Journal-Register will close on May 30

MEDINA – A newspaper with roots in the Medina community since 1903 has announced it will close next month.The Journal-Register will publish its final edition on Friday, May 30, Publisher Diane Crowe announced today on the JR’s website.

The newspaper is printed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The paper used to have a Main Street presence until the operation was moved to Lockport at the Union-Sun & Journal about two years ago.

The move to Lockport was part of a cost-saving measure. The JR could not sustain itself economically despite the efforts to consolidate business and production operations at nearby sister publications, Crowe said on the JR website.

The Journal-Register’s circulation was about 1,500. The paper used to be printed five days a week, then four days before the three-days-a-week schedule. The Journal has four employees and they were notified today of the closing, Crowe said.

The Daily Journal started in Medina in 1903, followed by a rival, the Medina Register. The two merged in 1970 to form The Journal-Register.

The Journal is owned by Community First Holdings, Inc., which runs the Greater Niagara Newspapers group that includes The Journal-Register, Union-Sun & Journal, Tonawanda News and the Niagara Gazette. Community First also owned the Albion Advertiser, a weekly publication. That newspaper closed about a year ago.