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| Polk County News | Photos | Breaking News |
Ledger Buys News Chief, Will Discontinue East Polk Section
Posted Mar 4, 2008 by Billy Townsend
Updated Mar 4, 2008 at 12:08 PM
This has been in the wind for some time. Bob Gernert of the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce hinted a few weeks ago without specifics. Props to him.
But I think The Ledger buries the lead here a bit. Shutting down the East Polk section—or simply replacing it with the News Chief—seems a big deal. Most immediately, where are The Ledger reporters and ad folks—many of whom I know well—going to go? Will they become countywide reporters, thereby enhancing The Ledger’s reporting staff. That would be good for readers, I think. Those of us who don’t get East Polk Ledger miss things from the east of the county.
On the other hand, The Ledger is now absorbing an entire publishing operation that duplicates what it was doing in east Polk. Given the economic realities that everyone in this industry faces, how likely is it that everybody at both the East Polk Ledger and the News Chief gets to stay?
This is an interesting development. If anyone out there has answers for my questions, drop me a line.
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Reader Comments
Por (Charles Parker) on March 05, 2008 (Suggest removal)
As a former editor of The News Chief, and someone who grew up in Winter Haven, this news is very bittersweet.
The only good news is that The Ledger didn’t kill the NC entirely. And, I guess that the NC should now have more resources at their disposal than they have had in decades.
The bad news comes in waves. The first wave - Jobs are going to be lost. There are a ton of overlapping jobs there.
The next thing will be that The Ledger’s East Polk ratesheet will disappear. There is no longer any reason for the artificially low ad rates to exist. Businesses used to advertising in the “full county” Ledger are going to be in for a shock.
*** To be continued ***
Suggest removalPor (Charles Parker) on March 05, 2008 (Suggest removal)
*** Part II ***
The third wave is the eventual death of the News Chief as a standalone publication. There is little reason for the Ledger to keep it alive unless the community demands it - through ad sales and circulation increases. While it will probably be a lower-cost paper for advertisers and subscribers, the Ledger isn’t going to let them compete for money (or adversely affect the Ledger’s circulation numbers.)
I’d also expect that the New York Times slant will be evident in the coverage very soon.
Started in 1911 by “Dad” Lee.
Suggest removalProbably will be lucky to see 2011.