That the news was expected makes it no less striking. Tomorrow morning’s print paper will be the last one in the Post-Intelligencer‘s 146-year history. The online-only move will make the P-I the nation’s largest daily to go all-digital.
Update, 1:47p: The digital P-I, per the NYT, “will resemble a local Huffington Post more than a traditional newspaper, with a news staff of about 20 people rather than the 165 it has had, and a site consisting mostly of commentary, advice and links to other news sites, along with some original reporting.”
Also: “The site has recruited a number of current and former government officials to write columns, and it will keep some of the popular columnists and bloggers who already work there, in addition to the large number of unpaid local bloggers whose work appears on the site. Hearst also plans to repackage material from its large stable of magazines for the site.”
And: “Hearst broke the news to P-I staffers in a newsroom meeting Monday at 10 a.m. local time, and said it would offer severance packages to about 145 employees.”
Megan Garber is an assistant editor at the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University. She was formerly a CJR staff writer.