The July 8, 1947 front page of the Roswell Daily Record, which reported the alleged recovery of a "flying saucer" near Roswell — the story that made the newspaper internationally known. (Wikimedia Commons)
The July 8, 1947 front page of the Roswell Daily Record, which reported the alleged recovery of a "flying saucer" near Roswell — the story that made the newspaper internationally known. (Wikimedia Commons)

By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Southern New Mexico’s news desert is becoming bigger.

The 123-year-old Roswell Daily Record, owned by Publisher Barbara Beck and General Manager SaraLei Fajardo, announced today that it is ceasing operations and beginning “an orderly liquidation” of its assets to pay its bills and other obligations, according to a statement from the newspaper.

The Roswell Daily Record announced Monday it is ceasing operations and liquidating its assets. (Courtesy)
The Roswell Daily Record announced Monday it is ceasing operations and liquidating its assets. (Courtesy)

Ownership said it is pursuing a sale or another sustainable arrangement that could keep the Record operating, but offered no guarantees.

The newspaper traces its roots to a semiweekly founded in 1891 and began publishing daily in 1903, according to the Library of Congress. It became nationally known for its July 1947 front page reporting the alleged recovery of a “flying saucer” near Roswell, a story that helped make the city a UFO tourism destination. The newspaper said its circulation is fewer than 12,000. It cut to three print editions a week in November 2024 and, in October 2025, ended in-house printing, shifting production to The Santa Fe New Mexican, according to the Record’s own reporting.

The Paper. reached out to the Roswell Daily Record for comment but had not received a response as of press time. They have not announced a timeline for a possible sale.


Jesse Jones is a reporter covering local government and news for The Paper. through a local journalism fellowship from NM Reports.

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