Ann Arbor News to stop print edition

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - The Ann Arbor News will cease publication in July after 174 years and will be replaced by a Web-focused community news operation built from the ground up.

Although AnnArbor.com plans print editions twice a week, officials stressed that the new free Web site won't simply be the old newspaper delivered in a new format. News employees can apply for positions with the new company, but "job losses will be unavoidable," Publisher Laurel Champion said in a statement.

"The Ann Arbor News was struggling as a daily print newspaper, with steep losses in 2008," said Champion, who will be executive vice president of the new company. "At the same time the demand for local news and information in a wired community has never been stronger."

AnnArbor.com will publish a print edition on Thursday and Sunday and an advertising supplement once a week.

The end of the News was one of several major changes announced Monday at the eight daily Michigan newspapers owned by the Newhouse family's Advance Publications. The Flint Journal, The Bay City Times and The Saginaw News said they will cut their print editions from seven to three days a week -- Thursday, Friday and Sunday -- starting June 1.

Most of the changes are to Advance's Michigan operations. But Steve Newhouse, chairman of Advance's Internet arm, said most of the company's 26 newspapers will freeze pension plans and increase matching contributions to 401(k) retirement plans. Employees also must take off 10 days a year without pay.

Newhouse said the new approach for Ann Arbor also is reflected by the demographics and the city that's home to the University of Michigan. The Ann Arbor region typically has the lowest jobless rate among Michigan's 17 labor markets.

"When we looked at Ann Arbor, we saw a very special place. It's unusually tech-savvy and a community that's passionate about everything that's going on," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "At the same time, the daily print format was facing growing losses. We were at a crossroads."

He said the company decided to build a company and Web site "from the ground up" that would involve working with readers and residents through community forums next month. He described it as Web-focused, not print-focused.

"We felt it was better to invest resources into building a new sustainable product for the community rather than keep cutting back on The Ann Arbor News," he said.

The developments came a week after Hearst Corp. ceased printing its Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper, turning it into an online-only operation. Michigan's biggest newspaper change starts next Monday when the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News cut home delivery to three days a week. They will print small editions on other days and encourage people to get information online.

Matt Kraner, formerly chief marketing officer of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, was named president and chief executive officer of AnnArbor.com, and Tony Dearing, former editor in Flint, was named chief content leader.

"It is the perfect place to embark on a Web-focused news and information strategy," Kraner said. "We will be working with Ann Arbor's residents and advertisers to build a unique and innovative community news and information service."

The four other Advance dailies in Michigan also will see significant cost-cutting measures. Editing and production work at the Jackson Citizen Patriot, The Grand Rapids Press, the Kalamazoo Gazette and The Muskegon Chronicle will be consolidated in Grand Rapids this summer.

The newspapers have gone through a recent wave of employee buyouts. In Grand Rapids, many of the most experienced reporters will be gone by summer.

Nicola Rooney, who owns Nicola's Books in Ann Arbor, said customers have noticed the newspaper becoming thinner, and she has seen a "slow decline" in the number of papers sold overall.

"This is not good news for me because we rely on The Ann Arbor News to get the word out," she said.

Rooney said she advertises several days a week in the newspaper but doesn't believe it would have the same effect in the new twice-weekly publication by AnnArbor.com.

"Unfortunately, from my experience with advertising, advertising has to be in something that is every day. ... If it's
not in front of people on a regular basis, then I think they can kind of get out of the habit of reading it."
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AP Business Writer James Prichard in Grand Rapids contributed to this report.