More dramatic changes coming for the Asheville Citizen-Times

There are more dramatic changes coming this summer for the Asheville Citizen-Times, a newspaper that over the past 18 months has closed its printing press, laid off dozens of workers, furloughed workers, cut the number of pages it prints in its daily edition and increased the price of the print edition by 50 percent.

First off, the Citizen-Times will be shrinking yet again. The broadsheet newspaper will drop to 10 inches wide by 21 inches long. Right now, the paper is about 11.5 inches wide and 22 inches long. Measure it out on your paper and you'll see just how severe a cut in size that is. The "tiny times" will indeed be a fitting nickname. The Greenville News, the Black Mountain News, the Mountain News and the News-Record & Sentinel — all Gannett newspapers like the Citizen-Times — will see the cut. Tab-sized editions such as the Take5 entertainment section will also be reduced in size.

Look for the shrinkage to be effective July 14.

Meantime, everyone in Gannett-land is on pins and needles, awaiting another expected round of lay-offs to hit in early July. The Gannett Blog says it will be, so I'm trusting that source.

How will those lay-offs play out in Asheville? Here's my conjecture: the newsroom, which has largely dodged past lay-offs, will get hit this time, and the most likely area is in the newsroom copy desk function. The Citizen-Times will continue to merge into its sister newspaper in Greenville, S.C., and I can see Asheville's entire copy desk function be cut and shipped to Greenville. Copy editors in Greenville will have to produce more pages, and a few jobs might shift from Asheville to Greenville, but I can see a bottom-line savings there.

After all, that's what's been happening between the New York Times-owned Hendersonville Times-News and its sister newspaper in Spartanburg, S.C. 

Thanks to several loyal readers for the tips.

Comments

[Chad Nesbitt]

They should have put you in charge of it!

Well, here's the way I see it. The Mountain Xpress is #1!

[benthere]

10" wide!!!

That's a new twist, it has been long expected that they would go to 11" wide, but 10"? Wow.

[Lena]

Damn. You're totally right. Ever since they introduced that pagination system it was only a matter of time before the desk could see consolidation, if not elimination. Doesn't the Hendo Times-News already do something similar with their copy desk functions in Spartanburg?

[end of an era]

Moving jobs to Greenville is not the answer.

Higher ups at CT. Listen up. Do more local reporting. Do more investigative reporting. Write about local sports. Search for better stories. Andie MacDowell's home is very old news. It was however easy.

Splain Lucy!!! The CT interviews Anna Quindlen who if you don't know is a Pulitzer Price winning author that did the keynote at the Power of the Purse luncheon. (800 women attended) They send a photographer that stood in the middle of the audience snapping photos all during her speech and not one, and I mean not one photo is published. There's a great use of resources.

A fundraiser in this economy that has 800 women dishing out $ to attend is incredible. Couldn't afford the news hole on that Friday for a photo? Ferandez - Wake up!!!

[A Proud Tiny Timer]

So...what is going on with the Times-News lately? We heard they sold their building in Hendersonville.

[Andrew]

Game Over, man.

[end of an era]

Circulation of the CTimes is at an all time low. Ad revenue is still on the decline. Analysts predict that ad revenue won't turn around until 2013 and Fernandez and Hatchet Hammer are running such great stories as how to pick out the right sun screen and 1/2 page story on Farrah Fawcett's death.

While I do think that Ms. Fawcett's death is newsworthy, a short story referring readers to the website for an indepth piece seems more appropriate. If people did not know that she died and MJ died before today's paper came out they are either living under a rock or living off the grid.

How long can the higher ups at the CTimes continue to publish outdated news and publish trivial stories like picking out sunscreen? Maybe, Hatchet Hammer and Fernandez forgot to put on their sunscreen and their brains were fried!

For the real scoop ask Hatchet Hammer and the marketing department about their recent circulation numbers. Don't talk readership - real numbers! I bet advertisers would love to know that they are going to have another rate increase when circulation is down - AGAIN!

[A Proud Tiny Timer]

End of an era--you seem awfully bitter. Were you let go?
As for our circulation, we'll show you an ABC Report so you can see the trend for yourself. Just come by and see us.