Dispatch cutting 45 newsroom employees

Business First of Columbus - by Matt Burns

Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 11:57am

 

The Columbus Dispatch on Monday said it will cut 45 workers in its newsroom next month as it copes with a steady decline in advertising revenue.  The newspaper in a statement on its Web site said the cuts will take place April 3.  John Wolfe, CEO of parent Dispatch Printing Co., said in the statement that the paper’s readership is “strong and stable” but advertising revenue has dropped steadily. That revenue stream, he said, pays for most of the publication’s salaries, paper and ink.

 

Dispatch Printing President Michael Fiorile in an interview Tuesday morning declined to specify how much the paper’s advertising revenue has fallen but said the decline is symptomatic of the industry’s troubles.  Classified advertising has been hit the hardest, he said, amid a shift to the Web, while the region’s struggling homebuilding, manufacturing and retail sectors have taken a toll on ad revenue in general.

 

Read more at

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/03/02/daily11.html?ana=e_du_pub

Arts section is gone. Movie critic Frank Gabrenya, Music critic Aaron Beck, Book critic Bill Eichenberger, TV critic Molly Willow: gone. Transportation reporter Debbie Gebolys: gone. Lots of good people: gone.

Arts section is gone. Movie critic Frank Gabrenya, Music critic Aaron Beck, Book critic Bill Eichenberger, TV critic Molly Willow: gone.

 

What the...how can they get rid of the entire arts section? Will it just be "Life" then, or will they revert back to calling it the "Accent" section? That's incredibly disappointing to hear.  :x

 

Side note: does the Alive! share the same newsroom as the Dispatch? Is it possible that some of these people might be able to secure a spot at one of the Dispatch Printing Co.'s other subsidiaries?

Don't know. I bumped into Aaron Beck today and we talked about his prospects, but Alive did not come up. And he's a music guy, knowledgeable about lots of things, and one of the very best writers at the Dispatch.

Arts section is gone. Movie critic Frank Gabrenya, Music critic Aaron Beck, Book critic Bill Eichenberger, TV critic Molly Willow: gone. Transportation reporter Debbie Gebolys: gone. Lots of good people: gone.

 

WOW!  That's difficult to hear about the arts section reporters.  They were all great.

While this is nowhere nearly as bad as the Dispatch layoffs reported previously, I was still disappointed to hear that WOSU's Fred Andrle will be retiring from the airwaves.

 

Longtime WOSU radio host to retire

Fred Andrle known for low-key style

Monday,  March 2, 2009 - 1:09 PM

By Tim Feran, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Veteran radio talk-show host Fred Andrle said today that he is stepping away from the microphone in May.  Andrle is best known as host of the WOSU show Open Line.  Andrle, 68, joined WOSU-TV (Channel 34) in 1980.  In August 1988, he hosted his first Open Line segment on WOSU (820 AM), and has continued the show for more than 20 years.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/life/stories/2009/03/02/anderle.html?sid=101

True. Another great loss. Fred is a nice guy, a class act, very smart, very diplomatic -- all qualities not usually associated with talk radio.

Look up the word "civility" in Websters and you'll find Fred's picture next to it. He and his voice will be missed.

Columbus-based Palestra.net acquires outlet for college news

Wednesday,  April 8, 2009 - 6:56 AM

The Columbus Dispatch

 

Palestra.net is cornering the market on college news.  The Web site offering college sports, music and lifestyles information recently completed acquisition of UWire.com from CBS Interactive.  The terms were not disclosed.  Palestra.net, whose co-founders include former local sports broadcasters Joe Weasel and Dave Maetzold, has student reporters representing 107 colleges and universities.

 

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2009/04/08/brcole.html?sid=101

Suburban News owner files for bankruptcy

Business First of Columbus - by Doug Buchanan

Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 8:57am

 

American Community Newspapers Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection two years after entering the Central Ohio market with its purchase of The Other Paper, Columbus Monthly and CEO magazines and the Suburban News Publications newspaper chain.

 

http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2009/04/27/daily24.html

Owner of 'The Other Paper' to sell assets to lenders

Friday,  June 5, 2009 - 5:54 AM

The Columbus Dispatch

 

The company that owns Columbus Monthly, The Other Paper and the Suburban News Publications has been given approval to sell its assets to its lenders.  Judge Kevin J. Carey of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware filed an order that allows creditors to buy American Community Newspapers Inc. for $32 million of the company's more than $100 million debt, according to Virginia's Richmond Times-Dispatch.  There was no word on whether changes are planned as a result of the sale.  A spokesman for Texas-based American Community Newspapers did not return a call seeking comment.

 

More at http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2009/06/05/br4.html?sid=101

 

Between now and the City's Bicentennial in 2012, WOSU will present six documentaries entitled Columbus Neighborhoods.  They will feature the Short North (March 2010), German Village (Autumn 2010), King-Lincoln (2011), Olde Towne East (2011), University District (2011), and Franklinton/Downtown (February 2012).

 

WOSU premieres their six-part documentary series on Columbus Neighborhoods tonight on WOSU TV (Monday, March 8, at 8pm). 

 

Promo Video for the Short North documentary

 

For more on the Columbus Neighborhoods series go to www.wosu.org and www.columbusneighborhoods.org/

Nationwide to sponsor Jack Hanna's TV show

Monday,  March 8, 2010 - 11:52 PM

By Tracy Turner

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Nationwide will sponsor Jack Hanna's "Into the Wild", a TV series that focuses on protection and conservation of endangered species, the Columbus-based insurance company said today.

 

Nationwide also will sponsor Hanna's "Into the Wild Live," a speaking tour with more than 150 dates for the director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Nationwide spokesman Mike Switzer said.

 

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2010/03/08/nationwide-to-sponsor-jack-hanna-tv-show.html?sid=101

10TV To Present Central Ohio 2015 Documentary

Tuesday,  April 13, 2010 - 4:32 PM

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio — WBNS-10TV, as part of its ongoing initiative to help define the future of central Ohio in 2015, will present the first in a series of documentaries that gives viewers access to the insights and perspectives of the top visionary leaders who will help shape the development of our community in the next five years.

 

"Central Ohio 2015" will be presented on April 21 at 8 p.m. 

 

Hosted by 10TV anchors Andrea Cambern and Jerry Revish, the program will focus on central Ohio's economy, transportation, education, arts and culture and quality of life.

 

MORE: http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2010/04/13/story-columbus-first-central-ohio-documentary.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=102&title=10TV+To+Present+Central+Ohio+2015+Documentary

 

Central Ohio 2015 - Documentary Trailer

If you watch the trailer without blinking you can see me in there at the 0:54 mark. ;)

From Columbus Underground:  LeVeque Tower to be Subject of New Documentary

 

 

Columbus Landmarks receives grant for LeVeque documentary

 

A Star is Born!  Columbus Landmarks Foundation is proud to announce that the LeVeque Tower will soon be starring in her first major film.  Production is under way, with a birth date arrival scheduled for fall 2010.  The Ohio Humanities Council recently announced that Columbus Landmarks Foundation– working with filmmaker, Seth Moherman—received a major media grant to document the story of Columbus’ major skyscraper, the LeVeque Tower, in “The Citadel: The Birth of the LeVeque Tower.”  Built first as the American Insurance Union Citadel (or AIU Building), one of Columbus’ most beloved and certainly architecturally distinct buildings has a fascinating dichotomy of idealism and egotism, architectural hubris and down-to-earth drama.

 

More information can be found at www.columbuslandmarks.org.

Lights, camera, bacon for two restaurants

Business First of Columbus - by Doug Buchanan

 

Two area breakfast joints will get some national attention this summer as part of PBS’s Breakfast Special show.  Best Breakfast and Sandwiches in Westerville and Skillet in German Village will be profiled on the program scheduled to air at 8 p.m. July 14.  “It’s a celebration of cool places to get a memorable morning meal,” said Rick Sebak, who has produced similar programs for PBS on hot dogs and ice cream.

 

Jan and Tom Spangler opened Best Breakfast and Sandwiches at 5916 Westerville Road two years ago and may be getting the accolades to support their restaurant’s name.  First came praise from Nicholas Dekker, an area breakfast blogger whose write-up caught Sebak’s eye. 

 

Skillet, at 410 E. Whittier St., also benefited from a plug by Dekker, who was Sebak’s host for the shoot this year.  “He wanted something funky and eccentric, and we fit that,” said Skillet owner Kevin Caskey, who sticks to the restaurant’s farm-to-fork philosophy by using fresh ingredients and products from a 150-mile radius and only when in season.

 

MORE: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2010/05/24/tidbits2.html

WOSU stations in deal with WWCD

Listeners gain 24-hour classical music, better reception for Blue Jackets broadcasts

Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - 3:48 PM

By Tim Feran, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

In a deal that fulfills longtime goals for both stations, WOSU Public Media will buy radio station WWCD (101.1 FM), and WWCD will move up the dial to WCVZ (102.5 FM).  The bottom line for listeners: WOSU will be able to offer 24-hour classical music, and WWCD will have a better, stronger signal -- improving reception for programming such as Blue Jackets hockey games.

 

The deal will take effect sometime in September or October, pending FCC approval, although WWCD will begin simulcasting its alternative rock format on 102.5 FM beginning at midnight tonight.  WOSU will pay WWCD a total of $4.8 million for the 101.1 FM signal.

 

WWCD has entered into a partnership with WCVZ's owners -- WHIZ Media Group -- to operate the station using the same format and staff that are currently on WWCD.  WWCD intends to retain its familiar call letters after the move, and will continue to air Columbus Blue Jackets games.

 

Full article: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2010/06/30/wosu-buying-station.html?sid=101

Smart move by both stations.  I hope this spurs more locally-originated news programing on 89.7.

I can handle the change from CD101 to CD102

 

The second of six documentaries about Columbus neighborhoods is airing tomorrow at 9PM on WOSU-TV.  The Short North documentary aired this Spring.  Now its time for German Village.  Here's the promo for it.

 

 

For more on the Columbus Neighborhoods series go to www.wosu.org and www.columbusneighborhoods.org/

The hour long documentary of The Short North has been posted by WOSU on YouTube:

 

Small radio stations agree to split airtime

Tuesday, January 18, 2011 

By Elizabeth Gibson

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

After a lengthy struggle over who could broadcast when, two low-power radio stations in Columbus and Bexley reached an agreement yesterday.  Bexley Public Radio (WCRX-LP) and the Neighbor Network (WCRS-LP) are separate groups with independent programming, but they share the same frequency at 102.1 FM.  The frequency is best heard on the East Side, but it can be picked up in pockets across Franklin County.

 

Once the new arrangement takes effect, the Bexley station will broadcast from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the Columbus group will take the other half of the day.  Bexley Public Radio is more of a traditional educational public-radio station.  The Neighborhood Network, which also broadcasts on 98.3 FM, provides exposure for minorities, underrepresented voices and local bands.

 

The two stations started broadcasting together in 2007, after the Federal Communications Commission began letting community groups apply for low-frequency radio licenses.  Five central Ohio groups applied for airtime, and the FCC told them that they all could share 102.1 FM.  Three of the five groups never panned out and their allotted hours remained dead air.  Members of the Columbus station persuaded two of the dropouts to sign their hours over to them.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/01/18/small-radio-stations-agree-to-split-airtime.html?sid=101

WTVN lays off three employees from newsroom staff

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

By Tim Feran

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

 

Recent cuts in the WTVN (610AM) newsroom have left central Ohio with even fewer options for the coverage of local news on radio.  WTVN, a news-talk station owned by national radio powerhouse Clear Channel Communications, on Friday (laid off three of their seven person news staff). 

 

For more than a decade, commercial radio stations in Columbus and nationwide have cut news-staff members and consolidated operations as corporate owners tried to make the stations more profitable.  WTVN thus emerged as the sole commercial station in town with a news staff able to go after breaking stories.

 

The capability allowed WTVN to become a "hub" for other Clear Channel stations in smaller markets throughout the state, providing news reports to stations that lacked the budgets to operate fully staffed newsrooms.  With the layoffs, however, WTVN will cease to be considered a hub - and such operations will move to WLW (700 AM), the Clear Channel news-talk station in Cincinnati.

 

The layoffs at WTVN took place at the same time that Clear Channel made similar cuts at news-talk stations elsewhere.

 

MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2011/01/19/wtvn-lays-off-three-employees-from-newsroom-staff.html

 

 

 

Former CD101 leaving its Worly home

Business First - by Adrian Burns

Thursday, January 20, 2011, 4:36pm EST

 

While 2010 was about a move on the radio dial for WWCD, 2011 will see the alternative radio station move its Columbus studios and offices.

 

Operating in the Worly Building on Front Street in the Brewery District since 1996, Fun with Radio LLC’s radio station WWCD, long known as CD101 before moving up the FM dial to 102.5 in December, will be moving to a new spot to make room for Shadowbox Live’s planned move into the building this year.

 

WWCD General Manger Randy Malloy confirmed the exit, but would not offer further details on where the station is headed.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2011/01/former-cd101-moving-studios-out-of.html

 

WOSU’s King Lincoln Documentary Airs Tuesday, April 19

 

The third installment of WOSU's Columbus Neighborhoods documentary series will air Tuesday, April 19 at 9pm on WOSU-TV.  This edition focuses on the King-Lincoln District.  Below is the 30 second promo:

 

 

MORE: http://www.columbusneighborhoods.org/

 

 

 

WCMH out of Broad & High studios

WBNS-10TV is set to occupy marquee and video board space at Casto's complex on the corner of Broad and High streets.

Business First - by Matt Burns

Date: Monday, April 25, 2011, 2:58pm EDT - Last Modified: Monday, April 25, 2011, 3:37pm EDT

 

A new tenant is joining the lineup at the corner of Broad and High streets downtown, but it’s wires and pixels, not bricks and mortar, that make up the deal.

 

Tom Griesdorn, general manager for WBNS-TV, told Columbus Business First the station will be taking over space on the marquee sign and video board previously occupied by WCMH-TV as early as next month. The move – pegged for mid-May – comes as the NBC affiliate is released from its lease that covered the signage at the heavily traveled downtown crossroads along with the street-level studio space, said Bill Riat, a partner for Columbus developer and site owner Casto.

 

This isn’t 10TV’s first brush with a place at Broad and High. Griesdorn said the station talked with Casto about becoming a tenant before WCMH signed on, but the street-level space wasn’t – and still isn’t – of interest.

 

Read more: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2011/04/25/wcmh-out-of-broad-high-studios.html

What would it take to get 10tv to put some offices in at Broad & High? ;)

'The Onion' to bring satirical news to town

Local edition arrives in fall in partnership with ‘Dispatch’ parent

 

Central Ohioans will be able to peel back another layer of The Onion this fall when the satirical newspaper launches a Columbus edition.  The free weekly tabloid, which features faux coverage of real and fictional news events, will be produced in partnership with The Dispatch’s parent company, starting on Oct. 6.

 

Under a three-year operating agreement, The Onion will retain sole control over editorial content, while The Dispatch Printing Company assumes business-management responsibilities for the publication, including advertising sales, printing and distribution.  Financial details were not disclosed.

 

Twenty-thousand copies of The Onion’s Columbus edition will be available each Thursday at 562 locations throughout the city, with a concentration on and near the campus of Ohio State University.  The publication will feature The A.V. Club, a nonsatirical entertainment section.

 

READ MORE: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2011/08/25/the-onion-to-bring-satirical-news-to-town.html

WCBE Celebrates 55th Birthday

By Walker Evans, Columbus Underground

Published on September 26, 2011 1:20 pm

 

 

WCBE (90.5 FM) went on the air in 1956, and originally began as an educational tool for Columbus City Schools.  55 years later, the station has gone through several evolutions to become a charter member station of NPR with an Adult Alternative music format.

 

READ MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/wcbe-celebrates-55th-birthday

As first reported on this Columbus Underground discussion thread: Dispatch Buying The Other Paper, Columbus Monthly, SNP

 

Later confirmed by the Dispatch: Dispatch Printing Company acquires Columbus Monthly, other local niche publications

 

And futher confirmed by The Other Paper:

 

The Dispatch Printing Company Acquires Columbus Media Enterprises

Acquisition Doubles The Number Of Niche and Magazine Publications In The Dispatch Media Group Portfolio

Posted: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 4:02 pm

The Other Paper

 

COLUMBUS, OH. - The Dispatch Printing Co. today announced that it had acquired a group of niche publications from American Community Newspapers, expanding the depth and breadth of its news organization.  The newly acquired publications, which will become part of Dispatch Media Group, include:

 

• Columbus Monthly, an award-winning city magazine for 35 years

 

• Suburban News Publications, a group of 22 community newspapers serving Central Ohio

 

• Columbus C.E.O., a monthly business magazine

 

• A dozen specialty magazine publications, including Columbus Bride, CityGuide, Restaurant Guide and the Official Columbus Visitors Guide

 

• The Other Paper, a news and entertainment weekly

 

In addition, a handful of supporting niche local news and information websites, including columbusmonthly.com, columbusbride.com and columbuslocalnews.com, will become part of the Dispatch Digital network.

 

MORE: http://www.theotherpaper.com/news/article_b0afca5c-e943-11e0-ab1a-001cc4c03286.html

Next installment of WOSU'S Columbus Neighborhoods series is tonight

 

 

MORE AT: http://www.columbusneighborhoods.org/

 

AND AT: http://www.columbusneighborhoods.org/content/university-district

 

 

LeVeque Tower Documentary to be Screened at The Drexel

By: Walker Evans, Columbus Underground

Published on November 8, 2011 1:00 pm

 

The LeVeque Tower was the first skyscraper to dominate Downtown Columbus, and while it’s no longer our tallest building, it’s still viewed by many as the historic centerpiece in our skyline.

 

Local filmmaker Seth Moherman will be screening “The Citadel, Birth of the LeVeque Tower”, a documentary about the interesting history behind the building this Wednesday, November 9th at The Drexel Theatre at 7:30pm.  Following the screening, Seth will be on hand for a Q&A session along with architect Robert D. Loversidge, Jr.

 

MORE plus a Q & A with the filmmaker at http://www.columbusunderground.com/leveque-tower-documentary-to-be-screened-at-the-drexel

Dispatch shutting down ONN

Business First by Dan Eaton, Staff reporter

Date: Wednesday, July 25, 2012, 4:22pm EDT

 

The Ohio News Network will cease operations at the end of August.  Tom Griesdorn, president and general manager of both WBNS-TV and ONN, said Wednesday that when the television station was launched in 1997, the goal was to bring around-the-clock coverage of news, weather and sports to the entire state.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2012/07/25/dispatch-shutting-down-onn.html

Dispatch exec defends paywall limiting online access

Business First by Dan Eaton, Staff reporter

Date: Thursday, July 26, 2012, 4:49pm EDT

 

The Dispatch this month instituted a model allowing online readers to access up to 10 articles a month, blocking any further content for non-subscribers.

(. . .)

The 10-article limit applies to content generated by Dispatch staffers, including news stories and blogs.  Wire service stories and any articles concerning public safety will be free to all.  For example, coverage of the July 11 train derailment or the June 29 storm would have remained open to the public, but this week’s trade of Columbus Blue Jackets star Rick Nash would not.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2012/07/dispatch-exec-defends-paywall-limiting.html

Pretty interesting profile of local alternative rock radio station WWCD 102.5FM in last Sunday's Dispatch.  It's been broadcasting for 22 years, but saw more changes over it's last 2 years than in the previous 20 combined.  Also interesting to hear from WWCD's current management about how to survive as a stand alone "independent" station in an age of Clear Channel conglomeration.

 

Columbus Dispatch: Surviving the storm: The recession, an untimely death, moves up the dial and down the street, and a sale don't stop WWCD

Pretty interesting profile of local alternative rock radio station WWCD 102.5FM in last Sunday's Dispatch.  It's been broadcasting for 22 years, but saw more changes over it's last 2 years than in the previous 20 combined.  Also interesting to hear from WWCD's current management about how to survive as a stand alone "independent" station in an age of Clear Channel conglomeration.

 

Columbus Dispatch: Surviving the storm: The recession, an untimely death, moves up the dial and down the street, and a sale don't stop WWCD

 

I'm kinda surprised in an article about a radio station, not one mention of the music format.  I used to love CD101 when I lived in Columbus, but then somewhere along the way they just stopped playing new music.  I didn't want to listen to the Verve Pipe and Blur forever.

Pretty interesting profile of local alternative rock radio station WWCD 102.5FM in last Sunday's Dispatch.  It's been broadcasting for 22 years, but saw more changes over it's last 2 years than in the previous 20 combined.  Also interesting to hear from WWCD's current management about how to survive as a stand alone "independent" station in an age of Clear Channel conglomeration.

 

 

 

 

Columbus Dispatch: Surviving the storm: The recession, an untimely death, moves up the dial and down the street, and a sale don't stop WWCD

 

 

 

 

I'm kinda surprised in an article about a radio station, not one mention of the music format.  I used to love CD101 when I lived in Columbus, but then somewhere along the way they just stopped playing new music.  I didn't want to listen to the Verve Pipe and Blur forever. 

 

Yeah I know what you mean. I find myself listening more and more to 106.7 and even 99.7. I want to support local radio but it seems like they aren't playing the new stuff or when they do its pretty obscure bands. I like hearing obscure bands but not when they suck and are being played to get some hipster indie street cred or something. :-)

Pretty interesting profile of local alternative rock radio station WWCD 102.5FM in last Sunday's Dispatch.  It's been broadcasting for 22 years, but saw more changes over it's last 2 years than in the previous 20 combined.  Also interesting to hear from WWCD's current management about how to survive as a stand alone "independent" station in an age of Clear Channel conglomeration.

 

 

 

 

Columbus Dispatch: Surviving the storm: The recession, an untimely death, moves up the dial and down the street, and a sale don't stop WWCD

 

 

 

 

I'm kinda surprised in an article about a radio station, not one mention of the music format.  I used to love CD101 when I lived in Columbus, but then somewhere along the way they just stopped playing new music.  I didn't want to listen to the Verve Pipe and Blur forever.

 

Yeah I know what you mean. I find myself listening more and more to 106.7 and even 99.7. I want to support local radio but it seems like they aren't playing the new stuff or when they do its pretty obscure bands. I like hearing obscure bands but not when they suck and are being played to get some hipster indie street cred or something. :-)

 

There is no mainstream in the world of rock music any more, so all there is out there is old stuff, American Idol trash and hipster street cred bands that won't ever get really big. It's the new normal.

 

I like 102.5 the way it is now, but this is coming from the perspective of someone who grew up as a metalhead that sought nuggets by combing through obscure bands' catalogs (such as bands from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal in the '80s). I a lot of times actually change the station when a Foo Fighters song or, God forbid, one of those sucky '80s alternative bands comes on. But the advertisers need that stuff in there and it pulls in people who would otherwise skip over the station. I'll take the hipster stuff any day -- a lot of it is fun.

The Other Paper is ceasing publication at the end of January.  Somewhat disappointing but probably shouldn't be a complete surprise. 

 

The Other Paper has been owned by the Dispatch since September 2011 when it purchased the local assets of American Community Newspapers.  Those ACN assets included Columbus Monthly magazine, Columbus Local News weekly newspapers and The Other Paper.  Columbus Local News directly competed with the Dispatch-owned ThisWeekNews newspapers and got the axe last year.  Columbus Monthly doesn't seem to compete with any Dispatch publication and is probably safe.  However, TOP competed with the Dispatch-owned Columbus Alive free weekly.

 

If this were the pre-internet days, I'd be outraged that the Dispatch was closing down TOP.  It was a reliable source of alternative entertainment that liked tweaking Big D and an occasional source of hard news that might get downplayed in the Dispatch.  But I have to admit that I rarely look at TOP in print or website form any more.  And this was prior to the Dispatch purchase in 2011.  I've found that internet sources, like Columbus Underground, more than cover what TOP used to offer.

 

So it's a fond farewell to The Other Paper.  I'll miss their old radio jingle, the Thursday hunt for a place that still had some TOP copies and the annual Halloween local-celebrity-cut-out-mask cover.  Below is the TOP closing announcement, ironically from the TOP website:

 

Goodbye Columbus - The Other Paper to discontinue publication

I've found that internet sources, like Columbus Underground, more than cover what TOP used to offer.

 

Thanks for the props. Appreciate it. ;)

The final issue of The Other Paper hits the streets today.  WOSU Radio spoke with one of the editors who founded The Other Paper in 1990.  Nice brief interview that looked back at TOP and some Columbus media history at the link below:

 

WOSU News: Final Issue Of ‘The Other Paper’ Hits Newsstands

ColumbusUnderground.com keeps growing.  Below is the notice on their website about moving into a larger space a half block down from their previous space on Gay Street.  One interesting irony is that CU's new location was once home to the Columbus Dispatch from 1910 to 1925 when it moved to its current iconic home on Third Street.  So the digital publication is using the former offices of the Capital City's print giant.  Neat!

 

 

Columbus Underground Relocates Downtown Offices

 

ColumbusUnderground.com continues to expand in 2013 with the relocation to a new office space at 14 E. Gay St. in Downtown Columbus.  The company was previously located just down the street at 65 E. Gay St.

 

Evans says the relocation was necessary to provide space for new staff members.  The old space was limited to 500 square feet of flex space, while the new location at 14 East Gay includes the entire 2,600-square-foot fifth floor.

 

READ MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/columbus-underground-relocates-downtown-offices

:clap:

I'm a year and a half late… but thanks! ;)

WOW:  Yesterday, Sepp Blatter resigns from FIFA.  Today, the Wolfe family sells the Dispatch!  I had to check if this was an Onion story or April 1st.  But nope, it is for real.

 

As the opening sentence in Business First's article says, "For the first time since 1905, the Wolfe family will no longer own the Columbus Dispatch".  Just let that sink in.  "Since 1905".  Interesting times ahead!!!

 

Columbus Dispatch sold to national newspaper chain

By Tom Knox, Columbus Business First

Updated June 3, 2015, 1:03pm EDT

 

For the first time since 1905, the Wolfe family will no longer own the Columbus Dispatch.  The Dispatch Printing Company said today it will sell its print publications to the owner of the GateHouse newspaper chain.  New York-based New Media Investment Group Inc. has agreed to buy the daily paper and its various magazines and print products. Terms were not disclosed but New Media said it would fund the acquisition with a $25 million loan plus cash.

( . . . )

New Media Investment operates in more than 415 markets in 31 states, including the Canton Repository and the Massillon Independent.  The Dispatch, a major metro newspaper with a Sunday circulation of 221,548 and a weekday circulation of 137,148, will likely be the biggest addition to the company's portfolio.

 

The sale also includes the Dispatch's printing plant, an office building at 62 E. Broad St. and the offices of the company's suburban newspapers (This Week News) in Lewis Center.  (The sale does not include the paper's offices on S. 3rd Street across from the Ohio Statehouse) or TV stations WBNS in Columbus and WTHR in Indianapolis, or RadiOhio Inc., which operates the WBNS-AM and WBNS-FM radio stations.  Wolfe's company also will still run its real estate investment firm, Capitol Square Ltd.

 

MORE: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/06/03/columbus-dispatch-sold-to-national-newspaper-chain.html

More about the Dispatch sale from its CEO:

 

Dispatch CEO: Family-owned, independent business model no longer working:  http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/06/03/dispatch-ceo-family-owned-independent-business.html

Business First with more about the Dispatch sale:

 

- Repost of an interview Business First had with soon-to-be-former Dispatch Publisher John F. Wolfe in 2011. -- Dispatch sale: Check out our 2011 interview with John F. Wolfe:  http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2015/06/dispatch-sale-check-out-our-2011-interview-with.html

 

- Interview with Doral Chenoweth (aka The Grumpy Gourmet) who worked for four Wolfe family patriarchs during his long career in Columbus -- The Grumpy Gourmet on the Dispatch sale and working for 4 Wolfe patriarchs:  http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2015/06/the-grumpy-gourmet-on-the-dispatch-sale-and.html

More reactions from former long-time Dispatch writers and editors about the Dispatch sale:

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2015/06/dispatch-veterans-react-to-paper-s-sale.html

Some educated guesses as to how the Columbus Dispatch might fit into the New Media/GateHouse Media portfolio of publications:

 

- How the Columbus Dispatch fits in New Media's portfolio: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/06/09/how-the-columbus-dispatch-fits-in-new-medias.html

 

- Dispatch sale: Here's how GateHouse has handled other acquired papers: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2015/06/11/dispatch-sale-heres-how-gatehouse-has-handled.html