Fulton Sun goes digital

Posted

Beginning Aug. 8, the Fulton Sun in Jefferson City, Missouri, will be switching to seven days of a digital edition and a one-day printed newspaper.

Walter Hussman Jr., president of WEHCO Media, which owns the Fulton Sun, announced the change in a letter to subscribers. The change follows two consecutive years of financial losses at the paper and 14 years of declining advertising revenue across the whole newspaper industry, he said.

"We are convinced the only way for the Fulton Sun to continue daily publication is with a digital replica edition to tablets like iPads and smartphones seven days a week, along with delivering a weekend print edition," Hussman explained.

Each week, subscribers will receive a super-sized Saturday print edition through the mail and on racks in town, plus daily digital editions delivered electronically. Subscription prices will remain the same.  Readers who don't have access to a compatible tablet may rent an iPad from the company for $9.95 per month.

While the Fulton Sun is the first WEHCO paper in Missouri to make this switch, the company has implemented similar models at several papers in Arkansas, including the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Read more from the Fulton Sun

Fulton Sun, frequency of publication, digital, iPads, WEHCO, Walter Hussman