Delivered newspapers will arrive on customers’ door steps at the same time each morning, seven days a week, unchanged in appearance and size, and driven by the same local journalists and advertisers whom readers already see each day, Rohr said.
“For the overwhelming majority of our customers, there will be no changes,” Rohr said.
The CMGO Media Center in Dayton and offices in Springfield and Northern Cincinnati will not be affected by the change. The company’s weekly publications, including the Journal-News Pulse, will also continue to be published in their current format.
About 75 full-time and 60 part-time employees who work at the CMGO Print Technology Center in Franklin will be affected by the change.
Affected employees will receive severance packages and job placement assistance, Rohr said.
Cox will honor notice and bargaining obligations tied to production functions, and the transition is expected to happen over several months beginning in the third quarter of 2017.
The change is necessary because the print side of the newspaper business has not been growing.
“The digital portion of the business is growing,” Rohr said. “This is a trend across the country and within Cox.”
Newspapers that make this change are able to use capital freed by outsourcing printing to invest in digital operations and brands, Rohr said.
Other regional newspapers have taken this route. For example, the Cincinnati Enquirer is printed in Columbus.
“Our core focus is providing this community with outstanding journalism while serving our advertisers and delivering content to customers across digital, mobile and print, this move will allow us to continue to invest in the people and platforms driving the future of the business,” Rohr said.
Rohr said the Print Technology Center land and building at 5000 Commerce Center Drive, off southbound Interstate 75, offers attractive development potential. Those possibilities will be explored in time, he said.
The CMGO portfolio includes the largest media brands in Southwest Ohio, serving the region with print, digital, TV and radio content. Since 1898, the community has been served by Cox products and the company reaches more than 94 percent of the Dayton metropolitan area each week.
This year, CMGO raised nearly $600,000 for local charities and obtained more than $1.25 million in Cox Foundation grants for local projects, including the new Children’s Hospital Tower, the company said in a release announcing the printing changes.
The company also provided local non-profit organizations with more than $1.4 million in advertising and promotional space. You can learn more about Cox community investments at www.coxcaresohio.com.
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