NM news desert grows with closure of longtime Gallup newspaper

The Gallup Independent printed its final issue Saturday, following what the publisher told Source was an economic "collapse" in the area.

By: Patrick Lohmann

Outlets: Source New Mexico

Published: February 2, 2026

Words: 525

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 2 days ago

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The Gallup Independent, the longtime newspaper serving a town of 20,000 on the border of the Navajo Nation, published its final issue Saturday due in part to what publisher Bob Zollinger described as an economic “collapse” in the area.

Zollinger and his father John ran the paper for the last 62 years. The print-only publication peaked at a circulation of 18,000 issues in 2006. Its last run Saturday was a little under 5,000, according to …

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