• by Ray Schultz , October 16, 2024

Lee Enterprises is moving printing of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to Columbia, Missouri, to a facility owned by Gannett, effective in January. 

The change will result in a layoff affecting 72 employees, including 48 full-timers and 24-part timers. 

The issues will be trucked to St. Louis. 

Daily print frequency will remain the same at seven days per week. But the move will result in “earlier deadlines for news coverage, which will affect late-breaking coverage in print, especially sports,” writes Alan Achkar, executive editor of the Post-Dispatch. “Our coverage of Cardinals NIGHT games, for example, will not appear in the next day’s sports section."

Achkar contends that this development is not unique. “Newspapers across the country have made similar decisions over the past several years as the industry looks to operate more efficiently and continue transitioning to digital platforms,” he continues. “Newspapers in major cities near St. Louis — including Kansas City, Memphis and Louisville — are all printed in other areas.” 

St. Louis Public Radio writes that this will be the first time the Post-Dispatch is printed out of town in its 146-year history.