Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Washington Examiner Will Cease Daily Publication

Washington Examiner  have been told that the newspaper will cease daily publication in June. The publication will be turned into a monthly publication and web presence.

The Washington City Paper reports:
Many Examiner staffers were called into a meeting today around 11:15 and told that the paper would become a center-right version of political publications like The Hill, according to a staffer who attended. While some reporters were taken into another meeting about the new publication, others will be laid off. The switch will happen on June 14, according to the staffer. Laid-off employees will keep working until June.

The conservative columnist with strong libertarian leanings Tim Carney works for the paper.

UPDATE:

Sophia Hitti of the media relations firm Rubenstein, which represents Examiner parent, Clarity Media Group, emails to inform:
The new product, set to launch June 17, will offer news, analysis, investigative reporting and commentary on issues affecting national legislation and policy across a number of key areas. The website will continue to engage millions of visitors nationwide with web-only reporting and commentary throughout the day, complemented by WEX-branded digital and social media. The target readership for the print weekly will be 45,000 government, public affairs, advocacy, academia and political professionals in Washington, DC and state capitals.

The company also announced it has named Lou Ann Sabatier, a long-time executive and consultant in the publishing industry, chief executive officer of Clarity’s Washington Group, which in addition to The Washington Examiner includes The Weekly Standard and the website Red Alert Politics.

Under the plan announced today, the daily newspaper will continue to be published through June 14 with the new website launching June 17 and the first issue of the weekly coming out June 20. The change will require significant staffing adjustments in editorial and operations as the Examiner eliminates coverage of local news, sports and entertainment. In addition to 88 days notice, affected employees will receive severance and other separation benefits.

“Many of the business and editorial positions needed to publish a local daily newspaper are not required as we move to focus on national and political coverage,” said Mr. McKibben. “The employees being laid off should be proud of their achievements in creating The Washington Examiner, and Clarity is grateful for the role they have played in giving the Examiner the strong presence it has in Washington.”

Among the employees staying to launch and run the new website and publication are editor Stephen G. Smith, executive editor Mark Tapscott, and managing editor of digital Jennifer Peebles. Several other executives on the business side will remain to lead the effort. In addition, 20 positions will be created for the new digital platform and weekly publication.

UPDATE 2

Tim Carney informs me that  he will continue with Examiner in the new format.

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