By Steve T. Strickbine
President
Texas Local Media
Change is never easy. But in business, adapting to the moment is often the difference between success and going under.
I know that from experience.
Before I ever owned a newspaper, I was a CPA. In 1997, I quit a successful career and invested my life savings to start an 8-page paper we called the Valley Times. Since then, change and I have become well-acquainted. The newspaper industry today demands it.
What hasn’t changed is our commitment to local journalism.
The Cuero Record has been part of this community since 1894. In 1955, it earned a Pulitzer Prize for distinguished reporting of local affairs, recognizing Roland Kenneth Towery’s work exposing fraud and bribery in the Veterans’ Land Program. That kind of journalism, which is grounded, local, consequential and honest, is the standard this paper set long before I arrived.
Like many of you, I wish newspapers could still operate the way they did decades ago, with a full newsroom in every town and a model that kept the business afloat. The reality is that model is failing all over the country.
When we acquired The Cuero Record, we had a choice: let that trend continue, or find a way to keep the paper alive.
What we are building may not look exactly like what you’ve been used to, but it is built on that same foundation. We’re here to tell the stories of this community in ways that matter to the people who live here. That commitment extends beyond Cuero as well, including our readers of the Yorktown News-View, who are served from the same local operation and are an important part of the community we cover.
I’m not someone who makes a lot of promises. You don’t know me, and I don’t expect you to take me at my word. I’d rather let the work speak for itself. Judge us by the stories we tell. And if you have a question or suggestion, I’d like to hear it at [email protected].
You may have seen a recent article about The Cuero Record on a local blog. I don’t mind tough questions. But that story included a number of false claims that need to be corrected.
There is an assertion that someone from “corporate” ordered the office closed and gave Cuero residents 10 minutes to sort through decades of history. That is not accurate. The building is still owned by the previous owner and was being prepared for sale, which required us to vacate. Well before that transition, we invited the community through social media to come by over multiple days to review and collect photographs. That window was extended when people needed more time. Staff members were present to help, and the remaining photos were gathered and are now being preserved locally through arrangements with the museum and the Historical Society.
That matters, because preserving a community’s history is part of a newspaper’s responsibility.
The story also suggests that local coverage has disappeared. The truth is this reflects a challenge facing small-town journalism everywhere. The Record’s former leadership had spent more than a year trying to hire full-time, locally based reporters. They had brought on good people, but some were semi-retired, one moved away, another left to care for a seriously ill family member, and others found the workload didn’t suit them. These are not layoffs. They reflect the reality of a shrinking labor pool.
In the meantime, coverage has continued through experienced journalists and local contributors, and we are continuing to build stronger local staffing.
There has also been misinformation circulating that The Cuero Record is being moved to a digital-only format. That is simply not true. My company owns and operates more than 100 weekly newspapers, and none of them are digital only. This publication is no different. We believe in the printed newspaper, and it will continue to be an important part of how we serve this community.
None of this is to suggest that everything is perfect. It isn’t. But the idea that we are here to gut this newspaper or disregard its history is simply not true.
We are here because we believe The Cuero Record is worth saving. The paper had been for sale for quite some time. Acquiring it shows our willingness to invest in its future.
Change is never easy. But standing still is not an option. Our responsibility now is to carry this paper forward so it continues to serve this community for years to come.
That’s what we intend to do.
Thank you for your support and for reading. We’re just getting started.
