Davis Clipper joins other print newspapers, ceases publication

Another of Utah’s legacy printed newspapers is ceasing publication. After 129 years of continuous publication, the weekly Davis Clipper in Bountiful printed its final edition on Dec. 4, according to a statement from Publisher R. Gail Stahle. The veteran newspaper owner made the announcement to his staff late last month.

“My family has loved publishing the Clipper since 1891,” Stahle’s statement said. “Each generation has cherished the opportunity and understood the value of a community newspaper. But as with almost all newspapers, advertising revenues and subscriptions have been continuously falling over the past decade and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the challenge. The operating model for the Clipper is just no longer viable.”

The newspaper, which circulated in the south Davis County area, had circulation to approximately 13,000 households at the time of its demise. Thirteen employees were idled by the closure.

The Clipper has been in the Stahle family since its founding and Gail Stahle is a third-generation publisher. His grandfather, John Stahle Sr., partnered with local businessman Lamoni Call to start Little Clipper in 1891 and changed the name to Davis County Clipper a year later. Gail Stahle’s father, John Stahle Jr., took over as publisher in 1954 and Gail Stahle purchased the paper from the family and became publisher in 1989.

“I grew up in Bountiful, grew up basically at the Clipper and it is heartbreaking to have to cease publication,” Gail Stahle said. “I know the importance of getting community news out to residents and I’m very thankful for the large number of editors, writers, typesetters, production people and printers who’ve served as part of our Clipper family for multiple generations. I wish them all well as they pursue their future careers.”

Stahle is a veteran of Utah publishing and printing, having owned several newspapers in the state as well as a pair of weeklies in the Phoenix area. He also owned a large commercial printing operation, Spectrum Press, with operations in Bountiful and Salt Lake City. He was the owner and publisher of the Color Country Spectrum in St. George and Cedar City when it became the Daily Spectrum in 1984. Stahle sold the Spectrum to the Thomson Newspapers chain in 1986. The Daily Spectrum is still published in Southern Utah. Stahle continues to publish Iron County Today, a weekly paper in Cedar City.

The Davis Clipper is the latest of numerous newspaper closures and cutbacks around the state. In the past decade, numerous properties have closed, gone to online editions only or seen major reductions in their operations. In October, Salt Lake City’s two legacy dailies, The Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News, announced that they were ceasing daily publication and home delivery in favor of a once-a-week mail edition.

The Davis Clipper published a recap of the paper’s history in its final edition on Dec. 4.