By Alexander Massoud ’20

The Westport Minuteman shut its doors for the last time on Thursday, Oct. 26. The Westport Minuteman, a free weekly newspaper with many Westport subscribers, along with its Fairfield counterpart the Fairfield Minuteman, has ceased publishing, according to WestportNow.com, and will be replaced with the Westport News.

After being delivered weekly to Westport citizens throughout the past two decades, the Minuteman closes shortly before its 24th birthday in November.

Both the Fairfield and Westport versions of the paper are owned and published by Hearst, a publishing company that also owns the Westport News and Fairfield Citizen. The last issue came out on Oct. 26, and rather than a farewell letter, the editors of the paper decided to go a different route.

Inside the newspaper was a letter from the publisher, Paul Barretta, which outlined the switch to the Westport News. “Dear Readers: We have great news! Beginning next week, we’ll be bringing you the best of local news, journalism, local school sports, and advertising information — right to your home. Instead of the Minuteman publications you normally received on Thursdays, every Friday you can expect to receive the Westport News — a highly respected newspaper dedicated to your community,” according to Westport Now.

Hearst publishing bought the newspapers in June and shut them down just four months later. While many people did not read the Minuteman, it still was part of many members of the Staples community’s week.

Sean Dimick ’20 believes that Westport will miss the Minuteman. “While it was not the most popular newspaper, I think that the Minuteman was still important because it had relevant information about the Westport Community,” Dimick said.

The Westport News will now be mailed to Westport citizens as a replacement, and people who have previously paid for Westport News will be mailed refunds for already-paid subscriptions, according to the Fairfield Citizen.