Peninsula Clarion reduced to weekly printing amid cost-cutting measures

3 months ago

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The caller genitor institution of nan cardinal Kenai Peninsula’s newspaper, nan Peninsula Clarion, is reducing nan insubstantial to conscionable once-a-week printing. That displacement is happening arsenic nan institution makes cost-cutting decisions astatine different publications, including monolithic layoffs astatine 1 of its largest papers.

The Clarion, on pinch nan Homer News and Juneau Empire, is owned by Washington-based Sound Publishing. Sound’s genitor company, Canadian Black Press Media, filed for creditor protection to debar bankruptcy successful January and was bought by Mississippi’s Carpenter Media Group. That deal went through in March.

In an announcement posted to its website Saturday, nan institution said nan Clarion will trim from printing doubly a week to conscionable once. The past Wednesday insubstantial will beryllium released this week, nan last Saturday insubstantial will beryllium connected July 6, and from past connected nan Clarion will travel retired connected Fridays.

According to nan announcement, Sound and Carpenter made nan determination aft “careful thought and successful nickname of a section and nationalist media scenery that has seen changes successful really some advertizing and news contented are consumed.”

Sound Publishing President Josh O’Connor did not respond to requests for comment, and nan Clarion’s editor declined to comment.

But cost-cutting changes aren’t unsocial to nan Clarion. The Seattle Times reported last Tuesday that Carpenter would laic disconnected 62 labor crossed its newspapers successful Washington state. On Wednesday, layoffs came for nan Everett Daily Herald, Sound’s flagship insubstantial located northbound of Seattle.

Aina de Lapparent Alvarez is simply a wide duty newsman astatine nan Herald, and 1 of nan 12 labor laid disconnected past week.

“This is not astir really overmuch you’ve poured and sacrificed for this insubstantial and this community, aliases really overmuch your activity has impacted positively nan organization aliases really galore awards you’ve won,” she said. “This is astir different things.”

Carpenter besides laid disconnected 2 editors, including Local News Editor Caleb Hutton. He’s been pinch nan insubstantial for almost 7 years, and erstwhile nan layoffs were announced, he worked pinch 2 remaining reporters connected a story astir nan situation. In it, nan Herald’s patient Rudi Alcott is quoted saying “operations are not going to alteration much. The readers won’t notice.”

Hutton said that’s unlikely.

“We’ve been really proud for a agelong clip of nan truth that our beforehand page is each local. So that’s 3 stories a day, if not 4 stories a day,” he said. “I don’t know, I deliberation it would beryllium really difficult to do that, to do really value work, stories that return a small spot much time, and do that connected a regular basis.”

He and de Lapparent Alvarez some said nan insubstantial will struggle to adequately service nan organization of much than 800 1000 group pinch specified a reduced staff.

“There’s nary measurement they’ll beryllium capable to do eager stories,” de Lapparent Alvarez said. “There’s conscionable nary way. And past nan organization will lose.”

The greeting aft it went up, Hutton says nan patient took down nan Herald’s communicative astir its ain layoffs. He and different editors threatened to quit, and compromised connected a caller type of nan story, which was republished pinch an edited lede and comments from Carpenter.

On Sunday, members of nan national that represents Herald reporters announced plans to strike. Monday, they picketed outside the office, galore holding signs saying readers have noticed.

Union members who were laid disconnected from nan Herald will stay astatine nan insubstantial successful nan short word arsenic nan guild bargains for nan position of their severance pinch nan genitor company.

The Peninsula Clarion published 5 days a week until outpouring 2023, when Sound announced that it would trim down nan schedule to 2 days and moved printing disconnected site. That alteration besides affected nan Juneau Empire, though nan insubstantial is presently maintaining a twice-weekly schedule.

The Clarion will proceed to people stories regular connected its website, according to Saturday’s announcement. The first Friday insubstantial will travel retired July 12. The Clarion is besides advertizing an open newsman position.

Source Alaska Public