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The Laclede County Record will transition to publishing once a week on Wednesday beginning with the Jan. 7 issue.
Laclede County Record Publisher Jennifer Early said increased expenses are a primary reason for the change.
“We came to this decision because of rising print and postage costs,” she said. “Like many small businesses, we are also feeling the impact of minimum wage increases that take effect in January.”
Early said that this change will affect subscription rates – in a positive way.
“Instead of raising rates to cover the increased costs of printing and postage, we were able to lower them from $64.42 to $49.95 a year for Senior and Military subscribers and from $66.91 to $52.95 for all other one-year subscriptions. Readers will receive the same amount of content in the Wednesday paper that they previously received across both the Wednesday and Saturday editions,” she said.
All current features will continue in the weekly newspaper – Kirk Pearce’s Look Back and Pics from the Past, the correspondents from Stoutland and Rader, the weekly About Towns and all the other features the Record’s readers are used to seeing.
“In addition, we will be publishing more news daily on our website, along with adding obituaries online each day,” Early said. “This means current news will reach our community even faster than before, with extended, more in-depth stories appearing in the weekly newspaper. Those in-depth stories are what the Laclede County Record does better than any other news source in our area, and we will continue to bring you that same level of coverage.”
Early said there are no plans at this time to lay off any employees. “Our current office staff will still be needed,” she said.
In 1953, The Lebanon Publishing Company was purchased by the late O.R. Wright, the father of the current owner and president Dalton Wright.
The former Lebanon Daily Record newspaper began publishing twice weekly and changed to its current name as of June 6, 2018.
The Record and the local newspapers that preceded it have served the Lebanon area continuously for 159 years. Early said that tradition will continue.
“The newspaper has been around since 1866, and the Wrights have owned it since 1953,” she said. “There are no plans to change that. In fact, the decision to move to a weekly newspaper will only strengthen the paper.”
She also expressed gratitude to the readers and advertisers for their continued support.
“Because of you, we’re able to evolve with our community. We’re excited for this transition and look forward to continuing to deliver the same dedication, in-depth reporting, and local focus you trust.”
The first issue of the Record in 2026 will be published Wednesday, Jan. 7. There will be no Jan. 3 issue.
Kirk Pearce of the Record staff contributed to this report.
