A screen shot of the Glendale News-Press website announcing the impending closure of the newspaper on April 16
The Los Angeles Times announced on Thursday that it plans to stop publishing three of its community newspapers: the Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader and La Cañada Valley Sun, adding that staff members will be laid off.
“This was a difficult business decision in a trying time for community newspapers compounded by the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The three titles, while journalistically sound, are operating at significant losses,” said the L.A. Times in a note to its readers published Thursday.
The company announced that the final editions of the Glendale News-Press and the Burbank Leader will be published Saturday, with the Valley Sun going out after its final issue slated for April 23. “The community papers’ work will be archived at latimes.com,” said the note.
The L.A. Times cited falling print circulation and advertising revenue as the impetus behind its decision. In its note to its readers, the L.A. Times pledged that it will continue to cover “larger” news stories in the areas covered by the three publications.
“It is often the smaller stories covered by local newspapers that bring out the true essence and vitality of a a city,” said Ara Khachatourian, editor of Asbarez. “It is always disheartening to see a newspaper close.”
“Without its daily online presence and its print iterations, Glendale, Burbank and La Canada sadly will lose the local insight that the three publications brought,” added Khachatourian. “We wish the journalists and staff at these publications the best in their endeavors in these difficult times.”
All three publications have had a long and storied impact on the communities they covered. Glenadle News-Press began publication in 1905 and served as the newspaper of record for all things Glendale. The Burbank Leader was founded in 1985 as a successor to the Burbank Daily Review, which was founded in 1908. The La Cañada Valley Sun started publication in April 1946.
The Los Angeles Times bought the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader in 1993 and the Valley Sun in 2005, incorporating them as part the Times Community News division.
I still remember Will Rogers insulting articles
In a normal environment it would be a sad, sad day to see the closure of a newspaper. However for the local Armenian community this should be a welcome news. I have grown up in Glendale now for almost 50 years. And I am what you could call a local product local middle and high school, Glendale Community College, USC. And this is what I remember. Almost every time something of controversy printed in the Glendale News Press involving Armenians was negative towards our people and community. And in fact in many such cases what Glendale News Press was spreading was nothing but “Bigotry”. I for one am not surprised or upset that their time to settle up has come!!!!! One for the economic strength of our community, it would take almost no effort for Glendale’s 80,000 to 100,000 Armenian American Community to keep one measly newspaper going, but the editors and publishers of The Glendale News Press chose to blatantly be against us. Goodbye!!!!
Perhaps the Armenian community could benefit from this if it were to take over one of those publications. All those communities have considerable Armenian populations.
I lived in Glendale for almost 40 years and recently retired to Idaho. After living in the area for so long it was nice to have somewhere to inform me how the old town was doing. The paper would probably have had a better chance of survival if it had not been acquired by LAT. The paper has been in a slow death spiral for the past 2 decades thanks in no part to the paper being so poorly run after the acquisition by the Times.
As a cub reporter in 1965, I covered the American Nazi Party headquartered in Glendale. It was fun to see the reaction of the Nazi leaders every time my stories were published with my byline, including written threats to the publisher and to me. I was told later while serving in the Army, that my stories ultimately contributed to the departure of the group from the city.,