By: E&P Staff The Kingsport (Tenn.) Times-News begins construction this month on a 5,000-square-foot plant expansion to house a second inserting line. To be completed late this year, the $3 million addition will double inserting capacity.
"While clearly newspapers and this newspaper have been impacted by current economic conditions, we also view it as a good opportunity to become more efficient in how we operate, and to look at different income streams and opportunities to serve better," Times-News Publisher Keith Wilson told his paper. "We see long-term opportunities coming out of this, and are trying to position ourselves to take advantage of it."
Begun as a weekly printed in nearby Johnson City in 1916, the paper moved to Kingsport as a twice-weekly. In 1924 it converted to daily publication. Sandusky Newspapers acquired the Times-News in 1962 and moved it to a new building -- its current location. That building was expanded in 1982, and a further expansion nine years later accommodated a new inserting line. Since then, business for freestanding inserts has quadrupled, Wilson said.
Reporter Sharon Hayes quoted Wilson saying, "We're looking at new printing technology opportunities, and are still considering additional expansions, perhaps at a later date." The paper has looked into other property for a new plant -- a project now on hold, but "certainly something that is still being actively considered."
Apart from the printed daily, a collaboration last year with its sister paper, the Johnson City Press, produced two new Web sites, and the paper plans to launch a mobile edition this year.
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