Warrenton city officials are considering pulling the city’s legal advertising from The Record over concerns of the newspaper’s coverage and what they claim to be a dearth of positive stories carried in the community’s only hometown newspaper.

Several officials commented at the Aug. 3 board of aldermen meeting that The Record’s coverage of Catch the Glow was lacking and said the Warrenton Journal should be considered for legal advertising if the situation doesn’t improve.

Catch the Glow, held on July 3, the day before the Warren County Fair began, is an annual street festival that features live music, inflatables and numerous vendors. This was the first year the city hosted the event after dispersing tourism funds in past years to the Warrenton Downtown Association. 

During the Aug. 3 meeting, Mayor Greg Costello read a letter from the owner of Hapkido-USA commending the city and its staff for hosting the event.   

“As usual, it was a very successful event,” Costello said. “I think there were two small pictures in the paper and really no coverage. To me Catch the Glow is something that really defines Warrenton. All of our staff did a great job in making sure that this year was successful as it ever has been and a lot of hard work was put into it. I think we got shorted in the coverage.”

The Record’s post-coverage of Catch the Glow included a photo published on the front page and two photos on Page C2 of the July 8 issue. The 5K walk/run results and a photo of the top finishers was published in the sports section in that issue. 

A preview story providing details of the upcoming event was published in the July 1 issue.

By comparison, the Journal had no coverage of the event.

The Journal also no longer has a local office after closing its Warrenton location earlier this year and operates out of St. Peters in St. Charles County. 

The Record has maintained a business office in Warrenton since 2006. 

The city spends about $7,000 annually on legal advertising, according to Director of Operations/Finance Officer Terri Thorn. In a six-month comparison of how much the city spent on legal advertising, Thorn said the city would have saved $115 if the Journal would have been used rather than The Record.

She said the city’s most common legal notice size, a 2-column by 3-inch ad, costs $2.12 more in The Record.

Costello said he requested the comparison after receiving complaints for more than a year. He said discussions have been held with the newspaper staff and “it seems to fall on deaf ears.

“I guess a part of this is do you still want to be a customer of a publication that doesn’t seem to be promoting the good side of Warrenton,” he stated. “That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be objective in their reporting, but I thought this was so obvious with the lack of coverage, lack of interest in the Warrenton community . . . sometimes you have to talk with your feet.”

Ward 1 Alderman Phil Tallo also agreed the situation needs to be reviewed further.

“I totally agree with the lack of coverage,” he said. “As you say, it (Catch the Glow) really does kind of define Warrenton. The only thing I am concerned of is the Journal doesn’t cover Warrenton at all. But again, maybe if we send more dollars their way they will change the way they cover us.” 

When Ward 1 Alderman Dan Dieckmann asked about comparing readership numbers between the two newspapers, Thorn said it was very difficult to receive “concrete” circulation numbers.

The Record’s average weekly paid circulation in July was 3,395. The circulation will increase within the next month once area schools open and an additional 800 to 1,000 papers are distributed in classrooms throughout the county. 

Ward 2 Alderman Fred Flake said the board needs to review the circulation figures and quality of coverage with both before making a final decision.

“We have had some issues with The Record, and with the Journal closing its office and moving away, we have no coverage here hardly at all,” Flake said. “I think that is something we have to consider. We need to think about this and have conversations with both.”