The Last Days Of A Paper

We are truly at a landmark moment in media history. Never before have so many print publications ceased to exist at one time. It’s almost mind boggling to think of the changes that have taken place. The Rocky Mountain News has closed, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer went totally digital and the fate of many newspapers is still very much up in the air.

If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to be there for the closing of a newspaper&#151and in some cases the ending of a centennial legacy&#151you can now find out. Today on paidContent, Joseph Tartakoff gives readers an inside look at the final days of the Post-Intelligencer.

On Jan. 9, Hearst Newspapers President Steve Swartz flew into Seattle and told the staff of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that if Hearst could not find a buyer for the 146-year-old paper within 60 days, publication would cease.

So, on March 10, the 60th day, we expected an announcement. The final commemorative edition was ready to go to press. An all-staff picture had been taken. Last-minute visits to the globe that spun on our roof were arranged. News budgets lay mostly bare.

For more of Tartakoff’s poignant and insightful account, check out his full report here.

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