PAXTON MEDIA GROUP LAYS OFF EMPLOYEES IN PADUCAH
Staff reductions at WPSD Channel 6 and the Paducah Sun hit almost three dozen employees at Paxton Media Group's hometown this week. No firm numbers are available. When contacted, veteran reporter Bill Bartlesman wouldn’t comment on the layoffs, but other sources say they came as a total surprise.
The Paxton Media Group owns a number of newspapers throughout West Kentucky. Distribution has been dropping in all but two of their West Kentucky papers. (See end of this story for a more complete list of their holdings).
- The Paducah Sun’s daily circulation dropped from 30,459 in 1993 to 24,500 in 2008.
- The Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer went from a daily circulation of 33, 386 in 1993 to 27,000 in 2008
- The Madisonville Messenger had a circulation of 11,116 in 1993. In 2008, it is 8,500.
- The Marshall County Tribune-Courierin Benton dropped from 6,900 in 1993 to 5000 in 2008
- The Eddyville paper went from 2540 in 1993 to 2000 in 2008.
- The Cadiz Record saw a small decrease from 4131 in ’93 to 4000 in ‘08
- The Franklin Favorite in Simpson County rose from 4693 to 5500 in 2008.
- The McLean County News in Calhoun rose from 2793 in 1993 to 3000 in 2008.
Other newspapers in this chain and others across the country are experiencing similar reductions in workforce as advertisers move to other venues. Big papers like the New York and LA Times have also struggled. In Kentucky, both the Courier Journal and Lexington Herald have laid off staff as their bottom lines droop.
Delivery in the Paducah Sun’s media market has become problematic in recent months. Frustrated subscribers in rural areas aren’t getting their papers. One rural resident who had trained his dog to get his paper every morning joked that the dog just looks confused with no Paducah Sun to bring to the house.
Finding carriers in a time of high gas prices has cut delivery. Even rack sales have been affected. Managers have been seen refilling small town newspaper racks.
In addition to the slowing economy, an additional financial pressure may have come from the Paxton Media Group investment in a ten million dollar printing facility in downtown Paducah. Other newspaper chains have been merged or sold off assets when faced with lagging sales. There is no indication what the Paxton family will do as revenues continue to decline in a weakening economy.
One media expert warned that this story will have another chapter to it if the Paxon Media Group has taken out large loans to pay for its phsyical expansion as well as purchasing many small town newspapers. If the advertising keeps falling off and subscribers go somewhere else for their news, for the first time in a generation, the Paxon Media Group will face a very uncertain future.
Holdings of the Paxton Media Group
Daily
Weekly List is incomplete
Other
 WPSD - Paducah, Kentucky Sun Publishing[1] - Paducah, Kentucky
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