• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, August 17, 2025

There was more good news on Friday about the news deserts created by the sudden closure of News Media Corp.

Champion Media, of Mooresville, North Carolina, is acquiring four South Dakota papers that had been abruptly shuttered on August 6 and will now publish them. 

“We’re back!” one of the four, the Huron Daily Plainsman, announced in a headline on Friday. 

“Today, we announce that the Plainsman will be around to celebrate that 140th birthday (next year) and to serve the local news needs of our communities for the foreseeable future,” the Plainsman said in an online report. 

Also being saved are the Brookings Register, Moody County Enterprise and the Redfield Press.

“The four South Dakota newspapers combine for dozens of jobs in the state and the primary news source for roughly 100,000 of the state’s residents,” the Plainsman continued.  

The Plainsman did not identify the buyer, but that came out in a story by Kelo.

The report continues that “The Plainsman will still be considered a daily newspaper due to printing more than once per week, but the paper will no longer be printed five times per week. However, the commitment to bring the communities served by the paper the best, most timely news and community coverage possible will remain the focus.”

The Plainsman is the only paper in the state to have in-house printing, the story continues. 

This follows the news that eight Wyoming papers were being revived by local publishing executives Robb and Jen Hicks and Rob Mortimore 

The closings of the newspapers—and News Media Corp. itself—blindsided the staff, employees said.  

“I am sorry to say that, as of August 6, 2025, your employment with NMC and/or its affiliated companies will end permanently,” J.J. Thompson, CEO and president of the Illinois-based company, says in a letter announcing the closure to staffers. 

Of the 21 newspapers reported as part of this shutdown (not counting shoppers), 12 have now been salvaged. Only nine more to go.