Missourian to outsource printing
Off-site presses will allow the paper to print more color pages.
Published Sept. 1, 2006
After printing Columbia's morning newspaper on-site for most of its 98-year history, the Columbia Missourian's on-site printing presses could be shut down.
In a letter to readers printed in the Missourian on Aug. 27, Executive Editor Tom Warhover announced the paper's intention to outsource all future printing of the daily paper.
"The managers here are at the same place many of us get to with an older car," he said in the letter. "Do you keep pouring more money into repairs, or do you swallow hard and take a new car payment?"
Warhover said that he does not know how old exactly the printing press is but that one former general manager said parts of the press might date back to the '50s.
The decision to outsource came after the paper decided to explore other options in printing, General Manager Dan Potter said, in an article published in the Missourian on Monday. A major incentive in the decision was the option to print more of the pages in full color.
"We want to have (the choice) in our hands, not in our limitations," Warhover said in a phone interview. "We don't run nearly as much color as the nearest competitor or a normal metro paper."
Companies interested in starting to print the paper have until Sept. 18 to submit sealed bids to the MU Procurement Services Office, Warhover said.
According to the Missourian article, at least three local printers will receive written requests from the paper, but Warhover would not confirm their names.
The article mentioned two papers, the Columbia Daily Tribune and the Jefferson City News Tribune, that are within 50 miles of the Missourian's offices — one of the requirements in the requests. The Sedalia Democrat falls just outside that 50-mile radius.
Six people work for the Missourian press full-time and another five work part-time. According to Monday's Missourian article, Dan Potter said he "would work with MU's human resources department to try to help the employees — who would lose their jobs if the press closed — find work elsewhere."
Two hundred and fifty MU students are working at the Missourian this semester. For class credit in the School of Journalism, students report, take photos, copy edit and design the newspaper.
"The change shouldn't affect the students' experience," Warhover said.
Warhover noted that the change is positive for design students and photographers because the paper will have more opportunities for full-color pages.
Despite the change in printer, he insisted that the price of the paper will remain 50 cents per issue.