Declining Readership Prompts Sale of Copley's Smaller Newspapers

By Ed Joyce / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published November 1, 2006 at 11:38 AM PST

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

News that The Copley Press is looking to sell several of its smaller newspapers may be a sign of things to come for an industry losing its readers to the Internet. One observer says the shift will wea

News that The Copley Press is looking to sell several of its smaller newspapers may be a sign of things to come for an industry losing its readers to the Internet. One observer says the shift will weaken, but not kill the newspaper industry. KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce has more.

The country’s newspapers are cutting costs and laying off staff to cope with declining readership. The Copley Press, parent company of the Union-Tribune, says it’s exploring options for its newspapers in Ohio, Illinois and Los Angeles. The company cited sagging readership as one reason for the move. Dean Nelson is a journalism professor at Point Loma Nazarene University. He says newspapers remain a relevant source of information.

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Nelson: It’s still a business and it’s hard to make money with these smaller or medium sized papers. But, will there always be a role for, in society, in a democracy, for a good, solid, well-reported newspaper? Yes, absolutely yes.

Nelson says there may be fewer newspapers in the future as the industry goes through a consolidation period. Ed Joyce, KPBS News.

Ed Joyce

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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