Gazette changing frequency of printed edition

Dear Gazette Readers,

For many years, our brand promise has been pretty straightforward: We inspire you to think, motivate you to learn, and challenge you to grow. How we do that has changed a lot – especially in the past 25 years. The way – and the speed – at which people consume news has shifted online – where changes can be pushed out quickly.

Whether in print or online, we’ve been dedicated to delivering the news crucial to our community since 1883. We’ve long been a key resource in helping connect businesses with audiences and customers to help drive strong results. Our journalists have had to pivot and evolve quickly through the years – making sure we’re always in position to help our audience and our region thrive no matter what or when challenges arise.

In the spirit of evolving, we’re announcing a change in the print publication schedule of The Gazette.

Beginning Feb. 17, our newspaper will transition from printing seven days per week to printing three days per week — on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. This doesn’t mean there won’t be a “newspaper” seven days a week. We will continue to provide comprehensive coverage of news, sports and features every day of the week in The Green Gazette — a digital replica of the newspaper — as well as on our website, TheGazette.com.

The evolving landscape of how news is consumed and the economic realities of print media have necessitated this change. It wasn’t an easy decision.

Publishing a newspaper every day has long been a point of pride throughout our history. Significant changes in user habits and financial realities have been evolving in Iowa – and across the country. The costs of producing and delivering the print edition continues to increase while the number of readers consuming or advertising in print have been declining. Meanwhile, we continue to see significant growth of those consuming information online. Though we’ve been able to weather changing our print schedule longer than hundreds of other newspapers across the country, we’re not immune from needing to make bold adjustments to remain financially sustainable and make sure we’re focused on longevity and providing local news to our region.

Recent information released in Fall 2024 by Pew Research Center on the way people consume news reinforces the trend of digital news consumption. For example:

The Gazette’s reader data also shows significant digital consumption – an average of more than 8 million pageviews on digital editions each month and some spending an average of about 51 minutes reading information online.

The movement here – and nationally – is to get news digitally. As business trends change, we must also adjust our business models to work with those trends – in this case the platform in which we are delivering the news.

Generations of Gazette journalists and staffers – for the past 142 years – have been focused on serving our community and helping residents get quality local journalism. We remain committed to that goal – and to being a strong local leader. These changes are focused on making sure that can continue. While we may be modifying how we’re delivering the news, our commitment to providing unparalleled coverage of Eastern Iowa is as strong as ever. We ask for your patience and support as we roll out these changes.

We absolutely value our print readers – and changing the frequency of our print and digital customers helps us find a better balance of serving print and digital subscribers.

If you haven’t checked out the Green Gazette, we’d encourage you to give it a chance. We’ve seen many people become more comfortable consuming news digitally. If you’re a current subscriber, you already have access to test it out on a phone, tablet or desktop computer. You can find the past five years of newspapers at your fingertips, and it’s delivered by 4 a.m. each morning. The digital replica has strong support from readers – with an average of 4 million pageviews each month. You can also print games and articles right from the edition. If you aren’t yet familiar, step-by-step instructions can be found at https://www.thegazette.com/digital-edition-faq/

Please also be sure to visit our website, TheGazette.com and follow us on social media channels.

We thank you for your commitment to supporting local news and your continued subscription to The Gazette. Supporting a local, employee-owned news source like ours helps our region thrive. Studies have shown communities with strong local media outlets have higher levels of voting and civic engagement than those who don’t. The studies also show strong local media outlets reduce misinformation and polarization, while also reducing public and private corruption. Your continued subscription – on any platform – is what makes this work possible.

Your trust and loyalty have been keys to our success through the decades. While habits and business models may change, our commitment to providing high-quality journalism and meaningful community leadership are unwavering and central to our mission. We appreciate your loyalty and commitment to supporting local news.

Thanks for reading,

Kelly Homewood, President

Zack Kucharski, Executive Editor