As demand for digital subscriptions grows, Journal-World will eliminate Monday print edition

Journal-World readers will notice changes later this month as the newspaper continues to adapt to evolving reader and advertiser habits.

The Journal-World will stop publishing a Monday print edition beginning May 25. The last Monday print edition of the newspaper will be published on May 18.

Editor and Publisher Chad Lawhorn said the changes were designed to make the company as efficient as possible in how it meets the needs of its readers and advertisers.

“The newspaper industry is in interesting times,” Lawhorn said. “Digital subscriptions are really popular, and digital advertising also is growing in popularity. At the same time, we understand that there are still many readers who love the printed newspaper, and rightly so.”

Lawhorn said the Monday edition of the newspaper had become more expensive to produce as demand for that particular day’s edition had fallen. Rather than raise subscription prices to subsidize the Monday edition, the newspaper decided to stop Monday publication.

The newspaper, which dates back to 1891, will continue to publish a print edition on the other six days of the week. Lawhorn said the company continued to have a strong print newspaper business.

“There is still a lot of love for the printed newspaper, both by readers and those of us who work here,” Lawhorn said. “The print edition does a great job of curating the news in an easy-to-read format, it offers lots of money-saving coupons, and I continue to believe the newspaper is the best way to see the offerings of our locally owned businesses.”

Reader interest in digital-only subscriptions, however, has grown greatly over the last two years. The Journal-World recently surpassed the 3,200 mark for digital-only subscribers to its LJWorld.com website.

“People really like the immediacy of the website,” Lawhorn said. “It also allows us to go into greater depth on articles, and if you miss a story from a previous day, you can find it online much easier than sorting through piles of old newspapers.”

Lawhorn said LJWorld.com would continue to be a 365-day-a-year news operation.

“We have journalists who work every day of the year covering the local news scene,” Lawhorn said. “That will continue. When news happens on a Sunday, we won’t wait until Tuesday to report it. It will be on our website right away.”

All print subscribers to the Journal-World have full, unlimited access to LJWorld.com as part of their subscriptions. Any print subscriber who needs assistance in accessing the website can call the newspaper’s circulation department at 785-832-7199

A plan also will be developed for popular Monday content, such as the comics, puzzles and other features, to show up either in the Sunday newspaper or the Tuesday newspaper. Readers should look for more details about those features prior to the May 25 change.

Because of the growing number of digital subscribers, the Journal-World has more paid subscribers today than it did a year ago.

“That’s a story we don’t tell well enough,” Lawhorn said. “During the pandemic, it has been particularly gratifying to see how much trust people put in us to provide them accurate, timely, important and interesting news. We are blessed to be in a community where residents really want to be active citizens. Having good access to information is key to that effort, and we take our responsibilities on that front very seriously.”

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