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Petoskey News-Review to move printing operation to Detroit

The printing press for the Petoskey News Review, Charlevoix Courier, and the Gaylord Herald Times will be shutting down and moving to Detroit.

The decision was announced by Gannett Media, which owns all three papers, on Monday. The company says it will begin printing the papers at a sister facility in Detroit.

Last year, GateHouse Media took over the News-Review before merging with Gannett Media which owns USA Today and the Detroit Free Press.

According to a post on the Petoskey News Review website, the change is not expected to impact news coverage or delivery times.

Eight staff within the Petoskey production facility will likely  lose their jobs due to the change according to one person working at the paper.

They would not say whether other jobs could be impacted.

Ed Simpson is a Professor of Journalism at Central Michigan University. He said the move is part of a national trend.

“What we’re seeing, really across the country, is a thinning out of local news operations,” he said. “What you see is fewer folks working in those communities where the newspapers are produced. The result of that is thinner coverage. There’s just no doubt about that.”

Simpson added that he understands the argument that consolidation may be important to keeping local news operations afloat.

“Is it necessary? A lot of folks will say yes. Is it something to be a little bit sad about? Also yes,” he said. “A newspaper continues to be the heartbeat of the local community and it is just a little bit slower when these kinds of things happen.”

The first copies are expected to roll out of the Detroit press on January 28th.

A spokesperson for Gannett Media did not respond to our request for comment.