Gazette changes hands

Gordon Forgey, publisher of the Whitman County Gazette and Colfax Daily Bulletin, has announced the sale of the papers to Free Press Publishing based in Cheney.

Forgey, publisher since 1985 and owner since 2001, said the new owners will take over operations on March 1. Roger Harnack, publisher, and Bill Ifft are the owners of the Free Press group.

Forgey encourages support for the new owners and predicts an easy transition.

“They know the region and the people,” he said. “Most important, they know the value of local, independent news.”

“Despite all the talk and gloomy predictions about newspap...