McClatchy is cutting print editions of its Charlotte Observer from six to three days a week as part of a push to a "digital-forward” newsroom.
It will appear on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from September 16, having shed its Saturday edition in March 2020, a month after the California-based McClatchy Co filed for bankruptcy protection, from which it emerged. It is now owned by hedge fund Chatham Asset Management.
Media outlet the Charlotte Ledger also noted that staffing of the Observer’s newsroom had dropped 80 per cent in the last 15 years, “to fewer than 40 journalists”. Scaling back printing had been described as a “bold step forward” by editor Rana Cash.
“In an age in which print has become cost-prohibitive and is limited by early deadlines, the Observer must transform its business to thrive in 2024 and beyond, while continuing to prioritise essential and distinctive content,” she wrote.
Describing the changes as “necessary for sustainability,” she promised that the Observer “has been and will continue to be here.
“With these changes, we are stronger today and positioned to remain so because we’ve adapted to the habits of our readers.”
Figures for 2020 quoted on Wikipedia showed the paper’s print circulation at 64,000 during the week, with 85,000 on Sundays, with the website attracting 24 million pageviews.
Pictured: The imposing Charlotte Observer building in 2002, prior to the site’s redevelopment in 2016