Saginaw News

Eric Kallgren    Boulder, Colorado USA

Posted at 11:03pm on Thursday, March 26th, 2009

The Saginaw News will no longer be a daily newspaper in June 2009, switching to publishing 3 days a week:

On Tuesday March 24, 2009, Corey Mitchell of The Saginaw News reported that the paper will publish 3 days a week:

"The Saginaw News' decision to cut its print editions from seven days to three per week is "unfortunate in some ways, but inevitable," a Saginaw Valley State University professor says.

As part of cost-cutting efforts, The News, The Bay City Times and The Flint Journal will publish morning editions Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays starting in June. The papers' emphasis on constant local coverage will continue online at mlive.com.

Economic pressures on the media industry and on newspapers in particular drove the decision, Editor and Publisher Paul Chaffee said.

"The changes are dramatic," Chaffee said. "If we don't do it, we won't survive. It's time to look forward."

Newspapers nationwide are at a similar crossroads, said Rob Drew, an SVSU professor of communications.

"The Internet makes (the printed newspaper) almost obsolete," he said. "It's unfortunate in some ways, but inevitable in some ways."
The loss of advertising revenue and paid circulation also will force The News to cut jobs and the salaries of the employees who remain.

"There are going to be changes for all of us," Chaffee told staff Monday morning.

The Saginaw News' daily circulation numbers of close to 38,000 and roughly 48,000 on Sundays represent double-digit percentage point declines from last decade. As advertising revenue has declined, The News has reduced the size of the paper, cutting the number of sections and pages.

The three-day print schedule will allow for an expanded, beefier publication with more regional news. Research shows that Thursday, Fridays and Sundays are the highest readership days, Chaffee said. The three newspapers will continue to post breaking news, photos, video and other content on mlive.com/saginaw."