The Randolph Leader is going online only, according to publisher Tim Altork.
“Being in the print newspaper business in 2026 kind of feels like selling horse-drawn buggies in 1906,” Altork stated on the front page of the paper this week. “A more modern way to disperse information – namely internet – is driving print news closer and closer to obsoletion.”
Altork said that even the content of the news has changed significantly over the years, along with advertising interest. Print output has gone from 6,000 copies to 1,700.
“Now? People no longer rely on the newspaper to find that community information or to vent their opinions,” he said. “Social media has become the place for that.”
The Leader will become fully digital and will offer lower ad rates for advertisers. Altork said he hopes the lower rates and a larger audience on social media will better serve local businesses and readers.
Daily news and sports will be posted online, along with weekly and daily live podcasts.
“For me, this is a melancholy announcement,” Altork stated. “The first dollar I ever made was helping my mother deliver the daily morning newspaper in our Georgia hometown. Print newspapers have been part of my life for as long as I can remember.:
“But I also feel a sense of excitement about the coming changes and how a fully-owned online version of the Leader can continue to be Randolph County’s news source as it has been since 1892," he added.
The last print edition will be published on February 25.
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