Black Hills State University News Lab students and mass communications professor Dr. Mary Caton-Rosser toured the Seaton Publishing facility in Spearfish, S.D. on Sept. 25 to grasp a behind-the-scenes look at the publishing and newspaper business. Seaton Publishing has been operating since 1876. Seaton publishes several local newspapers including Black Hills Pioneer, The Weekly Prospector and Nation’s Center News. 

BHSU students met the news writing team, design staff, sales team and production crew. Students asked many questions about the daily process of the publishing of the newspaper.  The experience was helpful to students working to produce the Jacket Journal and BHSUmedia.com or seeking a career in the field.  

Publisher, Letitia Lister, is the first female publisher in the Seaton company. Lister said, “Small newspapers serve as the watchdog for the community.” She believes customer service is critical. She added that we should be on the watch for a special cartoon style piece that is going national that will be in the Monday paper.  

Seaton Publishing serves local businesses in many other ways including, advertising, printing, posters, Facebook posting, social media, web ads and digital media. They can provide metrics and analytics for social media.