Archbold, Ohio – The Archbold Buckeye, a longstanding cornerstone of community news in Northwest Ohio, has announced on the front page of this week’s edition that it will cease publication at the end of June.
This difficult decision comes as the newspaper industry continues to face significant challenges, including declining readership, rising production costs, and changing consumer habits, according to the paper’s owners.
The Buckeye has been a trusted source for documenting the lives and events of the Archbold community. However, with a shrinking subscriber base and increasing operational expenses, the decision to close became unavoidable.
This announcement highlights a concerning trend in the region, where numerous other community newspapers have also shut down or merged in recent years due to similar struggles, aging ownership, or large out-of-state media corporations purchasing and shutting down operations to eliminate competition.
These closures include the Antwerp Bee Argus, Hicksville Tribune, Montpelier Leader, Fayette Review, State Line Observer (Morenci, Michigan), Hamilton News (Indiana), Delta Atlas, Swanton Enterprise, and Fulton County Expositor to name a few.
Some newspapers, such as The Edon Commercial, The Advance Reporter (covering West Unity, Stryker, and Fayette), and The Wauseon Reporter, ceased operations in 2010 and merged to form The Village Reporter.
Today, The Village Reporter serves all of the communities in the greater Williams and Fulton County areas of Northwest Ohio.
The closure of these newspapers represents a significant loss for the communities they served. Local journalism plays an essential role in connecting residents, preserving history, and holding public institutions accountable.
Forrest R. Church, publisher of Northwest Ohio Publishing LLC (The Village Reporter), expressed sadness in learning of the closure of another hometown newspaper.
“The Village Reporter covers as an umbrella over all the communities we serve in Northwest Ohio, but nothing replaces traditional community newspapers such as the Archbold Buckeye. This industry continues to be very challenging. I encourage residents to heavily support remaining area newspapers.”
The staff of the Archbold Buckeye expressed their heartfelt gratitude to loyal readers and advertisers who supported the paper throughout its history in this week’s front page article.
As the future of local journalism remains uncertain, the closure of the Archbold Buckeye serves as a poignant reminder of the vital role community newspapers play in preserving the voices and stories of our towns.