On and on it goes. I was a reporter at The Daily Times Chronicle of Woburn in the 1980s when the Woburn Advocate was launched by a local developer. It eventually fell into GateHouse Media’s and then Gannett’s hands. The Times Chronicle, still owned by the Haggerty family, continues to do good work. The Advocate, meanwhile, was merged with another GateHouse/Gannett paper, the Stoneham Sun, and now is no more.
To the extent that Gannett has any strategy with its most recent closings, the emphasis seems to be on getting out of places where there is competition. The Haggertys, in addition to running the Times Chronicle, also operate The Stoneham Independent.
I’ve heard there may be a couple of other Gannett weeklies in Eastern Massachusetts that have been shut down as well. Keep those tips coming. I’d also love to see any internal memos that lay out all of the closings. Send them along to dan dot kennedy at northeastern dot edu. As always, discretion is assured.
Earlier:
- Gannett purge hits Upper Cape (Aug. 7)
- There they go again: Gannett shutters the 119-year-old Melrose Free Press (Aug. 5)
- Gannett closes two weeklies in Boston’s exurbs (July 16)
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I think I sent this before but maybe not — the Cape Ann Beacon was shut down about two weeks ago. It had a staff of maybe 1/4 FTE (Jane Enos Fosberry) plus one freelance. It was free circulation in stacks at stores and other public places, with no accounting of actual circulation or even press run.
Jerry
Jerry, you did, and I need to add that to the list. Thanks.