Courtesy / Maine Today Media
Lisa DeSisto, CEO of Masthead Maine.
January 6, 2020
Four Maine newspapers to eliminate Monday print editions
By Staff
Four daily newspapers owned by Masthead Maine, including its flagship Portland Press Herald, will eliminate Monday print editions beginning March 2, the company announced Friday.
The Press Herald, Kennebec Journal in Augusta, Morning Sentinel in Waterville and Sun-Journal in Lewiston will have six daily print editions beginning in March, with the content for Mondays published digitally, Masthead CEO Lisa DeSisto said in an article published in the newspapers Saturday.
It is a cost-saving measure that would eliminate high production and distribution costs for those days.
“The savings from digital-only Monday enables us to keep our newsrooms at the size that they are and continue to produce the journalism that’s important to our community,” DeSisto said. “We know that we have a lot of work to do to get a portion of our customers comfortable with this, and we’re committed to that smooth transition.”
Masthead anticipates a “modest loss” of advertising revenue as a result of the change, but expects the cost savings to make up for it, DeSisto said. About 37% of the company’s revenue came from print advertising in 2019, according to the article.
The company will still publish news digitally on Monday, and full-week print subscribers to the four papers, who also get full digital access, will still pay what they're paying now for their subscriptions.
The four newspapers are among six daily newspapers in the state. Masthead's fifth daily newspaper, the Times-Record in Brunswick, publishes five days a week, Monday through Friday, and will continue Monday print editions.The company in October shut down the daily Biddeford Journal-Tribune. The only daily newspaper in Maine not owned by Masthead is the Bangor Daily News, which is privately owned by publisher Richard Warren.
Masthead officials said the company plans a marketing campaign to get the 70% of full-week subscribers who don't access their digital accounts more comfortable with the digital product.
Since the newspaper won't be delivering on Mondays, other newspapers delivered by Masthead's drivers will either be delivered Tuesday, or those newspapers will cover costs of Monday delivery, something DeSisto said will be worked out with the other publications, which include the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
Eliminating daily print editions is a growing trend in the industry, with more than 100 newspapers nationwide making the move through 2018, according to the American Press Institute. The most recent was the McClatchy chain in November, which has 30 publications in 14 states and said it will eliminate all its Saturday print editions by the end of 2020.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include the correct name of Masthead Maine.
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