OCN switches to larger format
By John Heiser, Publisher, OCN
Starting with our November 2001 issue, Our Community News has been printed on pages that are about 11 inches wide by about 17 inches long. This month, our pages are 11 inches wide by 21 inches long. Why the change?
Since 2016, OCN has been printed at the Pueblo Chieftain’s printing plant in Pueblo. On June 13, Gannett, the owner of the Chieftain, abruptly announced that the Chieftain’s printing plant will be permanently closed Aug. 13.
Publications being printed at that plant include five daily newspapers (Pueblo Chieftain, USA Today, Fort Collins Coloradoan, Rocky Ford Gazette, and the Trinidad Chronicle News), 46 weeklies, and 10 monthlies including OCN. The plant was averaging 76 print jobs per week requiring three shifts a day, six days a week, and employed more than 50 people.
Local options for printing OCN on the size paper we used before are very limited, so we had to switch to this larger format. This issue of OCN was printed by the Denver Post.
Despite the challenges of producing OCN as a print publication, our all-volunteer staff is dedicated to delivering detailed, accurate local news to more than 22,000 homes and businesses throughout the Tri-Lakes area every month. If you would like to help us do that, please contact me at johnheiser@ocn.me or 719-488-3455.