Cincinnati Post ceases publication

Ky. Web news site to launch

Business Courier of Cincinnati

December 31, 2007

As a 126-year tradition ends with the last issues of the Cincinnati Post and Kentucky Post, its owner is looking to new media to fill part of the gap.

The Kentucky Post reported Saturday that E.W. Scripps Co. and WCPO-TV will launch a new Web site, www.kypost.com, on Tuesday. WCPO is also owned by Cincinnati-based Scripps (NYSE: SSP).

The site will feature Northern Kentucky news, covered by an on-staff reporter/videographer, as well as content from WCPO reporters. It will also use stories from freelance reporters and "citizen journalists," and carry Associated Press stories and features from the Washington, D.C.-based Scripps Media Center.

"This is going to be an evolution," said Adam Symson, vice president, interactive, for Scripps' television station group. "Whatever's important and relevant to people south of the river, that is the mission of this site."

Kerry Duke, former special projects editor for the Kentucky Post, will serve as managing editor for the site, which will be supported by advertising.

The Cincinnati Post and Kentucky Post published their last issues Monday. Scripps decided to shut down the newspapers after Cincinnati Enquirer owner Gannett Co. (NYSE: GCI) said it would not renew a 30-year-old joint operating agreement.

The agreement began in September 1977 to save the faltering Post which, along with many afternoon newspapers, was suffering from declining circulation. The agreement combined business operations, including advertising, subscriptions, production and distribution, while keeping the two newsrooms independent.

By 2007, the Cincinnati and Kentucky Post's afternoon editions were reaching only about 4 percent of local households, according to Scripps.

The Cincinnati Post was founded in 1881 as the Penny Paper. It was bought by James Scripps the same year and in 1883 the name was changed to the Penny Post after E.W. Scripps took over its operation. The name was changed to the Cincinnati Post in 1890, and the Kentucky Post was launched that same year.