{"id":23052,"date":"2025-03-21T15:57:29","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T21:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/as-tariffs-take-effect-a-new-struggle-for-small-town-newspapers-arises-the-cost-of-paper\/"},"modified":"2025-03-21T21:57:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T21:57:29","slug":"as-tariffs-take-effect-a-new-struggle-for-small-town-newspapers-arises-the-cost-of-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/as-tariffs-take-effect-a-new-struggle-for-small-town-newspapers-arises-the-cost-of-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"As tariffs take effect, a new struggle for small town newspapers arises \u2013 the cost of paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A
A newsstand at Gub Gub\u2019s pizza in Walsenburg, CO sells copies of the World Journal newspaper on Mar. 11, 2025. (Dan Boyce\/CPR News)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The copublisher of the World Journal in Walsenburg admits it\u2019s a \u201cgrandiose name for a very little paper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the \u201cworld\u201d for Brian Orr\u2019s team of three staff reporters and a handful of freelancers spans more than 10,000 square miles. It consists of the contiguous Huerfano and Las Animas Counties as well as New Mexico\u2019s Colfax County. This sparsely populated terrain is rugged, with gaps in reliable internet coverage.<\/p>\n

\u201c (My) readership is older. Older readers like paper products. I do too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In an editorial in late February, Orr told his readers the cost of printing the World Journal\u2019s physical newspaper may soon rise dramatically.<\/p>\n

The reason: proposed 25% tariffs on lumber products from Canada, including newsprint paper. According to Columbia Journalism Review, Canada provides an estimated 80% of the newsprint used by U.S. newspapers. The Trump policy represents an economic shock for small newspapers, in particular, companies often already working on thin margins.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust devastating to have to pay that much more in printing,\u201d Orr said.<\/p>\n

The president\u2019s tariffs on Canadian lumber (and many other products) were announced on March 4. Two days later, a one-month delay on the tariffs was announced for products covered under the USMCA trade agreement, exempting newsprint from the higher import costs until April 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m just crossing my fingers, hoping that it doesn’t come to that,\u201d Orr said.<\/p>\n

Cost increases across the board<\/div>\n

Weekly editions of the World Journal are printed a three-hour drive South of Walsenburg, at the press of the Santa Fe New Mexican. That\u2019s been the case since the closure of the Pueblo Chieftain printing plant nearly two years ago.<\/p>\n

Standing upright in the backroom of the Santa Fe facility are 30-foot-tall rolls of paper. Each weighs about a ton and holds seven miles of newsprint. Press Circulation Manager Josh Harris calls it \u201cthe forest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Back
Back copies of the World Journal fill shelves at the newspaper's offices in Walsenburg, Colo. on Mar. 11, 2025. (Dan Boyce\/CPR News)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve made a lot of sacrifices over the years to make sure that we can keep printing (for) people and that they keep coming back and that their businesses remain viable,\u201d Harris said. \u201cYou can\u2019t do that if you are charging people into the dirt.\u201d<\/p>\n

The New Mexican actually sources most of its newsprint from American suppliers. Still, in the days leading up to the Trump Administration\u2019s expected tariffs, the New Mexican press announced about a 4% rate increase for its approximately 75 client publications, including the World Journal. That\u2019s because Harris does not expect U.S. paper costs to remain flat if the tariffs are implemented.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf everything else is going up 25%, then American suppliers are probably going to try to get 10 to 12 just because you can’t get it anywhere else, right?\u201d Harris said. \u201cIt is capitalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

A boon for American paper manufacturers? Not exactly<\/div>\n

Economist Gary Hufbauer has been studying trade policy for six decades. He worked in the U.S. Treasury Department during the Nixon, Ford and Carter Administrations and taught at Georgetown University as well as the University of New Mexico. For the last 35 years, he\u2019s been with the Peterson Institute for International Economics.<\/p>\n

Hufbauer said Harris\u2019s expectation about American newsprint rates is likely accurate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve done a lot of studies of tariffs in the past and generally speaking, U.S. producers of similar products raise their prices,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s kind of all over the map, but say 60 to 75% of the tariff is going to be the raise in prices from U.S. producers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The World Journal offices in Walsenburg, Colo. on Mar. 11, 2025. (Dan Boyce\/CPR News)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While tariffs were a part of Trump\u2019s strategy in his first term, Hufbauer described them as \u201cabsolutely central\u201d to the trade policy of the president\u2019s second term. The administration argues tariffs will reinvigorate America\u2019s hollowed-out industries, while the tariff dollars earned could bolster the federal budget and pay down the national deficit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat (economists) find in looking at a lot of examples is that high tariffs have not historically been a path to a robust manufacturing sector,\u201d Hufbauer said.<\/p>\n

For comparison, Hufbauer looks at the recent history of three developing nations \u2013 Brazil, India and China. Both Brazil and India have used the high tariff approach in recent decades. Studies have found that while tariffs did protect some industries, manufacturing in the countries suffered as a whole from inefficiencies and reduced competitiveness. During periods when the countries did free up their trade policies, the economic results were generally positive.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, China\u2019s approach for the last 40 years has been the opposite, with the country largely adopting low tariff policies. The country\u2019s economy has surged, and its net export of manufactured goods has increased 25-fold in the past two decades.<\/p>\n

\"World
World Journal Copublisher Brian Orr at the newspaper's offices in Walsenburg, Colo. on Mar. 11, 2025. (Dan Boyce\/CPR News)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finally, Hufbauer said the increased economic opportunities that high tariffs present for domestic manufacturers do not always lead to higher production, more competition and lower prices. In this, he said paper products are a great example. Paper mills take a long time to build. They also lead to higher localized pollution than other manufacturing facilities, making municipalities reluctant to approve their construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not easy to open a new newsprint factory in the U.S.,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A commitment to paper<\/div>\n

The World Journal in Walsenburg is a family-run operation. Brian Orr\u2019s wife Gretchen is the other copublisher. His daughter Ruth is the paper\u2019s art director.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve just got a really good close crew who are all excellent at their jobs,\u201d Orr said. \u201cIt’s why I feel confident that we will weather whatever comes because I’ve got great people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The paper is encouraging readers to switch to digital-only subscriptions, if possible. Orr is also reducing the number of print copies he sends to certain newsstands. Those efforts will help the company save on printing costs, but Orr insists he is not giving up on a physical print edition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve seen a lot of changes,\u201d Orr said of the industry that\u2019s defined his life. \u201cMight not look exactly like we do now, but we will always be here and always be making a paper.\u201d<\/p>\n

To read more stories from Colorado Public Radio, visit www.cpr.org.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A newsstand at Gub Gub\u2019s pizza in Walsenburg, CO sells copies of the World Journal newspaper on Mar. 11, 2025. (Dan Boyce\/CPR News) The copublisher of the World Journal in Walsenburg admits it\u2019s a \u201cgrandiose name for a very little paper.\u201d Still, the \u201cworld\u201d for Brian Orr\u2019s team of three staff reporters and a handful […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[431,2518,11,28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-23052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-business-general","tag-economic-policy","tag-economy-general","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23052"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=23052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}