue to disappear at a rapid pace across the country. An October study from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism found that the number of U.S. “news desert” counties jumped to 213 last year, with some 136 newspapers closing during that period.  Roughly 50 million Americans “have limited to no access to local news,” the study said.  

Connie Liu, a subscriber to the Independent for eight years, said she heard the paper was closing through “word of mouth” Friday morning. Many residents have since learned, she said, and the response has been one of resounding sadness.

Liu, originally from Boston, called it “a huge loss for the community.”

“It was just a really good way to understand what's going on ... where people could read about our hospitals, our schools, things that really affect our day-to-day lives,” she said. “And more than that, it was a really important place to give people a forum to express their opinions, to hear their own, see their own stories being told.”

Liu said there are no other options for daily news, with the weekly Gallup Sun as the alternative source. She said the Independent had done some great work, including recent coverage of local elections and issues facing the hospital.

“I think people generally trust the Independent to report things fairly and so I don't know where we’re going to look for that,” Liu said. She realized, during the interview, that she had submitted a letter to the editor “that’s not getting published now.”

“When we wanted to express our thoughts on something, we looked to the Independent to give us a platform to express those views,” Liu said. “I mean, you know, people get upset with the paper for various reasons, but I think at the heart of it, we really do value it as an important resource that we all depended on.”

She said she was appreciative that Zollinger kept the paper open as long as he had despite the issues facing print news across the country — magnified in small places like Gallup.  Liu added, “But I wish ... I wish it wasn't ending.”

The original publication began around the 1920s and went through various leadership, name and production changes until Zollinger’s father bought it in 1964, changing its name to Independent — a title that stuck to the end.

Zollinger said, looking back to its roots, the publication “brought the people into Gallup.” He added, “Had we not done that, we would’ve just been another small town, a reservation border town.”

"But we went out, we reached 17,998 subscribers, and that was our peak.”

Zollinger said the paper’s mission under his watch was simple: the truth.

“We didn’t want any garbage. We didn’t want to be a mouthpiece for somebody. Just lay the truth out there. Don’t worry about who might be offended, or whatever,” he said, recalling when his mother was busted for DWI after taking some medications and getting behind the wheel.

“One of the reporters asked me, should they write the story? I looked at him, I said, ‘Well, let me put it this way. If you don’t, you’re fired,’” Zollinger said, remembering the moment fondly. “I mean, what else can I say?”

But the reality is the truth.

“I’m really sad that I had to do this, but I grieve mainly for Gallup,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion. “I don’t know what Gallup is going to do.”

Matthew Reisen is the news editor for the Journal. You can reach him at mreisen@abqjournal.com.