Suspending print publication of its 14 suburban Chicago weeklies was not enough to save 22nd Century Media, which announced March 31 that it was ceasing operations.
The cause was the severe drop in advertising revenue as its local businesses closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were having a great year, and then ... March. Advertising and revenue collection just stopped,” Publisher Joe Coughlin told the Chicago Tribune in an article by business reporter Robert Channick.
The company had 50 employees, virtually all of whom were laid off March 31.
The decision to close the newspapers came just five days after Coughlin told readers that print publication would be “suspended.”
22nd Century was founded in 2005 and grew from one paper to 15, including a California weekly, Malibu Surfside News, that Coughlin said would continue as an online-only publication.
