 The Carmichael and Son partnership ended in January 1997, when local cotton grower Jack Buster purchased The Western Herald.Michael Keenan, who joined the staff in 1971 as apprentice machine compositor, then became managing editor until leaving Bourke in December 2016.The paper was originally printed on broadsheet, changing to the tabloid format with the issue of 1 February 1974, due to "stress created by the Darling River flood, lack of the usual amount of advertising and, once again, that inevitable staff shortage".