• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Brodhead becomes a two-newspaper town

BRODHEAD — Newspapers across America are laying off journalists or cutting pages.

Some have filed for bankruptcy.

Others have closed.

But in Brodhead, a city of about 3,000 just over the county line in Green County, a new newspaper is just starting.

The Brodhead Free Press published its first edition April 10 to become the city's second weekly.

"Our aim is to provide a hometown local flavor that we have had in the past," said Gary Rosendahl, owner of the paper along with his wife, Barb, who is the comptroller.

"We're excited," he said. "We've had good response from the community."

But given the challenges in the industry, Rosendahl admits it's an undertaking filled with nervous excitement.

Rosendahl is the former editor of The Independent Register, the other weekly newspaper, and is running the new paper with other former Independent Register staff members and contributors.

The Independent Register is subscription-based and publishes on Wednesdays. It was bought last fall by Illinois-based Rock Valley Publishing.

Changes at the Register since the purchase are part of the reason for the new newspaper, Rosendahl said.

"I was not satisfied with the direction it was taking," Rosendahl said. "I did leave and decided to start my own venture. We're trying to provide the type of service that we had provided in the past—that's basically put out a good product and let the public decide what they'd like to see and what they'll support."

Joining him are Deb Fitzgerald, office manager and former circulation manager/receptionist of the Independent Register, and Larry Young, assistant editor and former managing editor of the Belleville Recorder, as well as a handful of other writers and columnists.

People hear of all the trouble newspapers are having, but the focus for the Free Press is local news, Rosendahl said.

"There's a market yet for that local news that you don't see anywhere else," he said. "We established in our 13 years a following for the writing we've done."

During Rosendahl's 13 years at the Register—11 of those as editor—he covered nearly every business in town.

"We're banking on our customer service and people knowing who we are," he said. "We're rolling the dice, giving it a shot."

The Free Press is a free newspaper supported only by advertising.

It is available on newsstands Thursday afternoons and arrives by mail on Fridays at 8,300 homes in a six-community area.

The newspaper will cover news in Brodhead, Juda, Orfordville, Albany and the Illinois communities of Durand, Davis and Lake Summerset.

The weekly Orfordville Journal and Footville News published its last edition Aug. 15, leaving that community with only a student-produced newspaper.