At least eight daily newspapers owned by Davenport-based publisher Lee Enterprises recently announced they will be going to a three-day-a-week print schedule and end traditional delivery carrier service beginning Tuesday, June 6.
On Sunday, May 7, editors and news staff members of those papers made online announcements to their readers about the upcoming changes.
Dimon Kendrick-Holmes, editor of the McDowell News of Marion, N.C., announced: “I’m writing to let you know that starting June 6, the print edition of The McDowell News will move to a different publication schedule, with delivery three days each week: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. In addition, your newspaper will transition from being delivered by a traditional newspaper delivery carrier to mail delivery by the U.S. Postal Service.”
Mr. Kendrick-Holmes added: “The new three-day print frequency certainly represents a shift in your newspaper experience. But fewer days of print doesn’t mean less of the important, impactful local coverage that you’ve come to expect from us. We’re still your best source for local news content, and we remain deeply committed to covering our community all day, every day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.”
On non-print days, the newspapers will maintain online e-editions.
Other Lee-owned newspapers making similar announcements were: The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg, South Carolina; The Morning News of Florence, South Carolina; Winona Daily News of Winona, Minnesota; La Crosse Tribune of LaCrosse, Wisconsin; Chippewa Herald of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; The News Herald of North Carolina and Hickory Daily Record of Hickory, North Carolina.
The similarly worded announcements from the newspapers also promised readers a “Sunday reading experience” during each print day edition.
“Every print day, you’ll have a ‘Sunday’ reading experience that’s bursting with local news and opinions, investigative and watchdog journalism, personalities and profiles, sports stories that take you beyond the results of a game played a day or two ago, and a deeper look at the businesses and market leaders in our community and the world around us. You’ll be able to unwind from a work day with a great story from your favorite reporter,” according to the online announcement in the Times and Democrat of Orangeburg, South Carolina.
In a video message to readers, Lee Harter, editor of the Times and Democrat, said each of the three printed editions will be “Sunday style” papers and he is excited about the changes.
“Give it a shot before (calling) this a bad idea,” he added.
On Thursday, May 4, Lee Enterprises officials acknowledged during an investors’ call that it is looking at cutting back on its publication dates, and appeared to reference a report by The Daily Montanan that said Lee was planning to reduce most of its newspapers’ printing dates.
In response to an investor’s question, Lee Enterprises Vice President and CFO Timothy Millage said that for several years the company had been able to retain more of its print subscribers than others in the industry. But in 2023, he said Lee newspapers have been seeing revenue declines in line with others in the industry “and as you may have seen announced in one of our markets the move to produce a robust, high-quality print product three days a week.”
Lee Enterprises owns 77 daily newspapers in the U.S., including the Quad-City Times, The Dispatch-Argus and the Muscatine Journal. It is not known if the three local Lee-owned papers will go to a three-day-a-week print schedule. Messages to the Quad-City Times’ top leadership by the QCBJ were not returned.
