GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — MLive Media Group has decided to stop printing newspapers by December.
The announcement came from MLive itself Wednesday, saying the decision is the “next step in its digital evolution” and was a response to audiences shifting the way they consume news.
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MLive currently prints three papers in West Michigan: The Grand Rapids Press, Kalamazoo Gazette and the Muskegon Chronicle. Around the state, the company also prints The Ann Arbor News, The Bay City Times, The Flint Journal, Jackson Citizen Patriot and The Saginaw Times.
“I understand that some people prefer a hard-copy printed paper,” he said. “But demand for that format has fallen steadily, to the point that it’s no longer economically sustainable to produce and deliver,” MLive quoted its Community President John Hiner.
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Dropping print newspapers will not affect MLive’s staff of about 100 journalists, the company said, but acknowledged that one full-time worker on the newspaper distribution side lost their job because of the decision…