Jackson Brandhorst was barely out of high school when he started working as a clerk at the Southern Illinoisian newspaper. Based in Carbondale, the paper was Brandhorst’s hometown source of news.
He spent the next four years working his way up. He was promoted to columnist, then copy editor, then assistant editor. In 2022, at the age of 21, he was named the paper’s editor-in-chief.
But there was a different story brewing.
Less than a year after taking the reins, Brandhorst faced his staff with bad news: The paper’s owner, Lee Enterprises, had sold the Southern to Paxton Media Group. The paper’s new owner announced the acquisition in October, promising it would expand coverage in the region and “work hard” to sustain the trust the Southern had earned from the community.
What Paxton didn’t state publicly was its plans to eliminate the paper’s existing employees. First reported by the United Media Guild and the Unions of Lee Enterprises, the layoffs hit the Southern’s entire unionized staff of 10.
Brandhorst said the news came as a shock.
“We learned that they would not be retaining any of the employees,” he told St. Louis on the Air. “It's incredibly emotional. It's a somber time, it's a tumultuous time.”
Brandhorst and the Southern’s staff continued to produce the newspaper through Dec. 8. Their final days included writing goodbye columns and planning their next steps for employment.
“We all banded together as a team,” said Brandhorst, who rejected an offer from Paxton to stay on at the paper. He said the former staff members are now focused on supporting one other through the immediate season. They’re still figuring out what comes next.
Brandhorst said he still hopes that Paxton’s management makes good on promises to maintain news coverage of the region.
“But,” he continued, “in terms of watchdog, ‘capital J’ journalism, that's not a thing that at the moment exists here. And I would hope that the new owners and those responsible for the Southern will try to really lift this place up, really do some investigative journalism, watchdog reporting and accountability within the community. … They seem to talk like they're going to uphold those things. But who knows?”
To hear more from Jackson Brandhorst about the Southern Illinoisan and how its staff is reacting, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Ulaa Kuziez is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
