Contact: Laurel Champion 734-994-6936 [email protected]

ONLINE LOCAL NEWS STRATEGY UNVEILED FOR ANN ARBOR, MI

THE ANN ARBOR NEWS TO CLOSE IN JULY

AnnArbor.com will launch with daily reporting on the web and a bi-weekly print edition

ANN ARBOR, MI, March 23, 2009 — Booth Newspapers today announced sweeping changes to its business strategy in the Ann Arbor market, with the closing in July of The Ann Arbor News, and its replacement by a new web-driven media company, AnnArbor.com LLC.

Daily print publication of The Ann Arbor News and online reporting at its affiliate www.mlive.com/ann-arbor will continue in the interim.

Matt Kraner, formerly Chief Marketing Officer of The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, was named President and Chief Executive Officer of AnnArbor.com LLC, and Tony Dearing, formerly Editor of the Flint Journal and Managing Editor of The Ann Arbor News was named Chief Content Leader.

Kraner said that Ann Arbor is one of the most Internet-savvy markets in the country. Community research conducted in 2008 shows that the vast majority of Ann Arbor residents have the skills and technology set-up to receive and engage with online news. In addition, residents have a deep level of engagement in their community that lends itself well to online interaction.

“It is the perfect place to embark on a web-focused news and information strategy,” Kraner said. “We will be working with Ann Arbor’s residents and advertisers to build a unique and innovative community news and information service.”

AnnArbor.com will introduce a new business model built on the web’s distribution and community engagement advantages. This will deliver a better experience for readers and better results for advertisers. The strategy for AnnArbor.com is not simply to move existing newspaper assets online. Instead, the new company will pair digital reporting from local journalists with real-time engagement, discussion and contribution from the local community via social networking features. In addition to the website, AnnArbor.com will publish a Sunday and Thursday print edition and distribute a weekly TMC (Total Market Coverage) advertising supplement.

AnnArbor.com will be shaped by community input into the design, features and experience that will best serve the Ann Arbor community and advertisers. An outreach program will facilitate the transition, especially for the small number of readers with limited online access and familiarity. Outreach is also taking place among local businesses and advertisers.

Community forums will take place on Thursday, April 2 at the Campus Inn at 2:00 pm and on Friday, April 3 at Weber’s Inn at 10:00 am. Information on additional forums will be posted on AnnArbor.com.

Laurel Champion, the current Publisher of The Ann Arbor News, who will become Executive Vice President at the new company, said a combination of the uniquely wired nature of Ann Arbor and the challenging economics of publishing a daily print newspaper led to this new direction. “The Ann Arbor News was struggling as a daily print newspaper, with steep losses in 2008,” Champion said. “At the same time the demand for local news and information in a wired community has never been stronger.”

The closing of The Ann Arbor News will lead to job losses, although current Ann Arbor News employees will be invited to apply for positions within the new company.

Today’s announcement in Ann Arbor coincides with news of business changes at several other Michigan papers owned by Booth Newspapers, all of which were also hit hard by statewide economic woes. The Bay City Times, The Saginaw News and The Flint Journal will publish intensely local print editions three days a week, paired with expanded Web offerings on their affiliate www.mlive.com.

Community input, questions about the new site and suggestions can be sent to [email protected].