In a rare production move in an industry that long ago switched massively to morning publication, the Montrose (Colorado) Daily Press is converting to an afternoon newspaper beginning May 5.
Publisher Dennis Anderson said the Wick Communications newspaper will be published in print Tuesday through Saturdays, with its two weekend editions combined into one. “If you receive the printed paper, you should have it by 5 p.m. the day of publication,” he wrote in a note to readers April 22.
The Wick Communications-owned Daily Press has been a morning newspaper for the past 13 years.
Anderson portrayed the move as part of a digital-first approach to community coverage.
“Our digital presence allows us to break news as it happens,” he wrote. “The afternoon delivery allows us to deliver you any overnight news in the following edition. We will provide you with the latest coverage of stories that happen in the Montrose community. In-depth stories as you have seen lately with our COVID-19 coverage will be a mainstay.”
The Daily Press newsroom is “as strong as it’s been in some time,” he wrote, suggesting that afternoon publication may let it add journalists.
“I’m not going to paint a rosy picture when it comes to advertising revenue,” Anderson wrote. “We’re no different than newspapers across the country, seeing a steady decline pretty much across the board.”
But he added that there had been a steady growth in digital subscriptions, nearing the newspaper’s goal of increasing revenue sufficient to pay its newsroom within five years.
