Feather Publishing sold to longtime employee
Mike and Keri Taborski have sold Feather Publishing, Inc., which includes the Lassen County Times, to one of their longtime employees, Cobey Brown, and his wife, Susan. The sale includes all the stock and assets in the corporation in addition to the real property on Lawrence Street in Quincy.
The Taborskis, who began their newspaper careers with the local publishing company in 1974, said they have enjoyed the challenges and responsibilities of being not only the publishers of Lassen and Plumas counties’ six community newspapers — which include the Lassen County Times in Susanville, the Westwood PinePress, the Chester Progressive, the Indian Valley Record in Greenville, the Feather River Bulletin in Quincy and the Portola Reporter — but one of the largest private employers in the region as well.
“It’s been a tremendously rewarding experience for Keri and I, but we realized that it was time for a change,” Taborski said. “Since we’ve known and worked with Cobey for decades, we are confident he will continue serving the region with quality print publications and informative news websites.”
Taborski said he plans to remain involved with the company as a consultant during this transition.
Brown, now assuming the role as the firm’s president and publisher, has been with the company for 32 years and most recently held the title of vice president of operations.
“This is a great opportunity for Sue and I,” Brown said. “We are looking forward to working through these most challenging economic times while providing the community with quality news products and specialty publications with the support of my fellow co-workers, many of whom have been here with us through most of the past three decades, some longer.”
Because of COVID-19, the newspapers’ print editions were suspended in April due to the immediate decline in local advertising revenue, which is the lifeblood of any newspaper operation and are unfortunately in a “holding pattern” until the local economy shows some real positive signs of recovery. Brown understands the important role newspapers play in their community and the jobs potentially at stake.
In the meantime, Lassen County Times Editor Sam Williams continues to cover as much in the county as he can, posting local stories and breaking news on the website lassennews.com as does Plumas County Editor Debra Moore on plumasnews.com
Looking ahead, Brown said he will continue running the print shop and providing customers with their printing needs. He will also continue producing several of the region’s well established niche publications that include the Lassen and Plumas County map booklets, the Lassen Plumas Connection telephone book, the Home for the Holidays Christmas magazine and next season’s Lassen Visitors Guide and the Plumas Visitors Guide and Plumas Dining Guide.