Columbus Dispatch sold

Probably eventually, just to conform to the homogenized New Gannet/Gatehouse centralized news desk in Austin.

 

Your desk is in-house? To borrow a line from the Beatles, you don't how lucky you are.

 

Yes.

Print edition of The Enquirer returns to traditional-sized format

 

Wonder what that means for their deadlines, especially sports ...

 

Hearing from multiple people I know and trust that Columbus' sports deadline will be 6 p.m. Wondering if Cincinnati will be the same.
People in Columbus aren't used to that kind of early deadline. Reaction will not be pretty from readers.

 

Cincinnati already had really early deadlines due to being printed in Columbus, so I doubt there's much of a change (if any) for them. I was told by a prep writer and can't remember for sure, but I believe it was 7. (He told me before a state basketball game and said the papers would be printed before the game even tipped).

 

Why do people even subscribe to these zombie papers?

What happens if half of Columbus catches on fire at 10:30?

What happens if a private jet crashes at midnight near the local airport, and that plane has some bigwigs on it?

I know, Internet, but that doesn’t work for everyone. My mom is in her 70s and has never touched a computer except to play games on an iPad. Her big gripe about the local newspaper’s early deadlines is that she doesn’t get all of the lottery numbers anymore. I’ve tried to explain to her 10 times why, but she’s wondering why she’s getting less of a product while paying an ever-increasing price.

 

Why do people even subscribe to these zombie papers?
Sunday coupons and store fliers.

 

Which will lead to the papers being published two-three times a week. A Thursday paper for grocery and other retail inserts, a Sunday paper and maybe Tuesday.

 

I don't mean to be glib, but newspaper companies cannot secure their long-term future by prioritizing a segment of the population that is literally dying off. (Again, not picking on your mom. My father is 81. Still a print subscriber.)

Does the Dispatch have a pay subscription service by which one can get a thorough report direct to their phone or other devices when half of Columbus catches fire at 10:30? I would argue that's a better investment than pushing deadlines back to 1995 standards and de-consolidating print operations.

 

She's getting less of a product while paying an ever-increasing price.....so why does she subscribe to the zombie paper? She isn't even getting what she wants.

The "suits" really think they are smart. But how dumb they are. They are probably the biggest problem for papers quicker than necessary decline. Slow to internet looked at as a "fad"...fools. No charge when the paper was actually worth paying for. Let's lay people off and give them dated, canned content and 4 pages of content total and charge more....yeah people will still subscribe. My God. The Gannett/McClatchy/Gatehouse/Tronc etc. big wigs are probably the dumbest people and got paid handsomely to kill off a product. What a crock.