Ann Arbor News to close up shop

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ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 23 (UPI) -- The Ann Arbor News in Michigan said it would close in July and replace itself with a primarily Internet-oriented company called AnnArbor.com.

Laurel Champion, the newspaper publisher, said the "incredibly difficult decision for us … is by no means the end of local journalism in Ann Arbor."

Besides an online edition, AnnArbor.com will print a paper edition twice a week and produce a print edition weekly.

Three other Advance Publication newspapers in Michigan -- The Flint Journal, The Saginaw News and The Bay City Times -- also announced production cuts to three days a week, beginning June 1, Editor & Publisher reported Monday.

The Ann Arbor News has been in print form for 174 years and, while journalism will continue, job cuts were expected.

Champion, who will be the executive vice president of AnnArbor.com, said the Ann Arbor News "was struggling as a daily print newspaper, with steep losses in 2008."

"At the same time," she said, "the demand for local news and information in a wired community has never been stronger."