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Gannett to move Detroit News, Free Press printing operations from Sterling Heights

Posted By: The Detroit News on January 21, 2025.  For more information, please click here to read the source article.

Newspaper publisher Gannett Co. announced Tuesday it plans to cease operations in August at the Sterling Heights plant that prints The Detroit News and Free Press.

Gannett plans to move printing of The News, Free Press and other publications to other presses in Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee or Illinois, the company said. The facility employs 115 workers, who were notified of the change on Tuesday.

The decision by Gannett, which owns the Free Press, comes as the newspaper industry increasingly emphasizes online products.

“As our business becomes increasingly digital, we are making strategic decisions to ensure the future of local journalism,” Gannett spokesperson Lark-Marie Antón said in an emailed statement. “We deeply appreciate the many years of service our valued colleagues have dedicated to our Detroit facility and the local community.”

MediaNews Group, owner of The Detroit News, doesn’t expect any disruptions for customers.

“The Detroit News will continue serving our readers with our daily print and online editions and does not expect any impact on our readers from this decision by Gannett to close its local printing plant,” said Gary Miles, The News’ editor and publisher.

In addition to The News and Free Press, the Sterling Heights plant at 6200 Metropolitan Parkway prints the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Toledo Blade and 27 smaller papers in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan, including the Oakland Press and Macomb Daily.

The News and Free Press are separately owned, but their business functions are combined and managed by the Detroit Media Partnership, also known as Michigan.com, which is operated by Gannett under a joint operating agreement.

In 1971, the Evening News Association, which owned The News from its founding in 1873 until its sale to Gannett in 1986, built the six-story, 480,000-square-foot Sterling Heights plant. Gannett retained ownership of the plant when it purchased the Free Press in 2005 and sold The News to MediaNews Group.

In 2023, Cleveland-based Industrial Commercial Properties LLC bought the plant from Gannett, which retained ownership of the presses and continued to lease the building.

At the time, senior vice president of Gannett Publishing Operations Wayne Pelland said, “Gannett has a long-term lease agreement with the property at 6200 Metropolitan Parkway, with no intention to move.”

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