Missourian will continue to publish thanks to university's commitment

Dear Reader,

The Columbia Missourian will reduce its print publications from seven days a week to five by the end of February.

The Weekend Missourian, distributed free on Saturday to about 40,000 homes, will be canceled, as will the Monday editions.

What won’t change: The Missourian will continue to be a general distribution print publication for the Columbia area, with home delivery as well as in newspaper racks. Journalists will publish news seven days a week on ColumbiaMissourian.com. Missourian personnel will serve advertisers; Missourian circulation staff will deliver your newspaper.

Vox, the Missourian’s city magazine, will publish in print each Thursday, as it has for a decade. Its content can also be found at voxmagazine.com.

The Missourian, a 501c3 nonprofit corporation, is affiliated with and receives financial support from MU in recognition of its importance to the campus as a teaching and research laboratory. More than 300 journalism students each semester learn by doing journalism in these print and digital pages under the guidance of veteran editors.

MU administrators have agreed to support the newspaper, as they have for years, in return for deep cost cuts.

We’re grateful.

Over the past year, several proposals have been discussed, ranging from a two-day-a-week print publication plus Web site to partnerships with the Columbia Daily Tribune or other newspapers.

The talks have been sometimes contentious and often emotional. They reflect a deep and abiding love of this newspaper and of its value to the community and to the future of journalism practiced throughout the country.

This fall, the Missourian’s advisory board recommended that MU make a call for proposals for potential business partnerships. Monday's decision makes that recommendation unnecessary.

Other cost-saving measures will include cutting back on the number of comics – the 15 strips cost $7,355 annually — and some syndicated columns.

Subscribers will receive more information in the coming days. They are among the most staunchly loyal friends of the Missourian and have stuck by this newspaper through its ups and downs for years – decades in many cases.

The weekly editor’s column also will give more details in coming weeks.

As the Missourian celebrates its 100th year of operation, Monday’s announcement should – once again – put to rest any rumors of the newspaper’s imminent demise.

We’re not going anywhere – except to find the next story.

Tom Warhover, executive editor

Dan Potter, general manager

Dean Mills, publisher