By: E&P Staff Hernando Today, a sibling paper of the Tampa Tribune, was a three-day-a-week paper when parent Media General bought it in the early 1990s. In 1996 it was converted to a daily.
And on Jan. 19, it will become a five-day paper, Publisher Duane Chichester announced. The paper will no longer publish a print version on Mondays and Tuesdays.
In a story by reporter Tony Marrero, Chichester said the changes are intended to be a "proactive" step as the paper's ad revenue falls, newsprint costs rise and the Florida economy continues to remain under water.
But Chichester said the change is also paving the way to a more formidable digital presence: "Our industry is facing more challenges than the economic downturn. We have more competition than ever before for advertising dollars and our industry Web sites are not yet producing enough revenue to replace print revenue losses."
No staff reductions were announced along with the publication schedule change, but Chichester said they could not be ruled out. The paper reduced its work force last year.
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