SMITHFIELD – The Smithfield Times abruptly ended operations Wednesday, according to Executive Editor Brittni Henderson, who confirmed the paper's December issue will be its last.
Reached for comment Wednesday, Henderson referred inquires to a social media post made earlier where she lamented the publication's staff “were left with nothing," but praised her co-workers' efforts "despite the many downfalls that took place behind the scenes.”
"I have a lot of thoughts right now, including sadness,” she wrote, vowing to return to publishing local Smithfield news in some form in the future.
Calls and emails to owner Thomas J. Lopatosky Jr., who incorporated the Northern Rhode Island Media Group Corp. in 2020, according to the R.I. Secretary of State's corporate database, were not immediately returned.
A person who answered the phone number for Lopco Contracting, which Lopatosky also owns, declined to comment.
The free monthly publication focused on local news and the business community, printing 10,500 magazines and mailing 9,600 issues directly to homes and businesses in Smithfield. The paper reached over 25,000 local readers monthly, according to its website. Henderson said there were 23 staffers in total, though it is unclear how many were employed full time. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Launched in 2006 under the name Your Smithfield Magazine, the publication was owned by Laurence Sasso Jr. and Ron Scopelliti, before being sold in 2014 to current Town Council member and former state Sen. John Tassoni Jr., who renamed it The Smithfield Times and instituted its glossy, full-color format.
Sasso, now an independent book publisher who contributes occasional columns to local weeklies, declined to speculate on the reasons the publication he co-founded is closing. But he said it is the latest example of the increasing difficulty hyperlocal media organizations face in the marketplace.
“The ecosystem for small publications continues to change,” he said. “We need local journalists. And those journalists need a place to work.”
Tassoni, who sold the paper to NRIMG Corp. in 2020, said he hopes a new owner could resurrect the Times given its importance to the Smithfield community.
"It's an unfortunate situation for the residents of Smithfield who look forward to getting it in their mailbox every month," he said. "It's a sad day."
The publication's website was still active as of 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, with no mention of the shutdown on its homepage.
(INSERTS paragraphs 8-9 with Sasso comment; MINOR edits throughout.)
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.
