The largest newspaper in Alaska is reducing to a twice-weekly publication and serves as the latest casualty of a downward trend in subscribers to print media. The Anchorage Daily News, which previously published and distributed a physical newspaper six times weekly, announced the distribution reduction in a letter to subscribers from owner Ryan Binkley on Monday, July 8.
According to the letter, the decision stems from a “dramatic” shift in the way readers consume the news. “Over the past decade, the number of digital-only subscribers has grown from almost none to almost 19,000,” the letter states. “Today, print readership makes up just 7% of our total audience across our platforms. We have to focus our efforts on where most of our readers are.”
Beginning July 15, the newspaper will distribute physical copies on Wednesdays and Sundays only. However, the subscriber letter points out that online distribution will continue normally. “Critically, we’ll continue producing the e-edition—the online replica of the print newspaper—six days a week.”
This decision by ADN follows a string of similar changes by newspapers both locally and around the state. In May 2023, the Peninsula Clarion dropped to a twice-weekly publication and announced just last month that it would only publish once per week on Fridays. The Clarion, which has changed ownership hands multiple times in the last several years, is currently owned by Sound Publishing along with the Homer News and the Juneau Empire. Sound Publishing’s parent company, Canadian Black Press Media, filed to avoid bankruptcy in January of this year and was saved when a Mississippi-based media company, Carpenter Media Group, finalized a deal to buy out Black Press in March.
The letter sent to Anchorage Daily News subscribers called the move to reduce its distribution a “strategic decision” aimed at “long-term sustainability” and touted the advantages of digital media, stating, “Digital technology allows us to deliver news to you in real-time, ensuring that you stay informed about the latest developments in Alaska as they happen.”
The Anchorage Daily News was founded by Norman C. Brown in January 1946. In August 2017, the paper announced that it had filed for bankruptcy after being sued for back rent by Alaska telecommunications company GCI. Binkley, a resident of Fairbanks, immediately assumed ownership of the paper, a process that was already ongoing at the time.
