Wash Times Cuts Sunday Paper, Will Publish Five Times Per Week

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The Washington Times announced today that its last Sunday edition will be published Dec. 27, and the paper, which does not have a Saturday edition, will shift to a Monday-Friday publication schedule.

The decision comes a few weeks after the newspaper announced it is cutting at least 40 percent of its staff.

Publisher Jonathan Slevin said that the paper will emphasize distribution through its Web site. “The Washington Times will continue to expand its distribution through electronic media and provide all areas of coverage through the Internet at washingtontimes.com, in addition to the local print edition and our national weekly print edition,”

Among the developments since the layoffs were announced this month are:

–Top Times reporter Matt Mosk is leaving to join ABC’s Investigative Unit.

–The sports section of the paper will reportedly be killed by February. (Late Update: A newsroom source tells TPM that, while the sports team is concerned about their future, they have gotten no official word on the matter since the cuts were announced.)

–According to a newsroom source, Ross Baughman, a Times‘ senior editor and the paper’s only Pulitzer winner (for photography in 1978), was among those in the first round of layoffs.

Here’s the full press release announcing the end of the Sunday edition:

Washington Times Announces January 4 Launch for Re-Focused Print Edition

Redesigned weekday publication to feature distinctive coverage

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington Times today announced that it will begin producing a more focused Monday through Friday edition designed to feature its most distinctive news and opinion content.

Offered as a combination controlled market and paid general interest newspaper at a price of $1.00, the new print edition will be available at retail outlets and newspaper boxes throughout the D.C. metropolitan area. The current newspaper’s last Sunday edition will publish on December 27.

“These changes will continue The Washington Times’ transformation into a 21st century media company and reinforces its mission to provide an independent, alternative voice in the nation’s capital,” said president and publisher Jonathan Slevin in a December 2 statement that announced the news company’s plans to “refocus its position as a provider of vital information and insight to readers in the nation’s capital, across the country and around the world.”

As with other news organizations in the United States, the company continues to reshape operations to keep pace with the changing economics of the news business.

“The Washington Times will continue to expand its distribution through electronic media and provide all areas of coverage through the Internet at washingtontimes.com, in addition to the local print edition and our national weekly print edition,” said Slevin. “Reporting that respects the critical thinking of our readers and viewers, and crisply written editorials and columns will remain the centerpieces of our new strategy.

“We will serve as the voice of the nation’s large number of citizens disenfranchised by reporting that often leaves issues unexamined and information unclear,” Slevin continued. “The Washington Times will continue to challenge government leaders and their agendas with critical reporting from an independent press comprised of some of the nation’s best and most experienced journalists.”

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