Gannett Publishing Shuts Down Another Newspaper
Founded in 1870, the Tucson Citizen will be Sold or Closed
Jan 18, 2009
The Gannett Company, Inc. publishes 85 daily newspapers in the the United States (U.S.). With the closing of the Tucson Citizen, that number will shrink to 84 with more shut-downs expected later this year. It is among a growing number of daily newspaper suffering from the poor economy, falling retail advertising and circulation declines.
History of the Tucson Citizen
The history of the Tucson Citizen goes back to 1870, one of two newspapers with opposing political views in Pima County. It was founded by Richard C. McCormick and John Wasson as publisher and editor on October 15th of that year as the Arizona Citizen.
McCormick had been the original owner of the Arizonan but when the editor refused to support his re-election as congressional delegate for the territory of Arizona, he started the Arizona Citizen with Wasson. In the mid-1880's, it became known as the Tucson Weekly Citizen.
The Tucson Weekly Citizen was sold to William Small, his wife and William H. Johnson in the late 1930's. Johnson later sold his share to Small in 1964, and control was turned over to his son, William A. Small Jr. when he retired. In 1976, it was sold to the current owner, the Gannett Company, Inc.
Gannett Announcement
On January 16, 2008, Gannett put the Tucson Citizen up for sale and announced that if not sold by March 21, 2009, it would close down the newspaper. It would mean the end of having two daily newspaper in Tucson and Pima County, Arizona.
Under Gannet, the Tucson Citizen, an afternoon newspaper, was published Monday through Saturday. It was one of two newspapers produced by TNI Partners under a joint operating arrangement. The other newspaper is the Arizona Daily Star. Each newspaper has a different political slant, the Citizen more to the Right and the Star to the Left of the spectrum. They maintained separate newsrooms and editorial operations, completely independent of each other. Earlier this week, Gannett announced that nearly all employees at all its publications and broadcast outlets would be furloughed for one week without pay during the first quarter of 2009 to avoid layoffs. (Editor & Publishers, 1/16/2009)
More Newspapers Up for Sale
Recently, Scripps' Denver Rocky Mountain News was put up for sale and will close if a buyer is not found. The Seattle Post, owned by the Hearst Corp. was put up for sale last week with plans to close if not sold or only exist online if a buyer was not found by March.
With the demise of the Tucson Citizen, the U.S. will lose another editorial and newspaper voice so vital to democracy. Although its readership was down to under 20,000, it will be a loss to the community as will the other newspapers that are closing.
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