COLONIE -- The Times Union and the Amsterdam Recorder on Wednesday announced an unusual partnership that will have the Times Union delivered to Recorder subscribers on Sundays.
The Recorder will cease publication of its Sunday edition.
In a notice to readers on Wednesday, Recorder Publisher Kevin McClary cited the poor economy -- along with the struggles of the Amsterdam area -- as factors in the decision.
"The population decline of our circulation area along with a significant decrease in the number of advertisers have had a significant impact on our operation," McClary wrote. "For more than a year we have been trying to deal with the dilemma of continuing to publish a Sunday edition that was not very profitable."
Beginning Sunday, Recorder subscribers will receive the Times Union delivered to their home at no extra cost. Readers who do not wish to receive the Times Union will receive a weekly subscription credit of 30 cents.
Decades ago, such a partnership would have been unimaginable in the newspaper world. But the tough economy and difficult conditions for media companies have forced a trend of creative partnerships, nationally and locally.
"What once clearly were seen to be competing institutions in every sense of the word are now finding ways to collaborate," said George Hearst III, publisher of the Times Union.
Hearst said the Recorder approached the Times Union, leading to the pact announced Wednesday. "We were happy to work with them to come up with a arrangement that made sense for both institutions," he said.
Mark Vinciguerra, director of audience development at the Times Union, estimated the agreement would boost the newspaper's circulation in the Amsterdam area by about 3,500 copies. The Times Union, he said, currently sells about 500 Sunday papers there.
McClary said his paper will add content to its Saturday edition and post breaking weekend news to its website. He described the agreement with the Times Union as the "perfect solution" to the newspaper's problem.
"Our crew will deliver the Sunday Times Union to give our subscribers a product that is loaded with material that we don't have the resources to provide," he wrote.
John Morton, a Maryland-based newspaper industry analyst, described the Times Union-Recorder arrangement as relatively rare, saying only a handful of daily newspapers nationally have similar pacts.
Morton sees the agreement as mutually beneficial: The Recorder gets to cut costs and continue to offer a Sunday product to subscribers, he said, "while the Albany paper gets to add circulation."
This move isn't the Times Union's first step toward working with rivals.
The newspaper, for example, handles home delivery of the Daily Gazette in some parts of the region, and handles home delivery for all editions of the Troy Record and The Saratogian, both owned by the Journal Register Co.
gazette is really down the ol' crapper with their jackbooted handling of free speech on the blogs and forums. They wish people tuned them in. I wonder if they have an exit strategy or have decided how to market the soon empty building they occupy on Maxon rd.
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
gazette is really down the ol' crapper with their jackbooted handling of free speech on the blogs and forums. They wish people tuned them in. I wonder if they have an exit strategy or have decided how to market the soon empty building they occupy on Maxon rd.
The TU is running circles around the People's Gazette on Schenectady coverage. For the Gazetto-No Info. As long as they keep cheer leading for Metrograft and apologizing for City scandals they will circle the drain.
The gazette should be funded just like morris's OSM is! In fact, OSM had the gazette 'news ticker' on their televised station.
Just connect the dots folks!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Gazetto news ticker? Talk about an oxymoron. Really sad the demise of a once solid small City newspaper. Back in the day they had local news, advertisers and a political column that meant something. The editorials even made sense.
the gazette 'news ticker' hasn't been on in the last few days. I don't know why though!
I saw and old 1972 gazette newspaper a friend of mine had. It WAS great!! But times were economically better then. And the union ran schenectady and the politicians!
OH.....I guess things haven't really changed that much except the 'economy' part!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Did you read the list of City pensions leaders? In the TU-not the Gazetto. Oops, they did it again!
Back in the day the Gazetto was so wide you had to read it on a desk. Thick with advertisers. A whole page of restaurant. movie and clubs ads. A political column Here and There that was half a page every week. Now they run idiotic defenses to illegal contracts as "editorial content".
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The TU is running circles around the People's Gazette on Schenectady coverage. For the Gazetto-No Info. As long as they keep cheer leading for Metrograft and apologizing for City scandals they will circle the drain.
