The pandemic crisis causes not only the drop in demand for the product but also in advertising
In a short notice addressed to its readers, the Los Angeles Times announced on Friday its plans to stop producing three local titles: "The Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader and La Cañada Valley Sun."
These are weekly newspapers with a circulation of around 5,000 copies each, which were distributed independently for free or delivered to whoever bought the LA Times in the area.
The closure of the Glendale News-Press is particularly striking, as it was founded in 1905.
For its part, the statement said, the Burbank Leader dates from 1985 and the La Cañada Valley Sun from 1946.
The three weeklies focused on topics of local interest such as "local government, schools, and sports."
Likewise, indicates the LA Times, 14 members of the editorial team of these publications, including administrators, will be dismissed.
“It was a difficult business decision, at difficult times for community newspapers, complicated by the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. All three publications… operate at significant losses. ”
The statement ends by saying that the last two community publications in the LA Times – the weekly newspapers Daily Pilot and Times OC – will continue to appear without interruption.
The closure of these three publications and the loss of employment by their workers are just the latest chapter in the drama that the print media – and to a lesser extent the digital ones – are going through in Southern California and all over the world. country.
The day before, the Hollywood Reporter – one of the world's most prestigious specialty publications – announced the layoff of 12 employees among reporters and editors, including editor-in-chief Matt Belloni and vice president and publicist Lynne Segall.
The firm emphasized that they were not the last. The Valence Media-owned publication had announced losses of more than $ 15 million a year.
Limitations on people's mobility make it difficult for readers to go out to the point of sale to buy paper publications.
In many cases, the premises where these were offered to the public have closed their doors and there are numerous times when copies of various publications are piled up without being offered for sale.
At the same time and due to the climate of economic crisis, paid advertising has fallen in all publications, leading most of them to crisis.
In an interview with the Times, Congressman Adam Schiff, a Burbank resident, regretted the simultaneous disappearance of the three weekly newspapers.
"I have read them for decades and had the privilege of working with many of their reporters and editors, and although I was disgusted by some of their articles from time to time I never doubted their ability and professionalism or their passion to serve our community, be it uncovering criminal acts or praising the action of any of our residents or documenting the actions that unify our community… ”, he pointed out.
