by TP Lowe » Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:07 pm
Not exactly Louisville, but anything Gannett seems fair game here! This from today's Business First web site:
Kentucky Post to fold at end of year
Business First of Louisville - 2:12 PM EDT Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Faced with the demise of its 30-year joint operating agreement, the Kentucky Post and the Cincinnati Post will cease publication on Dec. 31.
E.W. Scripps Co., owner of the two newspapers, said it was not economically feasible to continue to publish the papers after Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) announced in 2004 that it would not renew the agreement.
"The investment that would be needed to continue publishing a daily newspaper that could successfully compete in a marketplace with so many media alternatives would be prohibitive," said Rich Boehne, chief operating officer for Cincinnati-based Scripps (NYSE: SSP).
The shutdown of the two papers will affect 52 newsroom employees, who will be offered severance packages, Scripps said in a news release.
The joint operating agreement with Gannett was formed in September 1977, to save the faltering Post which, along with many afternoon newspapers, was suffering from declining circulation. The agreement combined business operations, including advertising, subscriptions, production and distribution, while keeping the two newsrooms independent.
By 2007, the Kentucky and Cincinnati Post's afternoon editions were reaching only about 4 percent of local households, according to Scripps.
The Cincinnati Post was founded in 1881 as the Penny Paper. It was bought by James Scripps the same year and in 1883 the name was changed to the Penny Post after E.W. Scripps took over its operation. The name was changed to the Cincinnati Post in 1890, and the Kentucky Post was launched that same year as well.