Beginning Jan. 1, the Middlesboro Daily News will change its publication days to Wednesdays and Saturdays. No longer will the newspaper be producing printed editions on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The core mission remains providing local news and information for readers and advertisers, both in print and in a digital format. The Middlesboro Daily News will continue to provide news coverage 24 hours a day on the website at middlesborodailynews.com.

The decision to eliminate two days of publishing was not made lightly. Months of discussion and analysis led to the need to make this move. The assessment was based on two significant factors.

First, increased newsprint costs have caused a nearly 30 percent increase in the cost of the actual paper used to print the newspaper.

You might wonder why we decided to eliminate Tuesday and Friday. In a nutshell, these two days are the least profitable publications. Secondly, reader trends are rapidly changing. More people are accessing the website and reading the e-edition on desktop computers, cellphones and tablets.

“This was not a decision that any of us at the Daily News took lightly. We love our community, and we love providing local coverage and information to our community,” said Regional Editor Anthony Cloud. “Unfortunately, times have changed and tough decisions had to be made. As more people turn to digital devices to consume content, we have to make adjustments to fit that model.”

“Eliminating these two days will allow the Daily News to remain viable. It will allow us to focus our resources on building a stronger print publication and also provide a stronger digital presence. It will allow reporters to focus more on reporting news stories that our readers need and care about,” said Cloud. “With this move, we want to focus even stronger on providing our community with more local content while also utilizing our online platform to break news and keep the community up-to-date on days we don’t have a print edition.”

Readers will see a reduction in costs of Saturday papers as both the Wednesday and Saturday publications will be 50 cents. Per paper price to subscribers will remain the same. Any subscriber that has pre-paid for several weeks, months or years, their expiration date will be extended.

Should you have any questions about these changes, please feel free to contact Regional Circulation Manager Lisa Gray, General Manager Pat Cheek or Regional Editor Anthony Cloud at 606-248-1010.