In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, when a battle ignited, most locals placed their bets on the established champion. This stalwart had effortlessly fended off previous contenders, and the townsfolk were certain of their local hero’s invincibility.
However, echoing tales from the Wild West, a newcomer rode into Jackson Hole, challenging the status quo with a bold declaration: “Not so fast.”
What ensued was a protracted struggle that stretched for three decades. Such an intense rivalry was unprecedented in this small yet thriving community. When the dust finally settled, and a victor emerged, the outcome surprised many.
Newspaper wars were not unheard of, but they were rare in the late 20th century. This was a fierce, all-out contest between the Jackson Hole Guide and the Jackson Hole News. While both publications had loyal readers, other forms of media began vying for public attention. The two newspapers battled for the hearts and minds of their readership. Though not a physical conflict, the “war” demanded immense effort and dedication from publishers, editors, and reporters on both sides.
Scenic Jackson Hole’s beautiful landscape attracted global visitors and sustained a robust community of readers, enough to support two rival newspapers for three decades, highlighting the intense Jackson Hole News Guide competition. NASA.
Local Journalism Roots in Jackson Hole
In 1970, the Jackson Hole Guide held the position of the established newspaper in this small town, nestled in a valley between the Hoback Range and East Gros Ventre Butte. Jackson’s year-round population was just 2,688. Yet, each summer, the town welcomed hundreds of thousands of tourists, injecting significant revenue into its shops, saloons, ski resorts, and restaurants.
Virginia Huidekoper, co-founder of the Jackson Hole Guide in the 1970s, played a pivotal role in shaping the local Jackson Hole news guide landscape. Jackson Hole News&Guide collections.
Summer tourism boomed in Jackson, Wyoming in the early 1970s, prompting Virginia Huidekoper and partners to establish a second newspaper, enriching the Jackson Hole news guide scene. Jackson Hole Historical Society.
The area’s first newspaper, the Jackson Hole Courier, began publication in the early 1900s. The Guide emerged in 1956, under the ownership and editorship of Floy Tonkin and William Kirol.
The Guide was undeniably successful, but like any newspaper, it had its share of dissatisfied readers. Feeling underrepresented and believing the community needed a different journalistic voice, local residents Virginia Huidekoper and Ralph Gill launched the Jackson Hole News in 1970. The inaugural issue, dated April 17, listed Norman and Jackie Lynes as editors and publishers.
By 1973, Huidekoper and Marc Fischer—a local woman who bought Gill’s stake shortly after the News started—realized the undertaking was more demanding than anticipated, consuming all their time. They decided to sell, and found an ideal successor within their own newsroom.
A Chicago Cub Reporter Takes the Helm
Mike Sellett, a former regular contributor to the Chicago Tribune after graduating from Northwestern University, had arrived in Wyoming in 1965 to work for the Rawlins Daily Times. An ex-editor informed him of a reporter opening at the Jackson Hole News. He was hired in 1972 and, within six months, was promoted to managing editor.
When the owners approached him about purchasing the News, Sellett was interested, but faced a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. The 28-year-old lacked the capital to buy it. He also lacked business experience and knew he would be competing against “an established, extremely well-financed newspaper. I was dead in the water,” he admitted.
The owners resolved his financial predicament by offering to finance 90 percent of the purchase price. This generous offer underscored their desire for local ownership of the News.
Still needing $10,000 to finalize the purchase, Sellett consulted a friend, Mike Howard of Scripps-Howard publishing, to review the financials. Howard’s assessment was discouraging: the News could never financially compete with the Guide‘s deep pockets. Undeterred, Sellett turned to friends and family, scraping together the necessary funds.
“I don’t know why I persisted… I suppose that I had no place to go,” he reflected.
However, the new owner was certain that the venture would be an exciting career challenge. “I wasn’t walking into Bum—k, Iowa,” he recalled in a later interview with an author writing about local journalism. “This was already a competitive [newspaper] town.” This marked the beginning of the Jackson Hole news guide saga under new leadership.
The News attracted a talented team, many drawn by the scenic beauty of the town and its world-class skiing and recreational opportunities. Sellett recognized that survival required “turning editorial excellence into dollars.”
Sellett credited Cammie Pyle, formerly of the Atlantic Monthly, with the News‘s award-winning, striking layout, which featured significantly larger photos than most newspapers.
Richard Murphy served as chief photographer. In 1984, his guidance led the staff to a significant achievement—the News won the National Press Photographers Association’s “Best Use of Photos” award. The weekly paper competed against publications of all sizes, including major metropolitan dailies. The following year, the organization separated daily and weekly contestants. The News staff took pride in the fact that daily papers considered it unfair to compete with “the little weeklies.” This award highlighted the Jackson Hole news guide’s commitment to visual storytelling.
The Arrival of a ‘Climbing Bum’
In 1978, Angus Thuermer, Jr., a Yale graduate and self-proclaimed “climbing bum,” moved to Jackson. He initially worked on an oil rig during winter, but when that job ended unexpectedly one year, he took a job as an assistant in the News pressroom. His real ambition, however, was to work in the newsroom, and when an opportunity arose, he devised a spontaneous and clever plan to secure it.
Angus Thuermer, Jr., former Managing Editor of the Jackson Hole News, was instrumental in the Jackson Hole news guide’s editorial direction for over three decades. Price Chambers.
Thuermer and Sellett lived in the same condominium complex. One morning, Thuermer lured Sellett’s beloved golden retriever to his porch and adorned the dog with a sign that read, “Hire Angus or else.” It was signed “The Phantom.”
Amused, Sellett hired Thuermer as a reporter, assigning him to cover the local education beat. This decision profoundly impacted the News‘s trajectory. The new hire became an editorial pillar for over three decades, including a long tenure as managing editor, shaping the Jackson Hole news guide’s voice.
The intense competition between the Guide and News, lasting nearly three decades, was documented in articles by both the Columbia Journalism Review and the American Journalism Review. “It was one of the epic newspaper battles in the United States,” Sellett stated. This rivalry defined the Jackson Hole news guide landscape for decades.
The publisher noted that Jackson Hole was rich in news content. “We were kind of at the epicenter of all these federal agencies — Grand Teton Park, the U.S. Forest Service, the Elk Refuge and Yellowstone National Park,” he explained. “We didn’t cover anything outside Teton County, but agencies had their headquarters in Jackson, and they were all part of our responsibility.”
The competing papers also covered local news, such as school board and city council meetings. “We both had a much broader canvas–not only local stories but ones of national interest,” Sellett noted. He described Jackson as having “an educated, affluent audience. They knew first-class journalism and demanded it.” The Jackson Hole news guide thus catered to a sophisticated readership.
“We had to serve a schizophrenic clientele,” Thuermer agreed. “People wanted to know what the local school board was doing, and they also wanted to know about the latest federal decisions that affected Yellowstone. In terms of newspapering, it was a fantastic community.” This dual focus became a hallmark of the Jackson Hole news guide.
The News had a standing editorial policy regarding grizzly bear attacks. “It was an automatic front-page story,” the editor said. “It was a no-brainer. Whenever it happened, everyone was interested in it.”
Mutual Respect in Competition
Sellett and Thuermer both acknowledged the Guide as a strong newspaper that, like the News, earned numerous state and national accolades. “We always thought we were better, but they handed our asses to us several times,” Thuermer admitted, adding that he believed the competition ultimately improved both publications. This competitive spirit pushed the Jackson Hole news guide to greater heights.
The two publications constantly sought an advantage over each other. Initially, both published on Thursdays, but the News shifted its publication day to Wednesday to provide more timely coverage of meetings held earlier in the week.
Thuermer recalled an instance where the Guide increased its price from 50 cents to $1. “We decided not to follow, and they were forced to go back to 50 cents,” he noted. Readers seemed to consider the newspapers a valuable investment, regardless of price.
Sellett highlighted the News‘s 1988 decision to launch a free daily paper as a pivotal moment in the newspaper war. Several other resort towns, including Aspen and Vail, Colorado, already had multiple free daily papers. Sellett favored this business model as it allowed news to be published promptly, eliminating the wait until Wednesday to learn about events from the previous Thursday. This innovation reshaped the Jackson Hole news guide market.
The News‘ free daily edition primarily featured wire copy six times a week, along with local breaking news stories written under tight deadlines. The weekly edition, which remained subscription-based, offered more in-depth articles, often exploring issues that received less attention in the daily. “It upped the ante, so to speak, in terms of the level of competition,” Sellett explained. In 1996, the Guide launched its own free daily, increasing the number of local newspapers to four.
Of the countless articles Thuermer authored, he considers the 1988 fire in Yellowstone National Park the News‘s biggest story. The entire editorial team dedicated themselves to covering the lightning-ignited fire from early August to mid-September.
The Yellowstone fires of 1988, considered “the biggest story in the nation,” were comprehensively covered by the Jackson Hole News, showcasing their journalistic prowess, as recalled by former publisher Mike Sellett. Ground fires, Norris Geyser Basin, August 1988. NPS photo.
The Yellowstone Fires: A Defining Moment
Thuermer recounted driving to Mammoth Hot Springs, at the north end of Yellowstone Park, in early September. “I was wearing the same kind of yellow shirt the firefighters wore, plus jeans,” he said. Thuermer blended seamlessly into the firefighter camp. At 4 a.m., he found himself in the firefighters’ incident command center, where officials from various agencies were receiving updates on fire and weather conditions, including infrared photos showing nighttime fire locations.
“I hung out there drinking coffee with the bigwigs,” Thuermer remembered. “They heard a grim weather forecast, and these people were ashen as they listened. … It was really an incredible scene.”
However, as fire officials braced for the worst, a storm front arrived, accomplishing what $100 million in firefighting efforts could not. A single storm extinguished the fires.
It was a historic day in Yellowstone, and Thuermer was there to document and report on it for the News, providing critical Jackson Hole news guide coverage of a national event.
“It was the biggest story in the nation, and our small staff [based 100 miles away] was able to stay on top and cover it,” Sellett said. “This was before cell phones, the Internet, and ways to send text and pictures back to the newsroom. It was pretty primitive from today’s perspective.” He credited Thuermer with coordinating the Yellowstone fire coverage, highlighting his managing editor’s environmental reporting expertise in providing News readers with a deeper understanding of the fires’ ecological impact.
Wolf Reintroduction: Another Major Story
Thuermer also fondly recalled another significant wildlife story he covered extensively starting in the mid-1990s: the reintroduction of gray wolves to the Yellowstone ecosystem. This was a highly contentious issue, pitting Wyoming ranchers and state government against U.S. Fish & Wildlife officials representing the federal government. The Jackson Hole news guide provided in-depth coverage of this local and national issue.
He vividly remembered then-Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt carrying the first wolf into a pen for acclimation before its release into Yellowstone National Park approximately six months later.
“It surprised me how much controversy that story generated,” Thuermer admitted. “I didn’t understand the deep-seated hatred for predators in Wyoming.” The Jackson Hole news guide played a crucial role in informing the public about this contentious environmental issue.
Building a Dedicated News Team
Sellett noted that many News employees initially came to Jackson Hole for its recreational opportunities, not specifically for employment. He recounted how he discovered his chief photographer, Richard Murphy, working as a carpenter after seeing some of his photographs.
“I said, ‘You have a job,'” Sellett recalled. “It was not about recruiting high-priced sophisticated journalists. We built [the staff] with the material we had.” This approach fostered a unique and dedicated Jackson Hole news guide team.
What was Sellett like as a boss? “Michael was a good boss. He gave me a long leash,” Thuermer said. “He had a lot of insight and a good perspective [on the world], but he had fun. He didn’t kowtow to the powers that be. He was irreverent, but he was serious about news and serious about writing.” Sellett’s leadership style shaped the Jackson Hole news guide’s culture.
When asked when he felt the paper had become financially secure, Sellett replied that with the Guide as a competitor, he never felt complacent. “I knew I wasn’t comfortable, but I was making enough money that we could handle a little bit of adversity,” he said. “You’re never sure—you’re only as good as your last paper.” This constant pressure fueled the Jackson Hole news guide’s drive for excellence.
In 2002, something unexpected occurred that surprised Sellett and many readers. He had made overtures to purchase the Guide over the years but was consistently rebuffed by owners Fred and Elizabeth McCabe.
After Fred McCabe’s death in 1997, his widow Elizabeth took over the Guide, and Sellett sensed she was struggling with solo management. “Her editor approached me and said they would like to do something together with the News,” Sellett said. “I was shocked. Fred never even talked to me once in 30 years or even acknowledged I was around.” This unexpected turn reshaped the Jackson Hole news guide landscape.
Preliminary merger discussions began during a secretive dinner at Sellett’s home. “It all came together rather quickly,” he said of the deal.
However, many readers were upset when the merger was announced in November 2002, leaving them with only one newspaper choice: the newly combined Jackson Hole News&Guide. “They had the perception that they had two voices and had lost one of them. But we really agreed on a lot of key issues,” Sellett explained. “Our editorial policies by that time were fairly close.” The merger marked the end of the Jackson Hole news guide war.
Upon merging, the News was the dominant paper in town, with a circulation of 7,100, approximately 2,000 more than the Guide‘s weekly sales. Sellett noted that the emergence of an alternative weekly, Planet Jackson Hole, actually helped alleviate concerns. “It was perceived as restoring at least some level of competition,” he explained.
Sellett decided to sell the News&Guide in 2012, and like Huidekoper and Fisher 39 years prior, sought a local buyer. “I didn’t want to sell to a chain,” he emphasized. “I decided I would rather take less money and have a buyer who lived here and worked here instead of someone who showed up with an armored truck and then made the News part of some homogenized chain.” This commitment to local ownership was crucial for the Jackson Hole news guide’s future.
Mike Sellett of the Jackson Hole News and Liz McCabe of the Jackson Hole Guide, pictured after their newspapers merged in 2002, concluding a 30-year rivalry that defined the Jackson Hole news guide industry. Paul Bruun.
Seeking Local Ownership for the Future
He found his local buyer in Kevin Olson, the paper’s chief operating officer for 11 years. Sellett offered Olson and his wife Shelley the opportunity to purchase the paper, ensuring the Jackson Hole news guide remained locally owned.
“It was important to me that the newspaper remain in local hands,” Sellett stated. “Since taking over management of the newspaper, Kevin and his family planted deep roots in this valley, and he has become an outstanding leader in the business community.”
Sellett attributed the legacy of the News&Guide and the intense newspaper war to the collective efforts of hundreds of editors, reporters, photographers, salespeople, artists, and production staff who worked for the now-united publications. Their dedication built the Jackson Hole news guide into a community institution.
“Together we tried to produce a newspaper that not only covered the news events of the week,” he said, “but provided a window into the lives of the hardy souls who shaped the history of Jackson Hole as well as those who offered a vision of how this community would take control of its future.” This mission statement reflects the enduring spirit of the Jackson Hole news guide.
After the sale, Thuermer agreed to stay with the News&Guide but resigned about six months later. “I discovered after many years of working at a wonderful, dynamic paper with great colleagues, I found myself doing more and more administrative stuff and less journalism.”
Thuermer became a reporter covering northwest Wyoming for WyoFile, a public policy and news website, bringing his deep knowledge of the environment, wildlife, and conservation efforts to his new journalistic home. “I’m honored to work for WyoFile,” he said.
Sellett retired in 2014 and now divides his time between Jackson and Santa Barbara, California. He expressed happiness in retirement and optimism about the future.
“The paper is in good hands,” Sellett concluded. “I read it every week, and I’m just glad I no longer have to worry about what to put in it next week.” The Jackson Hole news guide continues to thrive under local ownership, a testament to its enduring legacy.
