The Daily News is ceasing three-times-a-week print publication to become a weekly newspaper, publisher David Rounds announced in a staff meeting Wednesday, according to a Daily News article.
On Friday, March 20, The Daily News will morph from its current model into a weekly tabloid-size publication that will be delivered for free every Friday to most homes and targeted businesses in Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Atherton, according to the newspaper.
The publication will also be available inside the San Jose Mercury News (which owns The Daily News) and San Mateo County Times editions that go to subscribers in those cities, as well as Los Altos, Mountain View, Portola Valley, Redwood City and San Carlos. The newspaper will continue to be available in newspaper racks, and readers will still be able to visit the Palo Alto Daily News website for news coverage.
Currently the Daily News publishes print editions on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. It also publishes digital-only editions on Tuesday and Thursday.
"I am very excited about this next stage in the evolution of The Daily News," Rounds said. "We will be tripling our reach and will focus on home delivery. The redesigned tabloid-size newspaper will provide the same quality writing and editing our readers have come to expect, and we will be tightly focused on the local news and sports that is so important to Peninsula residents."
The newspaper will also keep its name, Rounds said.
"The Daily News is a well-known and trusted brand and we will continue to call the paper The Daily News in print on Friday and everyday online," he said.
Rounds said no layoffs are tied to the changes coming to the newspaper, and the new Friday circulation of the newspaper will be 46,000 copies.
Digital First Media, the parent company of The Daily News, announced in September 2014 that it is evaluating and considering strategic alternatives that could lead to the sale of some or all of the company.
Potential buyers are still in the bidding process for more than 100 properties.
The "digital first" initiative was the brainchild of Digital First Media CEO John Patton, who has advocated for newspapers to transition from print to digital quickly.
"While our Company will continue to invest heavily in digital development, increasingly our focus will be in local where we are the news and information leader in our markets," Patton wrote on his blog in September 2014.
Digital First Media was formed in December 2013 with the merger of MediaNews Group and the former Journal Register Co. It ranks as the nation's second-largest newspaper company operating in 15 states, with more than 70 daily newspapers and 160 weeklies. The company is controlled by the New York-based hedge fund Alden Global Capital.
Comments
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Feb 19, 2015 at 10:29 am
on Feb 19, 2015 at 10:29 am
Very interesting development here. Wonder if they will change their name from daily to weekly as a result.
The other interesting aspect is what difference this is going to make to the PA Weekly. I can't remember when we last had a paper version delivered to our home, it was never reliable since USPS stopped the delivery and private delivery service took over, and then it stopped appearing altogether. If the Daily News can guarantee weekly delivery to all homes and the Weekly can't, what will this mean to advertisers?
I think this news is going to make a big difference to how we get our local news in future.
In particular, the police activity at the Challenger School in the Fall was ignored completely by the Weekly. This major concern for all parents of schoolkids in Palo Alto regardless of where they went to school was a big talking point amongst parents. Likewise the appalling job of traffic control when a major artery, Middlefield, was closed in commute time was never discussed by the Weekly but the Daily News covered it.
So which will perform better when it comes to informing us of local issues is something that will make a lot of us readers go to whatever source is reliable and comprehensive.
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Feb 19, 2015 at 11:42 am
Registered user
on Feb 19, 2015 at 11:42 am
Right you are, Resident.
Like thousands of others, I too was caught in the Challenger School mess and couldn't understand the Weekly's news blackout on the incident and the lack of police traffic control.
Most people who've been personally involved in any newsworthy event say the resultant coverage -- or lack thereof -- makes them question media credibility at a time when it's so vitally important.
Registered user
Adobe-Meadow
on Feb 19, 2015 at 11:45 am
Registered user
on Feb 19, 2015 at 11:45 am
I already get the PA Weekly delivered on my driveway on Fridays. Now two papers? What a waste of paper! How do I opt-out. The Daily News seldom has anything useful in it, anyway.
Community Center
on Feb 19, 2015 at 12:57 pm
on Feb 19, 2015 at 12:57 pm
it was onlty a atter of tike that this happened. I saw the handwriting on the wall that the Post was trying to put the Daily News out of business. Price has a right wing slant that is so un-Palo Alto (at least in the old days for those of us who remember a kinder, gentler community). I am sick of all of the smears that the Post does and would love to have the choice between more fair reporting. Oh well, it's just the Palo Alto way of the day but I hope not the future!
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Feb 19, 2015 at 1:12 pm
on Feb 19, 2015 at 1:12 pm
Not that this wasn't predictable. Palo Alto is too small for the number of publications that are trying to operate here. While it is sometimes hard to get information about local government activities--a bubble in which local papers tend to provide their most important service to a community--the service area of the Daily News is too large for it to provide both good, and interesting, coverage of the many governments on the Peninsula.
As a feeder to the Mercury, the Daily News isn't of that much value to people--other than for another view of the news, which seems to be detached, at best. The DN's editorials have never been of much value.
The daily edition won't be missed.
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Feb 19, 2015 at 1:34 pm
Registered user
on Feb 19, 2015 at 1:34 pm
I subscribe to the Daily News' daily email edition and find their articles add depth to other reporting. To cite a recent example, compare the DN's and PA Weekly's coverage of the mayor's speech today.
The DN also has Diana Diamond and I like her weekly columns which don't just parrot the city's pr efforts but instead ask probing questions. Her recent column on the new/resurfaced plans for a mammoth and expensive new police station had in-depth coverage as well as historical perspective. And her comments on the Rinconada Library were excellent.
Web Link
I personally would rather have more news than less and mourn the demise of the US news media.
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Feb 19, 2015 at 4:44 pm
on Feb 19, 2015 at 4:44 pm
Is this the same article that has had several comments and was then closed to all but registered users.Web Link
Why are we not allowed to discuss the Challenger school police activity?
Is there something underhand going on that we are not privy to?
Or is it because we are asking sensitive questions about the advertising.
I am getting suspicious.
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Feb 19, 2015 at 8:36 pm
on Feb 19, 2015 at 8:36 pm
How do I opt out of this weekly litter distribution enterprise?
another community
on Feb 19, 2015 at 10:13 pm
on Feb 19, 2015 at 10:13 pm
This is sad. The Daily News is the best paper in town. Less than three years ago I had 5 days a week home delivery and it was one of my primary news sources. Then they ended home delivery and I had to go to paper boxes to get it. Then three days a week. Now one? The Weekly is just ok and the Post is pure trash. So much for keeping informed about what's going on in Palo Alto and the Peninsula.
another community
on Feb 20, 2015 at 7:47 am
on Feb 20, 2015 at 7:47 am
More local news on Friday