Changes coming to Messenger-Inquirer

Oct. 1—Changes are coming to the Messenger-Inquirer.

The print edition of the Monday paper will return Oct. 18.

The Sunday edition will be online only, starting Oct. 17.

And the Saturday edition will expand to a "weekend edition" that will include the feature sections of the Sunday paper, the Parade magazine, Sunday comics and advertising supplements.

The changes are being driven by a workforce crunch that has affected numerous industries both locally and nationally, said Mike Weafer, publisher of the Messenger-Inquirer and 44 other Paxton Media newspapers in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee.

The M-I, like other industries, is struggling to hire enough people to handle the printing, packaging and delivery of the newspaper, Weafer said. He also noted that online-only editions of the Sunday paper are becoming common in the industry.

Only two of the more than 100 newspapers owned by Paxton Media of Paducah still have printed Sunday editions, he said.

"We're struggling like so many other businesses with hiring staff," he said. "This is a strategic move to continue printing."

The Messenger-Inquirer, which prints more than 20 Paxton newspapers at its facility at 1401 Frederica St., is trying to hire carriers, press operators and people to work in packaging, Weafer said.

But there are still a number of openings that threaten production, he said.

Weafer said the Monday paper will be printed in Shepherdsville and mailed to subscribers, meaning it will not arrive as early as the papers that are delivered by carriers.

The paper will continue to be delivered to homes by carriers Tuesday through Saturday. There will be no print edition on Mondays when there is no mail, Weafer said.

The changes will allow delivery personnel to have two consecutive days off (Saturday-Sunday), which will hopefully make it easier to recruit and retain carriers, Weafer said.

In addition, by balancing the printing load at two plants, it will also allow press operators two days off per week. In many cases, they were having to work six days per week because of the labor shortage.

The Messenger-Inquirer is the only newspaper among the 45 Weafer oversees that still has carriers, he said.

"These changes are being made to move both the production center here in Owensboro and the one in Shepherdsville to five day a week production instead of six days," Weafer said. "We have too many open positions and employees who are working six days a week in both locations. That is not sustainable."

As far as content is concerned, the feature sections that have always been present in the Sunday paper will now move to the Saturday weekend edition and the Monday paper, said Matt Francis, M-I executive editor and Paxton Media regional editor.

The weekend edition will contain the four sections that have long made up the Saturday paper — Main, Region, Sports and Religion & Values — as well as fifth section that includes Business and Lifestyle, Francis said. In addition, the color comics, inserts such as Parade magazine, and advertising flyers will be included as well.

The Agriculture section will be included in the Monday print edition.

An E-edition, or electronic paper, will be available to subscribers on Sunday, Francis said.

"We understand our Sunday edition is beloved, and many customers will not be happy with a weekend edition delivered on Saturday as a replacement or be satisfied that we have returned a Monday edition," Weafer said in announcing the changes. "But without any real hope that the labor shortage will improve, we feel this is the best way to ensure we can continue to print not only the Messenger-Inquirer but all of the publications we print at both production centers."

He said the printed Sunday edition can't come back "unless circumstances change." But he noted the M-I's ability to continue providing news seven days a week using both print and online delivery models.

"I believe newspapers are still important to the community," Weafer said, "and we're trying to do all we can with the resources we have."

Keith Lawrence, 270-691-7301, klawrence@messenger-inquirer.com