SUMMARY: The closing of the Cincinnati Post afternoon newspaper represents a sad day for journalism as now fewer than ten cities in the nation have two or more daily newspapers. The quality of journalism has steadily declined over the years as more and more cities become one-newspaper towns with no competition. 12-31-2007
In Cincinnati, a 126-Year-Old Paper Goes to Press for the Last Time By BOB DRIEHAUS, New York Times
In the newsroom of The Cincinnati Post, neither champagne corks nor beer can tabs will be popping on Monday after the paper is put to bed � and not just because of a ban on alcohol that day. The Dec. 31 issues of the paper and a companion title, The Kentucky Post, will be the last for both newspapers, which are part of a dying breed of afternoon dailies. Fewer than 10 cities still have two or more daily newspapers, and Cincinnati was the last two-paper town in Ohio. The demise of The Post, which is 126-years-old, leaves The Cincinnati Enquirer with far less competition. For the last 20 years, The Post has operated under an arrangement with The Enquirer, a morning paper owned by Gannett, in which each maintains a separate and independent newsroom while The Enquirer handles advertising, circulation and printing for both. Three years ago, The Enquirer said it would not renew the agreement. E. W. Scripps, which owns The Post, explored ways to continue publishing � as a free daily, as a Web site or with a new business partner � but decided in July to shut both the Cincinnati and Kentucky versions of the paper, which had suffered a combined circulation decline to 27,000 from a peak of 275,000 in 1961. �The Post was locked into afternoon distribution and locked out of the Sunday field,� said Rich Boehne, chief operating officer of E. W. Scripps and a former Post business reporter. �It was set on a course where it was unable to make the strategic changes to survive.� According to Scripps, there were 614 afternoon dailies in 2006, compared with more than 1,450 in 1950. Mike Philipps, editor of The Post, said the paper should be remembered for uncovering corruption and malfeasance but never practicing �gotcha� journalism. �I hope the Post�s legacy will be that it was always a feisty underdog that had a feel for its community and paid a lot of attention to it,� he said. Mr. Philipps has barred nonemployees from the newsroom on Monday until after the last press run. After that, former employees and friends will be welcome to help wish the paper farewell � without the aid of alcohol. The papers� 52 employees were given severance packages, but only one, Kerry Duke, the special projects editor, was offered another job within the company � as managing editor of a successor Web site called Kypost.com, which will cover Northern Kentucky. Luke Saladin, president of the newsroom�s chapter of The Newspaper Guild, said neither Scripps nor Gannett did enough to maintain circulation. Last Thursday, William Mallory Sr., a former state legislator and the father of Cincinnati�s mayor, paid tribute to The Post by passing out free copies on the steps of city hall, where he had sold it as paperboy in the 1940s. �I remember always seeing the paper�s motto, �Give light and the people will find their own way,�� he said. �I wonder who will bring light to cast out the darkness now.�
