Victoria's third-oldest newspaper, the Portland Observer, will potentially print its last edition five days before Christmas, with the future of the 182-year-old paper in doubt and its staff to be made redundant.

The publication is part of a group of south-west Victorian papers under the Spectator Publishing Group banner, which also includes the Hamilton Spectator, Casterton News and Western District Farmer.

All four papers are expected to go on the market in the coming days as either individual entities or as a group.

In a letter sent this week, owner Richard Beks told staff that publication of the papers would stop in the week before Christmas.

"The principal reason is that the company no longer attracts sufficient income to support a stand-alone publishing enterprise as complex and decentralised as ours," Mr Beks said.

The staff — about 40 in Hamilton, about 12 in Portland, and two in Casterton — will be offered redundancies "effective from the last issues to be published in December".

"We regret that no alternatives are realistic," Mr Beks said.

"We understand that for many staff this news will be unexpected."

The ABC understands a number of prospective buyers have already shown interest in the publications but that the papers will effectively close before a new buyer can take over.

On Tuesday, Casterton News stated on its Facebook page that it would have new owners soon and "while the final outcome is still in planning, the Casterton News will continue after the group's closure".

'Quite a surprise'

Ellen Linke is a former journalist who worked at the Portland Observer for 27 years, including a 15-year stint as the publication’s managing editor.

Ms Linke said the sale had come as "quite a surprise" to staff, particularly those who had only been with the paper a short time.

But she said there were high hopes among staff the mastheads would be sold quickly.

"I get the feeling that they are all hoping and praying that a buyer is found and that they won't have to take a redundancy," Ms Linke said.

Ms Linke said the papers meant a lot to the local community, with the Portland Observer dating back to 1842 and the Hamilton Spectator beginning in 1859.

"It's something that's always been there," she said.

"I think a lot of our older residents still get every edition and that's where they get their news — they don't go so much on social media."

'Unsettling news'

Deakin University professor of communication and former south-west Victorian journalist, Kristy Hess, said the situation was "unsettling news" for the Portland and Hamilton regions.

"We're talking about some of Victoria's oldest newspapers, that actually have a good following within the communities that they serve," Professor Hess said.

"We can only hold out hope that a buyer comes along soon because I actually think it wouldn't be a bad business to take hold of.

"That there are people with quite a lot of experience and local knowledge within these communities that might be made redundant before a sale is extremely sad."

She said the loss of regional news publications could lead to "news deserts" where entire regions go without adequate news coverage.

"News does not stop just because the press has stopped," she said.

"That's an issue in that, if there's no credible source of public interest journalism in a community, we can see that misinformation and disinformation becomes increasingly prevalent."

She said the closures of newspapers were always a great loss for a region.

"Or getting out to local footy, to cover those stories of great achievements in the communities.

"All of those things help build the social fabric of regional towns and cities.

"Do I think that there's a future for local news in this country? Absolutely, because people desperately need it and want it. 

"And they really feel it when a local news outlet closes down."