Newspapers move to winter hours

Like many businesses across Eastern Washington, Free Press Publishing is going to winter hours.

Effective Nov. 8, our Whitman County Gazette office will resume Wednesday closures through cold-weather months. And beginning Nov. 10, our Cheney Free Press office will be closed Fridays.

Our Lincoln County Record-Times and Ritzville Adams County Journal offices are already closed Fridays.

Closing our offices one day a week for the winter doesn’t mean you have any less news coverage. (Our reporters will still be working as news happens.)

But it does mean readers and advertisers will want to reach out to our staff earlier in the week.

Our customers in Whitman County will be able to reach our staff from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for news and advertising needs. Subscriptions and billing are handled in our Cheney office.

In our Cheney office, Free Press staff will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday to manage subscriptions, handle billing and bookkeeping and other duties. We also have reporters and advertising specialists on hand.

Our Ritzville Adams County Journal office in Ritzville is generally open Monday through Thursday mornings, but reporter Dale Brown may be out and about covering local meetings and other news.

In Lincoln County, Record-Times Managing Editor Drew Lawson is usually in the office Mondays and Thursdays, depending on local schedules for local meetings. He’s also around the county Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as well as when sporting events take place.

The Record-Times’ office in Odessa is usually closed, but opens the door when news staff is present.

Winter hours are nothing new at Free Press Publishing.

For many years prior 2019, our main Cheney office closed Fridays. Moreover, our pressroom has been closed Fridays for years. And since purchasing the Whitman County Gazette in 2020, we have generally been closed Wednesdays.

Returning to a winter schedule here mirrors changes that many small businesses enact around Eastern Washington this time of year.

When frigid temperatures roll in and the snow begins to fall, fewer people are out and about. And as the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays approach, many Eastern Washingtonians focus more of their attention to family.

Our staff isn’t any different.

We look forward to offering the quality of service you’ve come to expect over the years. And we look forward to resuming a five-day schedule when spring jumpstarts life in our neck of the woods.

• Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Email him at [email protected].