As of this past weekend, the Lebanon Daily News no longer offers a Saturday print edition.
The change, first announced in January, comes as part of a nationwide cutting back on print for newspaper giant Gannett. The LDN change was announced as part of a network-wide nixing of Saturday editions by Gannett.
In other markets, Gannett has moved to drop print entirely.
“What they claim they’re doing, which is getting rid of the legacy costs of print while maintaining and even increasing their commitment to local coverage, I’d say is terrific,” said media critic Dan Kennedy in an interview with Boston.com. “But that’s not what they’re doing. They are eliminating print papers, even as they continue to downsize their news coverage.”
The price of Lebanon Daily News subscriptions has not changed with the print reduction. The monthly cost of a Lebanon Daily News print subscription is just over $25, although that does not include surcharges for what Gannett describes as its “premium print editions” throughout the year.
A digital replica edition of the Saturday newspaper will remain available digitally in the familiar print format, which Gannett calls its “e-Edition.”
“This change on Saturdays is designed to improve those online efforts as we continue to offer print delivery six days a week,” said central Pennsylvania executive editor Randy Parker in an article noting the change.
Include with the Saturday edition change, Parker announced that the paper will be dropping TV listings from its offerings.
“We understand that some readers still turn to this as a guide, but as TV viewing has changed radically, this grid has served fewer and fewer people,” said Parker.
“This is all part of our effort to refine our offerings and give all of our customers the most for their money.”
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