The media corporation that owns the Springfield News-Leader and the Columbia Daily Tribune is once again shutting down a newspaper printing plant.
On Wednesday morning News-Leader editor Amos Bridges told Ozarks Public Radio he couldn't comment, referring questions to spokespeople for the newspaper's parent corporation, Gannett. In an email received Wednesday morning, Gannett offered the following statement, reproduced here in full:
"Where our newspaper is printed does not impact our ability to deliver outstanding journalism. The Columbia Daily Tribune will continue to provide readers with quality, local content that matters most to them, and to connect our valued advertising partners with the customers they want to reach. We deeply appreciate the years of service our valued colleagues have dedicated to our Columbia facility and the local community."
Gannett's written statement did not reference the Springfield News-Leader.
Gannett referred those seeking more information to a Tuesday article by the Columbia Daily Tribune staff. Tribune staff wrote that their printing plant in Columbia is scheduled to close down in early September. Afterward, Gannett says print editions of the Tribune, the Springfield News-Leader and USA Today will be printed in Des Moines, Iowa. Gannett also owns a newspaper, the Register, in that city.
The Tribune article stated, "all production employees involved with printing and packaging will be affected by the transition as all local printing and packaging operations will cease." It's not clear how many mid-Missouri employees will lose their jobs. The Tribune article stated that readers of the newspaper should not notice a difference in the print edition.
In March 2020, Gannett closed the Springfield News-Leader printing plant in downtown Springfield. The News-Leader began printing at the Tribune plant in Columbia.
In 2002, the News-Leader installed a $23 million printing press designed in Augsburg, Germany at the newspaper's former location on Boonville Avenue in downtown Springfield. The printing facility was removed in 2020, before the News-Leader moved its offices to Hammons Tower in 2022.
In early May, Gannett filed documents with federal authorities reporting the company's financial results for the first three months of this year, compared to the same period in 2024.
Over the first three months of this year, the newspaper company lost $7.3 million and said total revenue decreased by 10.1 percent. In the first three months of 2024, Gannett said it had lost $84.7 million.
The company said it was taking steps to reduce debt and its CEO said in a news release that "we are seeing improving revenue trends continue into the second quarter" of 2025 — the months of April, May and June.
Gannett said nationwide, it has an audience of 195 million monthly unique visitors to its websites. Digital revenues made up some $250 million, out of more than $571 million in total revenues.
The News-Leader began in April 1867 as a weekly paper known as the Springfield Leader. In 1977, local owners sold it to Gannett. In 1987, morning and afternoon editions were consolidated as the Springfield News-Leader.
The Columbia Daily Tribune was founded in 1901 and owned by a mid-Missouri family until 2016, when it was purchased by Gatehouse Media. In 2019, Gatehouse bought Gannett and adopted the Gannett brand for the merged company.
Editor's note: The reporter on this article was employed as a journalist at the Springfield News-Leader from 2015 to 2022.
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