Standard Democrat to keep New Madrid’s Weekly Record alive

NEW MADRID, Mo. — Subscribers of The Weekly Record in New Madrid received some tough news in the Friday, Jan. 1 edition of their hometown newspaper.

The headline read: “You Are Reading Our Final Issue.” Owners Linda and Ed Thomason announced they were retiring from the newspaper business. Owning and conducting day-to-day operations of a small-town newspaper can be overwhelming at times.

But it’s also a labor of love. Love for the readers, community, school, and businesses. The list goes on and on.

You don’t do what the Thomasons did for 14 years without a deep commitment to the community.

The Standard Democrat has stepped up to keep The Weekly Record alive in the New Madrid community. As of earlier this month, The Weekly Record name is now owned by The Standard Democrat, which is part of the Rust Communications group of newspapers.

Starting with this issue, at least two pages in every Wednesday’s Standard Democrat will be designated as The Weekly Record.

The Standard Democrat’s goal is to include as much New Madrid information as possible on those pages, according to Standard Democrat general manager DeAnna Nelson. The Standard Democrat will also continue to cover New Madrid with our Friday and weekend editions, she said.

“When we learned Linda and Ed were going to retire and the newspaper was no longer going to be published, we started brainstorming on ways to keep the name alive,” Nelson said.

She added that printing a weekly, stand-alone newspaper exclusively for The Weekly Record wasn’t an option because of finances.

“But I really didn’t want The Weekly Record to go away after 155 years in business,” Nelson stressed. “From Capt. Albert O. Allen Sr. (the founder in 1866) to the Thomasons, The Weekly Record has been there for its readers. That’s impressive.”

The Standard Democrat’s newsroom is formulating a plan for The Weekly Record pages and is working with former Standard Democrat editor Jill Bock to help with coverage of New Madrid events.

In their thank-you story in their final edition, the Thomasons wrote, “Linda and I are grateful to this community for their support.”

“Kudos to the Thomasons for all they did for the New Madrid community,” Nelson said. “The Standard Democrat will do all it can to help local businesses grow through advertising and also provide the area with lots of local news.”

If you would like to receive the Standard Democrat with The Weekly Record included, please call (573) 471-1137. If you subscribe, you’ll receive the online edition (which will include The Weekly Record) free.

You may also subscribe exclusively online.