Ann Arbor News building, photo Nickolay Khazanov.On Mar 23, 2009, the Ann Arbor News announced that it would cease operations in July 2009.
The newspaper was published daily and Sunday and available online at MLive. It was in the same family of newspapers as the Booth Newspapers, a chain of Michigan newspapers in turn owned by Advance Publications, a Newhouse family company.
The closing of the Ann Arbor News would be the first in a series of changes at Advance that would see daily newspapers converted to twice or three times weekly papers, with greater emphasis put on online news coverage and online advertising.
Consolidation
In November 2008, the News announced that it was consolidating operations with the rest of the papers in the Booth chain around the state. Buyouts were offered, and some functions were centralized.
- http://www.mlive.com/news/annarbornews/index.ssf?/base/news-30/122659085973050.xml&coll=2
- Mary Morgan on the Chronicle: Why we grieve the News http://annarborchronicle.com/2009/03/24/column-why-we-grieve-the-ann-arbor-news/
Closure
Announced March 2009
To be replaced by AnnArbor.com
- Jo Mathis on the closing: http://blog.mlive.com/jo_mathis/2009/03/a_column_i_never_wanted_to_wri.html (March 25 2009)
Blog posts
- Post on from A2Editor http://a2editor.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/rip-ann-arbor-news/
- Bridget O'Donnell http://bridgetodonnell.com/2009/03/25/newspaper-industry-woes-hit-close-to-home/
- Arbor Update thread: http://arborupdate.com/article/1787/ann-arbor-news-to-close-in-july
- Random Camera Blog: The Internet is not my Newspaper http://randomphoto.blogspot.com/2009/03/internet-is-not-my-newspaper.html
Tony Dearing interviewed
Interview with annarbor.com's Tony Dearing on Paper Tiger No More, former News employee Jim Carty's blog
- pt 1 http://papertigernomore.blogspot.com/2009/03/dearing-interview-part-i-its-going-to.html
- pt 2 http://papertigernomore.blogspot.com/2009/03/dearing-interview-part-ii-who-do-you.html
- pt 3 http://papertigernomore.blogspot.com/2009/03/dearing-interview-part-iii-he-welcomes.html
- followup opinion piece http://papertigernomore.blogspot.com/2009/03/so-what-do-i-think-about-annarborcom.html
Columnists and editors
Op-Ed: Other Voices essays Letters to the Editor
- formerly Mary Morgan
Business: Editor: Steve Pepple, Reporters: Stefanie Murray, Tina Reed
Local news: Editors: Steve Pepple, Lynn Monson, Cindy Heflin, Amalie Nash. Reporters and columnists: Judy McGovern, Tom Gantert, Geoff Larcom, David Gershman, Jo Mathis, David Jesse, Art Aisner, John Mulcahy, Seth Gordon
Ypsilanti: Editor: Rick Fitzgerald. Reporters: Susan Oppat, Ypsilanti Community News Reporters: Seth Gordan,
Entertainment: Editor: Bob Needham, Reporters: Roger LeLievre, Jenn McKee
Sports: Editors: Pete Bigelow, Dave McVety Reporters: John Heuser, Antoine Pitts
The News has a blog, Latest from the Ann Arbor News, which updates throughout the day with breaking news. There is a bootleg rebroadcast of this blog through Twitter at a2snooze. A daily webcast is shot in the downtown Ann Arbor newsroom on the third floor of the historic Albert Kahn building at Huron and Division.
The News is sometimes referred to as the "Snooze."
Some observers feel the News has a tendency to overplay "scandal" stories related to the University of Michigan.
History
From 24 March 2008 article
Descendant o the Michigan Argus, published by Earle P. Gardiner.
Jan 1839: Gardiner starts daily Michigan Argus
March 14, 1839: daily stops publication
1843: Daily restarts
Jan 28 1846 -- Daily Argus restarts again, continues until 1907
1854: Gardiner and L.W. Cole sell the Argus to Elihu B. Pond. Pond edits for 25 years.
1886 - Samuel W. Beakes (Beakes Street?) buys the paper. Takes the paper daily in 1898 (wasn't it already daily?). Press time 3pm
1899-1900 J.E. Beal buys the Argus, merges it with the Register
1900 -- Ann Arbor Daily Argus and Washtenaw Times collaborate -- one a morning paper, the other an evening paper.
Archives
- 2003-2009 archives are on NewsBank
