On March 17, the 146-year-old Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper published its final print edition. The newspaper switched to an Internet-only format. It is the largest daily newspaper to publish only online.
The switch comes as newspapers around the country are struggling to stay alive. In February, the 150-year-old Rocky Mountain News of Denver closed down, and the San Francisco Chronicle is struggling to stay alive after losing $50 million last year. The New York Times carries huge debt, and the Tribune Company, which publishes the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, and the Baltimore Sun, filed for bankruptcy in December.
The industry’s struggles are due to the fact that more and more people each year are getting most of their news from the Internet, and newspapers are losing circulation and struggling to find advertisers.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer lost 145 workers in the switch from print to online, keeping a staff of only 20. The online version will focus on local news and opinion, and will not cover all the news that the print version did.
Related Links
- Map of Washington
Map of Washington state from the University of Texas.
(Source: University of Texas, 2002) - Hearst Prints Final Seattle PI as Newspapers Dwindle
Story from Reuters covers the end of the paper’s print edition, and the troubles that newspapers across the country are experiencing.
(Source: Reuters, March 16, 2009) - Seattle Paper Moves Online Only
Article from the BBC on the closing of the print version of the paper, and the loss of jobs and changes that are being made in the transition to online only.
(Source: BBC, March 16, 2009) - Crisis in the U.S. Newspaper Industry
Story covering the struggles faced by the newspaper industry in the United States.
(Source: BBC, February 27, 2009)