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East Valley Tribune Set to Close Down
Photo courtesy of eastvalleytribune.com
Written by Caitlin Cole - Copy Editor
Like many other newspapers that have been hit hard by the country’s economic crisis, the East Valley Tribune, based out of Mesa, Arizona, has recently announced that effective December 31, the newspaper that has run for 118 years will be shut down.
Extensive efforts were made by the Tribune in the past year to prohibit its own demise, such as reducing the number of days it went to print, and putting more of a focus on its digital substance.
In December of 2008, 40 percent of the staff was let go from the company but the measure still wasn’t enough to keep the paper up and running. When the company filed for bankruptcy protection in September and was not successful in its efforts to find an adequate buyer, the paper’s downfall became permanent.
Freedom Communications, who set the newspaper up for sell in late September, stated through a spokesman that, “They were looking for someone who would be a good partner for the Tribune to move it forward, and that just didn’t happen”.
Just months before revealing extermination, the Tribune won a Pulitzer Prize for stories concerning Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and his focus on immigration enforcement and other crimes. The Pulitzer is one of the most prestigious awards given in journalism, and although it was a great accomplishment for the newspaper, it came at a perilous time.
Across the nation, an average of 100 U.S newspapers have attempted to save themselves from collapse as well, and have either decreased the number of publishing days they have, or have gone digital entirely. Other newspapers have faced similar situations as the Tribune and have shutdown all together, like Denver’s Rocky Mountain News and Tucson’s Citizen.
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