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The Goss press is seen at the Palatka Daily News press plant. The newspaper announced this week that the company is reducing its print publication days by two, beginning in April. (Palatka Daily News file photo)
Printed editions of the Palatka Daily News will be shifting from five days a week to three next month, the company announced this week.
Instead of publishing Tuesday through Saturday, the print editions of the paper will publish each Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, Daily News Publisher Jennifer Moates announced to the staff this week. The change is set to occur the week of April 10, meaning the first issue of the shift will be published Wednesday, April 12.
Moates assured staff that the amount of content delivered to readers will not shrink with the shift.
"The editions that are published will grow to accommodate the hyper-local news we provide," said Moates, explaining that news articles will be packed into three larger editions of the newspaper, rather than spread across five smaller papers.
The decision, made by Daily News parent company CNI Newspapers, Inc. with input from its Florida leadership, comes as newspapers across the country face rising costs, like many other industries.
"The decision to reduce our print days is a financial one that has become necessary in our current economic climate," said Moates. "The cost of goods has dramatically increased causing our production costs to do so as well. We have also seen multiple postal increases over the last year, which has also impacted the delivery costs of the newspaper."
Moates added that office hours will remain the same, Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The paper's news staff will continue working a five-day workweek, putting a priority on delivering timely information, said Daily News Editor Casmira Harrison.
"We will be making the home page a top priority," Harrison said. "Historically, our paper hasn't made Web updates a daily focal point. We have been slowly improving that, but making sure our readers have news that's important to them --- as soon as we can confirm it --- that should and will be one of the highest priorities for this newsroom."
Moates said that same information, along with the latest news, will be included in the larger print editions, "so those who enjoy spreading out the paper on the kitchen table to take it all in can continue to do so."
"Our website at palatkadailynews.com and social media accounts will be updated regularly with breaking news and information that is pertinent to our readers," Moates said. "Our employees at the Palatka Daily News are an integral part of the community and continue to be dedicated to excellence in community journalism within the place we live, work and play."