The Pulitzer-Prize winning publication will begin printing three days a week next year.
The Patriot-News, of Harrisburg, will decrease its publication frequency to three days a week starting in January, according to a report on Pennlive.com.The news came with the Pulitzer-Prize winning paper's announcement today of a merger with Pennlive.com to create a new company, PA Media Group.
In a post on Pennlive.com this morning, President and Publisher John A. Kirkpatrick explains the change to a digitally-focused organization is aimed at producing a quality product -- online and in print -- "long into the future."
"The world is changing, and we're excited about the transformation that will allow us to cover that evolution even better," he wrote in the letter to readers.
The 158-year-old publication most recently won a Pulitzer Prize for its work surrounding the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
The obligation to 24-7 news gathering cannot be met with a "depleted news organization," Editor Cate Barron said in the post. The impact of the changes on staffing levels were not addressed in this morning's announcement.
Both the Harrisburg and Syracuse media companies are owned by Advance Publications, which also owns Lehigh Valley Media Group, publisher of The Express-Times and lehighvalleylive.com.
Martin Till, president, publisher and chief executive officer of Lehigh Valley Media Group, said today there are no plans for print production changes at The Express-Times.
Till said Advance Publications properties operate independently of one another in different markets.
"That wouldn't make sense in a competitive market," he said of reducing the number of newspaper publication days.
The changes in Harrisburg and Syracuse follow similar announcements at other Advance Publications properties earlier this year, including in New Orleans with The Times-Picayune and nola.com and in Alabama with The Birmingham News, The Huntsville-Times and Mobile's Press Register with al.com.
Martin Till, president, publisher and chief executive officer of Lehigh Valley Media Group, said today there are no plans for print production changes at The Express-Times.
Till said Advance Publications properties operate independently of one another in different markets.
"That wouldn't make sense in a competitive market," he said of reducing the number of newspaper publication days.
The changes in Harrisburg and Syracuse follow similar announcements at other Advance Publications properties earlier this year, including in New Orleans with The Times-Picayune and nola.com and in Alabama with The Birmingham News, The Huntsville-Times and Mobile's Press Register with al.com.
Lehighvalleylive.com shares some staff with Pennlive.com.
In Harrisburg, the newspaper will continue to publish on Sundays; the other two days of publication will be determined after gathering input from readers and advertisers, the company said.
“We are not making this move lightly,” Patriot-News Publisher and PA Media Group President John Kirkpatrick said. (See his message to readers here). “We understand how important the daily print paper is to a large number of people in our region. However, this is a major step to make sure we are leading, not trailing, in the world of innovation and solutions.”
