Webster County growth gets new press attention

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The Marshfield Mail now has a southern neighbor. Community Publishers of Missouri, owner of the Marshfield Mail, began circulating the South County Mail Feb. 22.|ret||ret||tab|

The South County Mail will cover the southern portion of Webster County, focusing on the communities of Rogersville and Fordland, said Dave Berry, vice president and publisher of Community Publishers of Missouri. The new publication is in response to a need in the area, he said.|ret||ret||tab|

"Our company acquired the Marshfield Mail as of July, and our staff there has been telling us there is a need for this product," Berry said.|ret||ret||tab|

Michael Wells, who was hired as a reporter for the Marshfield Mail in December 1999, will be the editor of the South County Mail. |ret||ret||tab|

Wells said it was difficult for the Marshfield Mail to give Rogersville and Fordland the coverage the growing communities merited.|ret||ret||tab|

"We covered Rogersville and Fordland, but lightly. This will give us a chance to give those communities more complete news coverage," Wells said.|ret||ret||tab|

Community Publishers of Missouri owns several papers in addition to the Marshfield Mail: the Buffalo Reflex, Bolivar Herald-Free Press and Cedar County Republican. |ret||ret||tab|

The company also has ownership in common with nine newspapers in northwest Arkansas. Berry said the support of the Community Publishers company helped with the decision to start a new newspaper.|ret||ret||tab|

"Prior to CPI's owning the Marshfield Mail, it would have been a more difficult decision to make. There would have been a lack of personnel and support that we now have. |ret||ret||tab|

"That having been said, this is not a company that throws money around. We think seriously about any move we make in terms of starting a new paper or expanding existing papers," Berry said.|ret||ret||tab|

Circulation for The South County Mail will begin at 3,500, Wells said. |ret||ret||tab|

The newspaper will be an outside wrapper for the Country Mailbox, a shopper publication that already circulates each Tuesday in the Rogersville and Fordland area. |ret||ret||tab|

The paper will print each Tuesday morning, and be delivered Tuesday afternoon, a day before the Rogersville News Review, the area's other weekly, publishes, Wells said. |ret||ret||tab|

Other newspapers, such as the Webster County Citizen, based in Seymour, also serve the area, but Wells said The South County Mail will be able to distinguish itself from other publications.|ret||ret||tab|

"I think our focus on the Rogersville and Fordland areas will make us stand out. Right now, I'm just trying to get our name out there. I want to make sure all city officials and school officials in the area know me by name and face," Wells said.|ret||ret||tab|

The newspaper is distributed free, and its inaugural Feb. 22 issue was six pages, though Wells said he would like to have eight pages.|ret||ret||tab|

For now, Wells is solely responsible for the paper's editorial content. An advertising representative works out of the Marshfield office, and Wells works out of his home office. |ret||ret||tab|

The paper is printed in Marshfield, Wells said.|ret||ret||tab|

The new newspaper is a sister publication to the Marshfield Mail, Berry said, and Wells said the two share resources. |ret||ret||tab|

"We could continue to serve that area with only our county-seat weekly in Marshfield, but the growth along the U.S. 60 corridor through Rogersville and Fordland justifies this decision," Berry said.|ret||ret||tab|

Wells said he hopes that within several months the paper will have its own office. |ret||ret||tab|

The paper's new editor has a background in the news business and has lived in the Rogersville area for more than two years. Berry said Wells' enthusiasm for the project was contagious.|ret||ret||tab|

"This is a dream job for me, really, and now I'm just focused on making the paper the best it possibly can be," Wells said.|ret||ret||tab|

The paper will be distribtued through Rogersville and Fordland businesses.[[In-content Ad]]