The Skagway News
59°27′25″N 135°18′43″W / 59.457°N 135.312°W
 Skaguay News July 15, 1898 | |
| Type | Twice monthly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Tommy and Patricia Wells |
| Founder | Jeff Brady |
| Founded | 1978 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Skagway News Depot 208 Broadway Street Skagway, Alaska 99840 United States |
| ISSN | 0745-872X |
| OCLC number | 9526778 |
| Website | skagwaynews |
The Skagway News is a newspaper published once a month in January, then twice a month for the rest of the year in Skagway, Alaska. The paper is usually available on the second and fourth Friday of the month.
History
[edit]The first edition of The Skaguay News was published on October 15, 1897, in Skaguay, Alaska.[1] It was founded by M.L. Sherpey,[2] and written for aspiring miners moving to the area for the Klondike Gold Rush.[3] At various times this paper was renamed to the Skaguay Weekly News and Skaguay Daily News.[4] The spelling of the town was changed to Skagway in 1900,[5] and the News ceased sometime in 1904.[3]
William Jefferson "Jeff" Brady, a 21-year-old recent graduate of the University of North Carolina, moved to Skagway to revive the Skagway News in 1978. He spent the previous two summers as a bunkhouse manager and tax driver in the tourist town. Locals called Brady "Grits" due to his Southern American accent. Skagway is a ghost town throughout the year, but the paper was aimed at folks from the visiting cruise ships that dock daily during the summer months.[6]
In 1979, Brady, who was also nicknamed "governor," merged his paper with the Haines-based Chilkat Valley News to form the Lynn Canal News.[7] In 1981, a fire at Fort William H. Seward destroyed Brady's office and the print shop Brady contracted.[8][9] Faced with moving his printing to Juneau or Whitehorse, Brady decided to unmerge both papers in 1982. At that time the bi-weekly News had a circulation of 500 while the town had a population of 800.[7]
Brady published the News for 37 years. After a five year search, he sold the paper to Alaska Travel Publications LLP, a subsidiary of PR Services of Whitehorse. The business was owned by Jan Aalt den Hoorn and Chris Sorg. At that time the News had two employees and a circulation of 1,000.[10][11][12]
Larry Persily, a friend of Brady, acquired the News in April 2019. That same year, Persily sought to give the newspaper away to a new owner for free.[13] Persily chose Melinda Munson and Gretchen Wehmhoff, two women from Chugiak, Alaska, to take over the paper. Munson and Wehmhoff took over on March 3, 2020,[14][15] just days before a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic was officially declared.[16] Munson left the paper at some point. In May 2026, Tommy and Patricia Wells, a husband-and-wife team, took over the publication from Wehmhoff.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ "Just What Skaguay". Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. November 2, 1897. p. 2.
- ^ "Far-Off Skaguay. | The Alaskan Mud-Flat Town Has a Newspaper". The Sacramento Union. October 28, 1897. p. 3.
- ^ a b Tukker, Paul (November 21, 2019). "Extra! Extra! Take over this small-town Alaska newspaper, for free". CBC News. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
- ^ Alaska State Library (2000). Guide to Alaska Newspapers on Microfilm (PDF). pp. 342–343.
- ^ "Voters Around State Go To Local Polls". Juneau Empire. October 4, 1978. p. 1.
- ^ Jennings, Jay (April 20, 1978). "Pioneer Editor | Student starts newspaper in faraway Skagway". The Daily Tar Heel. Chapel Hill, North Carolina. p. 5.
- ^ a b "North Carolinan Is 'Governor' Of Skagway". Goldsboro News-Argus. Goldsboro, North Carolina. Associated Press. September 2, 1982. p. 19.
- ^ Reinwand, Debbie (June 2, 1981). "Fire hits landmark in Haines". Juneau Empire. p. 1.
- ^ Brady, Jeff (June 8, 1981). "Hot news for Haines paper". Whitehorse Daily Star. p. 4.
- ^ Westmoreland, Charles L. (April 29, 2015). "Whitehorse company buys Skagway News". Juneau Empire. p. 3.
- ^ "PR Services of Whitehorse, Yukon buys Skagway News". Anchorage Daily News. Associated Press. April 30, 2015. p. 3.
- ^ Joannou, Ashley (May 1, 2015). "Whitehorse company buys Skagway paper". Yukon News.
- ^ Cantor, Matthew (December 15, 2019). "Small-town Alaskan newspaper seeks new owner. Price: $0". The Guardian. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
- ^ Staff Writer (March 13, 2020). "New owners take over Skagway News". The Skagway News. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ^ Skeggs, Fiona (February 14, 2022). "Alaskan newspaper surviving after owner gave it away for free". Local News Initiative. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
- ^ Harris, Lauren (February 23, 2021). "'Our fates are going to be the same.'". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
- ^ Bakke, Trygve (May 7, 2025). "The Skagway News finds future owners". KHNS. Retrieved December 28, 2025.