• by Ray Schultz , August 23, 2023

Two Rhode Island weeklies—The Coventry Courier and The Chariho Times—are being closed by Rhode Island Suburban Newspapers Inc. (RISN) at the end of August.

These publications were chosen for the ax because RISN has dailies that overlap in their coverage areas:The Westerly Sun and The Kent County Daily Times, according to WPRI-TV CBS 12.

“This was a very difficult decision to make, but with rising production costs, fewer resources and decreased local advertising revenue, we had no choice,” Jody Boucher, regional publisher for RISN, told WPRI-TV CBS 12.

RISN still has a robust publishing presence in the area, Last year, it acquired Block Island Times, according to WPRI. 

The company also owns. The Call of Woonsocket, The Times of Pawtucket, the Independent, The North Kingstown Standard-Times, the East Greenwich Pendulum and the Narragansett Times, WPRI reports.  . 

In addition to Rhode Island and Connecticut, RISN has publications in Arizona and California.