Local

Local newspapers to cut back publishing schedules

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

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local, joel feick

Joel Feick
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MID-MICHIGAN (WJRT) -- (03/23/09) -- Some major changes are in store for Mid-Michigan's top three newspapers: The Flint Journal, The Saginaw News and The Bay City Times.

Economic pressures on the media, particularly on newspapers, are hitting hard across the U.S. right now.

Here at home, those financial issues are forcing some sweeping changes.

According to Flint Journal Publisher Dave Sharp, starting June 1 the Journal, along with The Saginaw News and Bay City Times, will print just three days a week -- Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

According to Sharp, the Web site Mlive.com will be continuously updated.

Sharp says he's been meeting with staff members at the Flint Journal all morning long. Some are, understandably, in shock.

He says the new, three-day-a-week papers will be what he calls "intensely local" and will be larger than the current editions. Sharp says about 35 percent of the staff at all three newspapers will lose their jobs, but he wouldn't estimate as to exactly how many people that will be.

He says customers are being notified in today's editions that and that the subscription price of the paper will go down, but he didn't say by how much.

Also on June 1, The Flint Journal will no longer be printed in Flint, but will be printed at Valley Printing in Bay County. The paper will still be packaged and distributed through its downtown Flint offices.

Also announced this morning, another Booth Newspaper, The Ann Arbor News, will cease publishing a print edition in July after 174 years as a daily newspaper.

All three local papers, the Journal, Saginaw News and Bay City Times are among the oldest businesses in their communities.

The Flint Journal has been publishing since 1876.