The Sanford Herald announced on its editorial page January 20 that it will move to a three-day per week print publication schedule beginning in February, down from the five days per week it has published since 2020.
Instead of publishing morning editions from Tuesday through Saturday, editions will now come out on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. An e-edition, available to paid subscribers, will continue to be published online Tuesday through Saturday.
The change begins the first full week in February.
“We delayed the move to reduce print days much longer than most newspapers,” Herald Publisher Jeff Ayers wrote in the announcement. “The new print schedule reduces production and distribution expenses, a necessary measure to remain fiscally healthy without reducing reporting.”
The print reduction is the second such move for the Herald, owned by Kentucky-based Paxton Media Group, since 2020, when the newspaper combined its Saturday and Sunday editions into a “weekend edition.” At the same time, the Herald eliminated its delivery drivers and began distribution via the U.S. Postal Service.
The editorial does not address whether subscription costs will be lowered in accordance with the decrease in production.
The Sanford Herald has been published continuously since 1930, when it was founded by W.E. Horner Sr. Paxton purchased the paper in 1998. In 2023, the Herald building at 208 St. Clair Court was purchased by Raleigh-based Mago Properties.
This makes me very sad. A lot of people complain about our paper that it has gotten worse over the years, but I just love to pick it up every morning because all of my clients read it in my salon every day. And I know everyone is going to miss daily publications.
Today is February 7, I did not receive a paper on Tuesday as was stated by the editorial.
Delivery with them ,has been bad for the last 10 years.Thats why we stopped after 40 years.I knew from their track record they would not last.
Oops! I remember being able to go into the paper’s office and getting “short rolls” of blank newsprint to use for bulletin boards and such. I miss being able to drop by and chat with Bill Horner, too!