Print media is struggling in many areas, but it survives in 15 towns thanks to a printing press still churning out newspapers in Liberal, Kansas. The light blue machine takes up most of a warehouse, about the size of a school bus, with newspapers flying through different pulleys as ink is applied. At medium speed, it can spit out 500 papers per minute. Danny Morua, the pressman for almost 20 years, makes a small adjustment, and within seconds is pushing a new roll of paper that weighs 700 pounds back onto the mechanism. “Me casa is su casa,” Morua said while standing next to the behemoth. “Just don’t get too close and get injured.” Despite his own advice, he climbs up and down the printing press like it’s his own playground. What used to be a community staple is now almost obsolete. But here in Liberal, Morua and his small crew are printing weekly papers for small towns across four states. It’s helping keep those other community papers alive and slowing the growth of news deserts where people can’t find local news. “I love turning something that comes out looking basic and adding so much color to it, and knowing that I printed that,” Morua said. Over half of Kansas counties have either just one newspaper or none at all according to a study by the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media.
Source: KAKE – News
