[1] Ghiglione's quarter-century foray in Central Massachusetts journalism—known in its final years as Worcester County Newspapers—began when he purchased the Southbridge Evening News from its founding McNitt family in 1969.
In addition to the Southbridge News and what became the Stonebridge weeklies, Worcester County Newspapers included several titles that were eventually folded in the 1990s: The Voice, a weekly covering Boylston, Northborough, Shrewsbury and Westborough, Massachusetts; Wachusett People, a shopper in Holden and West Boylston, Massachusetts; a chain of three Weekender shoppers in southern Worcester County; The Observer Patriot, a weekly in Putnam, Connecticut; and the Jaffrey-Rindge Chronicle in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.
As the 1990s approached, the region entered an economic recession, tanking demand for commercial printing, while newsprint costs went up.
[2] Following the loss of the Auburn plant, the remaining newspapers were printed by contract with Turley Publications' presses in Palmer, Massachusetts.
Ghiglione was bankrupt, and deeded the company over to Community Newspaper in October, effectively terminating the jobs of his 87 employees.
Upon purchase of Ghiglione's newspapers in 1995, the newly-named Stonebridge Press refocused the company so that local news once again became the focus of all products.